WHO ARE THE MOST WELCOMED TOURISTS?

Japanese holidaymakers are the most welcomed tourists in Europe. Whether in Great Britain, France, Finland, or Spain – travelers from Japan are welcome with open arms there. These are the findings of a global survey released by the opinion research institute YouGov which interviewed 29,004 adults from 26 countries.

When asked which holidaymakers are perceived most positively, 26 % of the Finns and 18 % of the French named the Japanese. In Germany and Spain, they also reached very high levels with 12% in both countries.

The German holidaymakers, on the other hand, were not very popular around European countries. In Spain, the favorite sun and beach destination for German travelers, only six percent of those surveyed perceive Germans as impeccable tourists. Twice as many prefer the Japanese. 17% of Spanish respondents even view Germans as the most unpopular holidaymakers. The only exception is France, where German guests are popular to a similar level like the Japanese.

The Scandinavian holidaymakers scored particularly well in other Scandinavian countries – the Danes are highly valued by the Norwegians (23%), and the Norwegians by the Swedes (22%).

On the other end of the popularity scale, there are Russians and UK travelers. Russian tourists have had a bad reputation, especially in Denmark and Germany - 38 and 36 percent of respondents, respectively, named them the most unpopular tourists. The British, in turn, are the worst off in Germany (39%) and Spain (46%).

Moreover, the Germans and UK tourists are the most critical of themselves in Europe. Only 40% of Germans and 29 % of UK respondents believe that the reputation of their compatriots abroad is positive.  In contrast, the Danes (67%), Spaniards (66%) and Italians (61%) are convinced that their compatriots leave good impression abroad.

Chinese holidaymakers are most unpopular in the Asia-Pacific region. Sixty-seven percent of people in Singapore consider Chinese to be the worst tourists.  Even Vietnamese and Thais with 45% and 44% rejection rates do not like the holidaymakers from China.  Japanese on the other hand are the most welcomed tourists in the region, with 43 percent of those surveyed in Singapore and 36 percent in Malaysia considering them to be the best visitors.