US Tourists Shed 'Archie Bunker' Rep

The pushy American traveler has met his match in the snooty, uncompromising Frenchman. The voyageur français ranks as one of the world’s most tactless tourists, bested only by Chinese and Indian travelers. Judging by their politeness, openness to foreign languages, and adversity to complaining, Japanese tourists were rated the most cosmopolitan in a recent international study reported in Time. Americans finished in 11th place.

But Americans fared surprisingly well. They are the most willing to speak local languages, despite their often limited linguistic skills. Still, like the French, they “demand the same exceptional service they are used to at home, which is why they rank as the loudest, most inclined to complain, and among the least polite," Time reports. (More tourism stories.)