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Hey there, nice fanny pack, tourist. Oh, you're having dinner at 5:00 in Spain. Hmm. Hey there, fellow travelers. Mark here with Wolters World, and today we're going to talk about how you can give yourself away as a tourist when you travel. And here's the thing, it's okay to be a tourist. It's okay to go and see things. It's okay to be a tourist and enjoy your time. But there's some things that we can do as travelers to kind of blend in better cuz we're not trying to be invisible, we're just trying to be less disruptive when we're going around because with all the stuff with over-tourism, people upset with tourists, it's really important for us as travelers and tourists to do our best to kind of integrate better into the
community we go to stay at. And so I want to give you is some of the things that kind of give it away that you are a tourist. I think one of the ones I've seen, it doesn't matter if I'm in New York City or I'm here in Ghent, Belgium, is when you see tourists holding their phones like this and they literally are like everywhere they go, they're following their phone. Not that they're necessarily taking a picture, but they're following it for their directions the entire time, every step of the way. And so what I recommend you do so you don't look like that lost tourist all the time, give yourself the time to familiarize yourself with the city you're going to visit. Go on Google Earth and see the walking path you're
going to do. Look at the map before you set off so you have a rough idea, okay, I need to go about nine blocks this way and then I'll take a left then. Yeah, so after four or five blocks, you can glance again, not walk the entire nine blocks with it in your hand. So that could be something that can help. And when you're walking around, another dead giveaway that you're a tourist is when you stop in the middle of the sidewalk and start taking pictures. Look, one, you're going to get run over by the locals and they're going to get annoyed by it, but I want to recommend to you, if you're going to take the pictures, if you just step to the side and take the pictures like the side of the sidewalk
or towards the wall side, well, you're going to get a better picture cuz you can sit and take the time to do that without people bumping into you, but also you're not going to upset the locals and you're not going to you're still going to look like a tourist, but you're not going to look like an tourist and that's what we're trying to keep us from looking like. Now, another thing that gives you away is your clothes, and I'll be honest, that's why if you go to Germany, the Germans will let you know they're Italians. If you go to Spain, they're like, "Oh, that's the Brits." The Brits be like, "Oh, that's the Italians." Like, people can see these things because culture is
different, and culture and clothing go together. So, you're going to have different clothing types when you go to different places. So, your clothing you bring from home will definitely signify that, "Hey, here's a tourist here." For my American friends, it's our baseball caps that we like to wear on our athletic leisure and yoga pants. Those are dead giveaways. What I recommend you do is take a look and see what the locals are wearing, and then, you know, you can go to the store there, and let me tell you, you get souvenirs like postcards and stuff, or you can get clothing from the country you go to, and one, you'll fit in there, and then two, you have a cool outfit that no one else
back home has. Ask Jocelyn, all of her clothes are from our travels. And the thing is, with the clothing, I will tell you, how you dress will impact how people treat you, especially in Europe, because if you're dressing like a slob. When I say a slob, loose-fitting clothes, anything that resembles like pajama wear, people are going to be like, "Wait, you couldn't put on a jacket or just a quarter zip or something to come to my shop, to come to our restaurant?" These kind of things can make a difference. So, what I suggest is when you're getting dressed, you're putting your outfits together, make sure you have outfits that look put together, okay? Here, you don't have the bright colors and lots of graphics. It's
much more of a muted, a lot of blacks, grays, browns, these kind of things, blues. That's much more of the style you'll see throughout Europe, and I know Europe's a big place with lots of different styles, but it's something to kind of think about. Now, another thing that gives you away is your language skills and your language volume, because tourists, they get excited when they go places. And if you're from the US, we are very loud people. Yes, Italians are loud, too, and that's one of those things, people will hear you speak, and they'll be like, "Oh, there's some tourists over there. They're quite loud." And also, if you don't at least try to learn some of the language when you go, that could be something as
well, because usually, if you're a good tourist, you're going to learn the basics like hey, good day, or you're going to learn like thank you. These kind of little, you know, little words, little phrases can make a big difference for the locals to be like, "Hey, you're here, but you're not being a bad tourist. You're at least trying to say a few things." Like danku, which is thank you here in Belgium, or in the Flemish part of Belgium, and merci if you're in the Walloon side. These little things can make a difference. So, your language skills and your language trying can differentiate you from like a bad traveler, a bad tourist, or annoying tourist, and someone that's just trying
to enjoy the culture. Now, another thing that'll give you a is how you use public transportation. Do you use public transportation like you're supposed to? It's getting from point A to point B, or do you use public transportation and it treat it like it's kind of like it's a tourist attraction? Oh, wow, look at they have the subway. Oh, wow, look at the art in here. Oh, wow, I got to get a picture. I mean, there's whole like groups of people that will take one of the subways, one of the metros in Paris, that come out and it go all of a sudden you look on the side and you see the Eiffel Tower, and they'll sit there and
take pictures all the time. Look, public transportation is how people get around. And if you're making it a big deal, the locals know, oh, that's a tourist. And if you're in places like Denmark or Norway or Finland and you're like taking pictures and like doing anything or even talking on the subway or on the trams or on the buses, they know right away you're not from around here because the Scandinavians and the Northern Europeans do not talk on public transportation. Another thing that gives you away is where you're eating. If you're eating in a place that has a big picture menu and it has lots of languages on there or even better, the menu is laminated, they're going to
