Monday, August 12, 2013

Travel Style by Country

During my days of backpacking travel, I have met fellow travelers from many countries across the globe. While I spent time with them, I got to know more about their style of travel and also got to hear their views on others. I even made some inferences on my own based on their travel mannerisms and demeanor. This post aims at articulating the travel style of a traveler by their citizenship. This is meant to be a delightful and insightful read and does not intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments. There are always exceptions to the rule and this sample is purely based on the travelers that I have personally come across or have heard from other travelers. Hope it makes for an interesting read.

P.S. This sample consists of travelers who do backpacking, take tours, do middle class trips, take a luxury vacation, do off beat trips and more. Basically, the sample size is huge across a wide variety of travelers.

France
The French are daredevil travelers. They tread into the remotest parts on the planet without knowing any language except French. They simply expect everyone to speak and understand French.

England/Scotland/Ireland
They are well traveled, but need a watering hole every evening/night. They are more off beat travelers, but can get rough with a little bit of alcohol in them.

United States of America
Non-existent travelers. One of the superpowers to have the least number of travelers. The travelers that you see are worried about anything and everything they might face in their travels. Always look for comfort.

Canada
Unlike their neighbor, these guys love to travel and travel dirty. Don’t care much about comfort and travel for the experience.

Germany
Good travelers, but mostly travel by the book. Do not venture off the track much. They are very well mannered travelers though.

Scandinavia
Mainly one location travelers. They have two conditions for their holiday destination – it should be cheap and it should have lots of sunshine. Their holidays are fairly long, but their travels are fairly limited.

Netherlands
Good travelers, but not a lot of them get out of their comfort zone. But, there are a lot of Dutch travelers out there considering the fact that their overall population is less.

Switzerland
The Swiss are good travelers, but again, do not venture off the beaten track. They are very polite and love to be comfortable.

Japan
Very quiet travelers. It is next to impossible to get a Japanese to raise their voice. They are well traveled too.

China
Loud and rude travelers. Love to travel in humongous sized groups. Stick to their kind. A few young ones break the trend. Also, known to spend a lot of money in their travels. Obsessive about the mobile phone and social media.

India
Five Star hotel travelers. Love to take tour packages. Are more tourists than travelers. Good accommodation and good food is more important than the travel experience for them.

South Africa
They are the most worried about safety when they travel from a lesser safe country (South Africa) to a more safe country. Duh!

Australia
Love cheap destinations. Love the ocean and the surf. Possess immense appetite for beer and drinks. Are pretty well traveled too.

Spain
Louder than the other European travelers. Can also get a bit possessive and rough at times. Are known to do really budget travel and don’t mind getting dirty.

Russia
Love to stick to their own kind. Sometimes, they hate the other kind and they make it very apparent. Prefer coastal places with lots of sunshine.

South Korea
Surprisingly, a very fresh mode of travelers. They travel in small to medium sized groups, but are not as quiet as Japan or as loud as China. Speak better English and are very open to talking to strangers.

Eastern Europe
Travelers with a free style. Don’t worry about anything and travel with utmost freedom. Indulge in a lot of extreme sports.

New Zealand
Completely different from Australia and England. Go about their own business quietly. Love adventure.

Argentina
European style backpackers with a special flair about them. Make excellent companions for travel.

Brazil
Surprisingly, original travelers who have their own style.

Israel
Hardened travelers due to their military background. Also, known to break many rules while they travel.

Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia
Picnic travelers. Also, shopping travelers. May be, weekend travelers too. They wait for the cheapest price, fly to a destination, meet their friends, wine n dine in style and do some shopping. Then, they fly back home. Also, obsessive users of the mobile phone and social media.

Serbia, Venezuela, Egypt, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Mexico, Turkey, Philippines, Colombia, Chile, Lithuania, Algiers, Morocco, Peru You hardly see them traveling. But, they can be seen, albeit rarely.

8 comments:

  1. Nice quick roundup.good to know thx :)

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  2. ehm.. italy please? i guess it goes straight to the last category.. btw i made it to cola beach.. depressing dude.. they removed all the structures, not a living soul, rough murky sea that ate out all the beach and the supposed beautiful lagoon, and i broke my pinky toe on the rocks! now an extra month of limping around india.. wooohoo!

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  3. Interesting observations Sankara. Where do you put yourself? :). Am sure it is a new breed.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

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  4. Easy going, no bull shit traveler who embraces every country like his lover :-)

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  5. Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. May be, it is because of the monsoons that they removed all the structures. Or may be the water levels have risen. I hope you enjoy the rest of India even on a limping foot. Take care. Italy is more like Spain :-)

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  6. Very good observation Sankara.

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