The bad behaviour of Indian tourists in foreign countries has often been the subject of discussion every now and then, most recently on social media as media as well, by other Indians living abroad who have to bear the brunt of that shame and disgrace with jibes, insults and at times even physical violence
There may be exceptions, of that there is no doubt. But it hardly changes the overall perception or image that people in foreign countries carry about Indian tourists as boorish, raucous, loud, badly-behaved, without any civic sense and insensitive to rules and norms of local culture. What is worse is that this tolerance of people in host countries, who often dismiss it as ‘just a passing storm’, is misunderstood as acceptance by the Indian tourists.
While these ‘passing-through tourists’, remain unaffected themselves, the consequences of their ‘desi madness’ has to be borne in full by others – Indian students and NRIs – who become targets of local anger, disgust and insults, and sometimes even physical violence.
Here are two incidents mentioned below as typical example of how Indian tourist behave abroad and how other Indians suffer on account of it.
First there is the video of tourists from India sidelining local street performers and performing Garba in Austria has left social media users aghast and furious.
It all began when Indian tourists insisted upon performing street musicians in Austria to play an Indian song so that the group could do their traditional Gujarati ‘garba’, out in the open and right in the middle of a busy street
Despite their initial reluctance, the musicians gave in to persistent demands of the tourists and complied. And the Gujarati tourists danced with abandon. This show of misplaced cultural pride by 43 people, prompted a wave of criticism and raised questions about travel etiquette.
How social media reacted
“I am a Gujju and love garba, but I’m sorry. I just don’t get the obsession with doing it on foreign streets and being proud of something. I mean, we don’t even do that in India on a random day and random street!”, one individual posted.
Another added, “I’m a Gujju, and you guys really need to stop this nonsense of playing garba anywhere, anytime.”
A third expressed, “This is the reason foreigners hate Indians!
A question often asked by foreigners is why Indians are so demanding and insist on going against the grain of local culture.
A fourth remarked, “Is this something to be proud of? No wonder Indians are not respected abroad!”
“This is just embarrassing and the precise reason why Indian tourists get a bad name”. Please think of other Indian tourists when you do such stuff,” wrote a fifth.
Indian traveller slams ‘desi tourists’ in Vietnam:
In another report, an Indian traveller shared his frustrations about the behaviour of fellow Indian tourists in Vietnam.
He took took to social media to share his disappointment with fellow Indians visiting Vietnam on vacation.
The man claimed that the “sheer cheapness” of Indian tourists had made him feel embarrassed”.
“For every Indian trying to save their reputation, there are 5 ruining it,” he wrote in a long post on Reddit.
He added that traveling in Vietnam proved to be a frustrating experience. He complained of “unnecessary rudeness from the locals” but added that he could not blame them because he had heard about the alleged behaviour of fellow Indians in the country.
“Time and time again, I hear how poorly Indian tourists behave, and I’ve seen it firsthand. Let’s be real: a lot of these so-called “travelers” are an embarrassment. Many come here with zero respect for local customs, treating Vietnam like their personal playground,” he wrote.
And this also includes the beaviour of Indian men towards local Vietnamese women in massage parlours.
The traveller claimed that the “sheer cheapness” of Indian tourists has also caused him to feel embarrassed. “Not the kind where you’re being cautious about getting overcharged as a tourist, but the kind where they expect everything dirt cheap and act indignant when it’s not. They bring their worst habits with them, trying to impose their own norms on an entirely different culture. It’s embarrassing”, he wrote.
Another added, “I worked in the tourism industry whilst in Vietnam, Indian people are the only ones somewhat blacklisted. It’s sad to see because there are a lot of very nice Indians that don’t deserve this label.”
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Pravasi Samwad. Pravasi Samwad is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented.
