Brits love Thailand, not really France

by Tom Johansmeyer on

More than a thousand Britons can’t be wrong, right? An online survey of 1,402 of them, by Zoover.co.uk, found France to be the least hospitable vacation destination. But, to be fair, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia weren’t included among the choices. So, it really wasn’t that bad for the folks across the channel. The Brits found that Thailand was the top spot, picking up 25 percent of the vote, with the United States good for 11 percent.

Chrit Blonden, a marketing executive at Zoover, told Reuters, “When you go to France they are not inviting you there, you are not feeling invited when you go to their country,” explaining why the country only picked up 2 percent of the vote in Britain. He continued, “I was in Thailand myself. When you go there you are treated very well…they show a real interest in you.”

The French Tourism Development Agency, of course, had a rejoinder at hand: 78 million tourists from around the world stopped in France last year. Eleven million of them were British. More than 350,000 Brits own a house in France. So, yeah, it looks like there can’t be too much beef.

But, the question the agency forgot to ask all those Brits: are they happy?

Be hospitable in China: Tips for American travelers and athletes

by Jamie Rhein on

One of the best things a person can do before traveling to a new country is to find out cultural norms in order to know how to be polite. It’s a great way to make friends, get the best prices when bargaining, and to not create a situation where someone is mad at you because you’ve made a faux pas without realizing it.

Jim Wells at behospitable traveler.com of the Hilton Hotels hooked us into travel tips to help Americans (or anyone else for that matter) know how to behave when heading to China for the Olympic games.

This is part of the Hilton Hotels’ campaign to help people be the stellar travelers we love to love. Hilton Hotels is one of the sponsors of the games and have been getting involved big time. (No, I’m not being paid to say that, it’s just an observation.)

Whether you’re one of the athletes or a couch potato, follow these tips and you’ll leave China happy and the Chinese will be happy to have had you as a visitor.

The tips are presented by athletes in videos and print form. These are a good read whether you are going to China or not since they offer a glimpse into the Chinese value system. From this link, click on the hospitableTraveler: A call to Act box. This will lead you the tips. Click on the learn more tabs to “Thoughtfulness,” “Character” and “Awareness.” If you have problems accessing that link, try this one. Under the heading “Dining,” you’ll even find rules for using chopstick rules.

There is also a link to helpful Mandarin phrases like “Where is the bathroom?” When I was in Beijing, I used the bathroom at McDonald’s several times. I bet that by the time the Olympics start, Beijing will be flush in Western style toilets.