If you've been on vacation, well, anywhere, you've probably been clocked as an American tourist. Sometimes you don't even have to open your mouth for it to be obvious. While there's nothing necessarily wrong with locals knowing you're a tourist—sometimes, it can even help you resolve problems—it can be frustrating when you're trying to "live like a local" on vacation.
Maybe you've read all the guides on how to avoid looking like a tourist. You ditched the blindingly white sneakers for something more subtle, learned a few phrases in the local language beyond "hello" and "thank you," and yet you're still signaled out as a tourist at thirty paces. So what gives?
When asked what some "tells" are of American tourists, locals from around the world are quick to answer.
Tourist Tells
Americans are casually dressed in comparison to the local populace, sporting color-coordinated athleisure and baseball caps no matter the site or occasion. Americans clutch reusable water bottles like filtration was just invented. Americans wear money belts under all their clothes yet still insist on paying for everything with credit cards.
Those are somewhat obvious tourist tells. So is expecting everyone to respond to you in English without bothering to learn a single word of a foreign language. These tells coalesce into unfortunate stereotypes of American tourists as obnoxious, overweight visitors who expect the world to revolve around them.
It isn't that some of these stereotypes cannot be true—after all, there are certainly overweight and obnoxious American tourists who expect the world to revolve around them—but that they can hinder your vacation experience. Beyond the more obvious tells that we've been over, there is one more thing that helps locals pick Americans out from a crowd.
Simply put, Americans have a vibe. This vibe isn't always easy to pin down, but it's certainly there. No matter where they are in the world, many Americans carry with them an innate sense of Americanness that can take many forms. Most recently, this vibe has taken the form of apologizing for being American, shouldering international stereotypes and political tensions with a sheepish smile.
The American Vibe
Speaking of smiling, that's one of the things that helps pick Americans out of a crowd, especially in Europe. While Americans may not have the same reputation for politeness that their northern neighbors do, Europeans can be positively glacial. In comparison to Europeans avoiding eye contact and small talk, American megawatt smiles and idle chatter can seem positively saintlike.
Americans on vacation also have a joie de vivre toward their surroundings that locals have become dulled to. Everything is exciting on vacation, from high-tech toilets to street buskers and everything in between. At its worst, this enthusiasm can come off feeling like they're attending a human zoo; at its best, meeting small things with enthusiasm can bring a little bit of joy and whimsy into people's lives.
Honestly, just like there isn't one way to be a person, there isn't one way to be a tourist. So long as you read up on local customs and simple phrases beforehand, and you don't disrupt people, there's nothing necessarily wrong with looking like a tourist. So, strap on those brand-new sneakers, smile at serving staff, and take your cute photo holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa—you aren't hurting anyone.
Oh, and one other tip that you aren't blending in as much as you think you are: your coffee order gives you away. There may be a drink called an 'Americano' for a reason, but the real tell is constant consumption of iced coffee the size of your head. We won't stop you from enjoying a cold beverage, but if you trek through Oslo in the middle of winter in search of an iced coffee, the barista won't even have to ask to know where you're frtom.
