The return of the idiot abroad. Are we seeing another scourge of ‘unruly’ tourists?

If there is one word that has seen a renaissance in the last five years, then look no further than ‘unruly’.

Normally placed in front of the word ‘tourist/s’, ‘unruly’ truly reached its zenith, at least in New Zealand, with the 2019 summer of shenanigans from that family who ‘terrorised’ the country. They created such a fuss that even an opera was created about their exploits. The term ‘unruly’ was bestowed upon them, and has stuck ever since.

But even as memories of that debacle have subsided, and a whole pandemic has filled the intervening years, the news is once again full of stories of misbehaving tourists. Whether it is stripping off on scared mountains in Bali or scrawling names into historic monuments in Italy and Japan, dumb travellers on their holidays are a hot topic once again.

But are we seeing more idiocy than ever before, or are the actions of a few being amplified by social media and the always-present mobile phone?

What causes travellers to misbehave?

Dr Julia Albrecht is associate professor at the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago, and told Stuff Travel that a number of factors can contribute to “inappropriate tourist behaviour”.

She cites examples like boredom, frustration, opportunity, a lack of cultural understanding, or a lack of respect for others.

“While these differ individually, it is noteworthy that motivation to behave responsibly (environmentally, for example) tends to decline while on holiday,” said Dr Albrecht.

But she also points out that “numerous studies have shown that a large proportion of negative tourism impacts are accidental and caused by ignorance rather than intentional harm”.

Indeed, the tourist who recently gained infamy by carving names into the Colosseum in Rome offered an excuse for his actions by saying he didn’t realise the historic significance of the Unesco-listed heritage building. Whether that is to be believed or not may be up to the Italian courts.

Another possible factor that could also lead to misbehaviour is the basic trait of showing off.

”Peer pressure might lead someone to participate in unsocial behaviours or acts of vandalism,” said Albrecht. “However, approval (or disapproval) by other visitors can also serve as a useful reward (or deterrent) to a behaviour.

“For example, it has been shown that some visitors seek to build social status through environmentally responsible behaviour. Another example, researchers observed tourists interacting with New Zealand fur seals in the absence and presence of a woman wearing a neon vest (who was not a ranger; she was just wearing a neon vest).

“The percentage of groups in which at least one person approached, touched, or threw objects at a seal was two-thirds lower when the official-looking observer was present.”

Christian Schott, associate professor of Tourism Management at Victoria University of Wellington, believes another possible factor is a combination of “pent-up” demand to “let it rip” following the Covid border restrictions.

“The bravado is out there and social media gives an outlet for that shock factor,” said Schott.

It’s not just overseas

Of course badly behaving tourists are a lot closer to home as well. Schott says New Zealand “isn’t immune” and cites the example of Cathedral Cove.

“I talked to the park ranger there. People have been carving their names into Cathedral Cove and he pointed out that limestone is millions of years old, and these people are basically taking the mickey by doing this and the impact it is having.”

He also said the most famous example here was freedom camping.

“There are some great freedom campers, who often have a value set that is consistent with Kiwis. Then there are other freedom campers that do it because it is free, and they don’t respect many of the cultural norms. If they don’t have a toilet, they do in the bush and Kiwis generally don’t stand for that.”

So are we seeing more bad behaviour?

Albrecht doesn’t believe that unruly tourists are becoming worse but “there are now wider reaching platforms to share and become aware of such behaviours”.

“Another issue is numbers: when negative behaviours are engaged in by a small number of people, these might go unnoticed. But with tourist numbers extremely high, to the extent that some time back we even coined the term ‘overtourism’, the combined effect of negative behaviours is more noticeable.”

More tourists equal more chances of bad eggs.

Meanwhile, Schott thinks we are hearing more in the media because tourist hotspots like Italy and Bali are finally saying enough is enough.

“I think that’s another impact of Covid. They are saying, ‘hey guys this wasn’t acceptable before Covid, we weren’t as courageous to standing up to it then, but we’ve had time to think about this, and we’re not going to wear it any more’.

“Right now countries and local people are saying this is not OK. This is our home, not your home, you need to behave like a guest.”

What can be done to combat this?

For Schott it comes down to “education and enforcement”.

“If people learn about how it impacts other people, I think 90% will change their behaviour. For many it is simply a lack of awareness of the impact of what they are doing. The remaining 10% might need some stronger measures.”

Bali recently stepped up its education campaign to tourists with a list of dos and don’ts, including guidelines on behaviour on sacred mountains, when to dress conservatively and “respecting Balinese culture, customs, traditions, and art”.

Schott thinks this is a great example, along with codes of conduct like the Tiaki Promise.

“(They are) really good constructive messages of what a country values and how they want their visitors to behave. It can make a difference, and those who are still pushing the limits, well sometimes enforcement is needed to help people understand.”

And for anyone still thinking of getting naked on top of a sacred mountain in Bali?

“Get ready to spend a few years in prison … so bring a toothbrush.”