by Dr Kate Neely (Director of International Programs, RoundTrip Foundation)

In the wake of headlines that read “Tourist Breaks Toes of 200-year-old Italian Sculpture”, and given the slight bit of envy that I am feeling about other people being tourists (I am currently in lockdown in Melbourne with a 5km movement radius, a night-time curfew and a one-hour exercise window), I started reflecting about my own ‘bad tourist’ moments and others that I have seen or read about. This is not so much in order to growl about bad behaviour as it is a chance to consider what makes for responsible tourism compared to what makes for bad tourism.

I think I need to start by acknowledging that by the time we are heading somewhere new, especially as tourists, we are moving into ‘holiday mode’ and for many of us, that means we let go of some inhibitions and look forward to an experience that may be more luxurious, relaxed and hedonistic than we can achieve in our everyday lives. By the time we get to our destination, we might be feeling a bit like ‘cutting loose’ in ways that we wouldn’t dream of doing at home. The tourist industry sells this to us in terms of “dream holidays” and “you deserve this” type of advertising, and sometimes we believe it. I think that problems arise mostly when we take this mindset into cultures that are not our own.

Pierre Bourdieu, a sociologist who travelled widely in his youth, noticed that we are really good at knowing the rules of the culture that we grow up in – we know the written rules and the unwritten rules (social norms) without having to think about them because they are usually the rules we have lived by all our lives. We also know, if we choose to break those rules, what the social or legal consequences are likely to be if we get caught breaking them.

When we are tourists, we don’t know all the rules, either the written rules or the social norms. In an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar culture, it is easy to accidentally break the rules because they are not the rules that we grew up with. And as a tourist, the consequences of this for ourselves can be quite lenient compared to the impact that our rule-breaking might have on the local culture.

So how can we prepare and act to ensure we are responsible visitors to other countries?

Before Your Trip

There are heaps of great websites and guidebooks around that we can check to see if there are any specific cultural customs that we should be aware of. I am a Lonely Planet fan but any decent guidebook will have a section on cultural customs. Reading about the experiences of other travellers is useful, so blog posts or the ‘traveller’ section of the weekend newspapers can be good. Local libraries also often have surprisingly decent collections of travel books, including guides. If I have a contact who knows the country, I will ask them for a coffee and chat about their experiences. Sometimes this has the unexpected benefit of being put in touch with a friend or relative or favourite tour guide as well.

It is important to look up government websites like the Australian Government’s Smart Traveller which provides advice on some of the unexpected rules and regulations of specific destinations – I didn’t know that I couldn’t take paracetamol into Greece! And remember that knowing and adhering to the local laws is the responsibility of visitors.

Being a Responsible Tourist

This probably comes as no big surprise, but being a responsible tourist is mostly about respect and not just thinking about what we want.

In areas with high tourist numbers, or those that are specifically open for tourism – like museums, there will often be signs that explain what is considered proper, safe or legal behaviour. (I imagine we will see more signs saying “no selfies with the statues” sometime soon). If someone has gone to the effort of putting a sign-up, it’s probably a good idea to follow it even if you can’t figure out the reason.

For example, I couldn’t understand why I kept seeing signs that asked people not to put padlocks on a walking bridge in London. Padlocks showing people’s love seemed pretty ‘safe’ to me. What I didn’t understand was the volume of people who had done this, and the repercussions on the structure of the bridge (from the added weight) and the costs of the clean-up required (as the locks needed to be individually cut from the bridge). As tourists, we rarely stay in one place for long enough to observe the numbers of other tourists who want to do the same things that we want to do.

In areas where tourism is less common, it pays to be aware of the people around us. Their behaviour and attitudes can be a clue to what is acceptable. Being aware of other people also reminds us that we have a responsibility to act in ways that aren’t offensive or destructive.

My Responsible Travel Rules

Temples, markets, museums, parks and nature reserves are not there just for our pleasure. These are places that are there primarily for other purposes – preserving local history and nature, local worship and workplaces. As tourists, we contribute to the existence of some of these places by bringing much-needed funding, but this doesn’t give us the right to do whatever we want. Generally, I follow a few small rules in order to make sure that I am showing respect to both place and people:

1. 1. Treat people like I would want to be treated. I have worked in plenty of service jobs and I don’t expect to be ‘ordered’ around, spoken to in a condescending manner, yelled at or groped. I love it when people go out of their way to learn my name.
   2. Asking permission before taking a photo, and respecting someone saying no. I sometimes find there is a scene that I know that I can’t replicate if I interrupt it to ask permission – so I have taken the photo and then made sure to ask the person in the photo if they are ok with me keeping it and/or putting on social media. Often, they are happy with this and I will usually also offer to send it to them via email if that is possible.
   3. Ask first. I love going places that are not the ‘usual’ tourist thing and tend to see any unlocked door/dark tunnel/climbable wall as an invitation. So…I control that urge and ask first. The lovely thing about having learned this is that instead of getting growled at for wandering off the beaten track, I often find someone who is excited that I am interested in their “thing” and I get the most extraordinary insights. In York the town’s ‘holder of the chains’ took me for a walk and talk through the council building and showed me the secret escape tunnels! In Sri Lanka I asked about the kitchen in a hotel and got a full-on cooking experience – I helped cook for all the guests!

Your Responsible Travel Tips

Tourism is an important source of income for many communities and can be life-changing for travellers. I have had a great time and met amazing people all over the world. Now that I have shared some of my ‘rules’ I would love to hear your tips on how YOU make sure that you aren’t a ‘bad tourist’? What are the things you definitely do (or definitely don’t do)?