Buzz
While Europe remains an ideal destination for travelers worldwide, France, England, and Germany top the list of the least friendly countries.
Renowned travel website Skyscanner presents 34 destinations for readers to vote on the least friendly countries for tourists, attracting over 1,200 participants.
Surprisingly, France, the beautiful country with the famous City of Light, Paris, clinched the top spot for unfriendliness with over 20% of the votes. It's believed that the French are overly proud of their culture and language, coupled with a brusque and unwelcoming demeanor towards visitors.
Coming in second in the rankings is Russia with 16.6% of the votes. Following closely are England and Germany with 10.4% and 9.93% respectively. China is the only Asian country in the top 10 unfriendly countries list, ranking fifth.
According to analyst Lawrence Lo, unfriendliness towards tourists stems from cultural differences and language barriers. He notes that the French are very traditional and hold their language in high regard. Visitors may face discrimination simply by ordering in a language other than French at their restaurants.
In Asian countries like China, cultural differences might lead many tourists to misconstrue the locals as unfriendly. For instance, the absence of queueing culture or the hesitation of waiters to interact with foreigners may lead to avoiding serving tourist tables.
Among the 34 destinations listed by Skyscanner, Brazil is considered the friendliest country to tourists. Four Asian countries including Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines also made it to the top 10 most friendly countries in the world.
The list of the world's least friendly countries:
1. France
2. Russia
3. England
4. Germany
5. China
6. United States
7. Spain
8. Italy
9. Poland
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Source: Travel Guide Mytour – Via VnExpress
MytourNovember 25, 2013