know, oh, that's a tourist cuz that's a tourist restaurant. So, what I recommend you do, if you're going to be in a famous place, and you're going to be, you know, in Rome or London, don't don't eat right by the famous site. Walk a few blocks away and you'll start to hear the locals more. Like, oh, wait, that restaurant's full of locals. That's where I should eat. So, you want to kind of listen, and that's going to help you find a better restaurant. Also, another thing that gives you away as a tourist if you're eating at the wrong time. You know, that 5:00 p.m. trying to have dinner in Spain or Portugal, it doesn't work that way. Like in Portugal, the restaurants are closed from like the
kitchens at least are closed from like 3:00 until like 7:00 or 8:00. So, if you want to eat like at 5:00 or 6:00 p.m., believe me, it's only tourist restaurants that are open. So, it's good if you can try to eat when the locals eat. That's going to help you learn more about their culture and fit in better and get a chance to meet more of the locals as well. Now, another thing I think that gives people away is their luggage or their backpacks, like how they wear them, but also how much they have. Like you don't need to have two huge suitcases when you're traveling places. You have a carry-on and a day pack and you should be okay, especially if you're doing a 10-day thing. Cuz
remember, you can do laundry when you're on vacation, all right? But when you see them, people with the extra big backpacks or they got their backpack in front of them or they're wearing the magic fanny pack in the front, yes, of course it's going to be a giveaway as a traveler or tourist, if you like. That's why I suggest having a day pack that you can walk around with and not one that's like the one you had from grade school that's bright purple or it has Dora the Explorer on it. Grab, you know, a normal like, you know, just a nice bag like this that a normal working person would be walking around town with. If you have this, this is going to help you fit in a lot better than, you know, your, you
know, bright orange hiking backpack. Now, another thing that's going to give you away as a tourist, especially if you've got a group of people, is they group huddle. You know, when it's like seven people standing together on a sidewalk blocking the entire sidewalk or they're all trying to get on the same, you know, metro stop at the same time and you're like, Could you Could you make a line? Could you get out of the way? When you have that kind of lost herd of cats mentality and group, that could be something that will definitely show off in tourists and that's one thing locals really hate because they're trying like, if you're in London and you're trying to get in the tube and all
of a sudden there's like seven tourists all clumped together, you're like, "I'm trying to get through here." And of course you have the old-fashioned way of looking like a tourist when you got your big camera bag and you got your flip-flops and your zinc oxide on your nose and stuff. I mean, there's silly things like that as well, which are kind of fun and that's just it. None of these are really bad things and you can do all of them, but the idea is really to kind of not be invisible, but just not be disruptive. So, I think another thing that really kind of gives away a tourist when they travel is when they kind of get confused on normal everyday things, whether that is paying for a metro ticket or paying to like
get into the metro. How does the ticket work? Or when you go to the grocery store, like Americans like in the US a lot of times they bag the groceries for us. But if you're coming to Europe, they don't bag the groceries for you and you'll see people just standing there without a bag. Look, you need to know like the normal nuances of the culture there and that's one of those things. And that's why I always recommend watch the people. If you're at a store, watch the people in front of you. How are they paying? Okay? Did they have their own bags? What was going on here? Did they have it a certain way things need to be done? Also, how they pay. And then there's a couple more of these things
that give you away as a tourist, but more of the annoying tourist kind of thing. That is the whipping out the selfie stick and getting the selfies anywhere and everywhere you can, especially if it's normal everyday things. I mean, I won't lie to you. I've done this myself where I had to like when I first was traveling, I'd see the little tiny European cars. I'm like, "Oh, I got to get a picture with that, right?" I mean, come on, it's a Lada. It's a Trabant. It's a Fiat 500. I mean, I got to get a picture of these, right? So, those things will be like, "Oh, there's a tourist there right there." Cuz even if you have the clothes that fit and match, that's one of those things you're like, "Ah, that's a tourist. Maybe he's not from the same
town, but he might be from a different part of the country, but most people don't take pictures of that live here, all right?" And then there's the one that will probably upset people the most. And that is um when you expect special treatment. And this is the "Hey, I'm spending my money here. You should do that for me. I deserve. I'm doing these things here. They don't do this back home." That kind of mentality, that kind of thing really is like "Ah, tourist." And that gives tourists a bad name. And the thing is, the reason why a lot of people say it's ugly American tourist all the time is because English is the de facto travel language and tourist language out there. So, it
doesn't matter if you're from Italy, if you're from China, if you're from Japan, you're going to be speaking English as a tourist everywhere. And so, what's the biggest country that speaks English? India and the US. So, you're going to have that kind of aura on there. So, one thing I'd say is don't ask for like substitutions, especially here in Europe. Substitutions aren't a thing, okay? Now, if you have an allergy, it's one thing, but if you're like, "Oh, I don't really like potatoes. I want rice." Those little things give you away as a tourist every single time. So, what are some things that you've seen that gave people away as tourists? Was it their fat cheeks and
fat belly? You're like, "Oh, there's a fat American right there." Or was it something else? Let us know in the comments below and I want to say thank you to all our patrons on Patreons and members on YouTube. With your support, we get to make fun videos like this to help other travelers travel better. If you want to know how you can help support us, check us out at patreon.com/waltersworld. Or if you're on YouTube, go down to the join button and find out how to become a member. Anyway, I wish you all the best. I'll say bye from here in beautiful Ghent, Belgium.
