SURVEY ABOUT RUDE AND ANNOYING TRAVELERS |
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TripAdvisor(R) (www.tripadvisor.com), the world's largest travel community, today announced the results of a survey of more than 1,100 U.S. travelers about annoying and rude traveler behavior. There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays... But unfortunately, if you have to take a plane to get there, you'll most likely encounter rude travelers. Eighty-three percent of respondents said air travelers have gotten ruder over the past 10 years, and 24 percent of respondents think travelers are ruder during the holidays. Kids Gone Wild When we asked respondents to identify the most annoying air travelers, oblivious parents topped the list (59 percent), followed by people who recline their seat during meal service and travelers who talk nonstop although you're sending clear signals you want to be left alone. "The people traveling with kids and the people traveling without them tend to be equally vocal about how annoying the other group is," said Michele Perry, vice president of global communications for TripAdvisor. "Perhaps it's due to more kids flying during the holidays - or, rather, more parents unaccustomed to flying with their kids taking to the air." Clean Up on Aisle 6 Please make sure you leave time to take a quick shower before arriving at the airport, say 54 percent of travelers. Travelers with offensive body odor topped our list of rudest flyers, followed by people who talk on mobile phones at the top of their lungs while strolling through the airport, and people who are rude to airline staff. "If all else fails, you can buy deodorant in the airport shops," said Perry. "And just because you have a Bluetooth headset doesn't mean you need to use it constantly." Plane Talk Speaking of mobile phones, 80 percent of respondents think allowing the use of them on planes will make people ruder. Stop the Madness Sixty-eight percent of respondents have asked another traveler to stop doing something rude. Thirty-five percent think a flight attendant should get involved when someone's bad behavior bothers several people. Rough Road Mobile phones affect drivers as well - our respondents think the rudest drivers are those who jabber on their phones and do not pay attention to the road (55 percent.) The number two and three rudest drivers are, respectively, people who cut into exit lines at the last minute to jump in front of everyone, and people who tailgate. We Hope You're Not Sitting Next to These People We asked our respondents to describe the rudest behavior they've ever seen on a flight. These are our favorites:
Stop the Insanity So how do we solve the problem? Sixty-one percent of our respondents recommended following the Golden Rule (do unto other travelers as you'd have them do unto you) and 53 percent suggested that we all try to have a positive attitude. "We're all in this together," said Perry. "By minding our manners and adhering to basic travel etiquette - much of which is really just common sense - we can make holiday travel a little easier for everyone." |