It comes after shocking graffiti which read ‘kill a tourist’ appeared on the wall of a house in Spain – but Brits agree one European nation is particularly unwelcoming
Europe’s ongoing wave of anti-tourism has fuelled discussion on what country is the most unwelcoming to Brits – with an unlikely city coming out on top.
Attitudes towards holidaying Brits have turned sour in recent years with some European countries rocked by a series of large demonstrations against mass tourism, which locals say has caused economic and environmental costs for residents to surge. Just this week, horrifying graffiti which read “kill a tourist” appeared on the wall of a house in Tenerife, with many locals now worried that the protests on the Spanish island have gone way too far.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) also issued travel advisories for certain countries including Spain, Italy and Croatia in response to the uproar. Amid the increasing tensions, Brits took to Reddit to ask users: Which country did Brits feel most unwelcome?
The British tourist took to the social media platform and asked: “Is there any country you visited where you felt uncomfortable or unwelcome because you were British?”
Shockingly, the majority of Brits agreed on one country that appears to take an “active dislike” to UK travellers. According to users’ answers, France is the most unwelcoming to Brits. Some answers mentioned other countries including Argentina, Spain and Russia, but the resounding answer continued to be France.
One person said: “France. It might have just been the town or area that we were in, but we found that a lot of the locals and cafes/restaurants took an active dislike to us.”
The user continued: “Everywhere we went, we spoke okish French, and we’re putting lots of effort into communicating. Only one restaurant made any sort of effort back to us, and luckily, that attempted to be the best one in the town, so they got our custom for the rest of the time we were there.”
A second person agreed, adding: “I had a very negative view of France after visiting Paris, despite trying to speak as much French as I could. “Never experienced so much rudeness in any other country, even in places where I could not speak their language at all.”
Another said: “I’ve been all over the world and France, France, France, and France… did I mention France?” Paris, in particular, seemed to have the most hostility towards Brits.
One user explained: “Paris definitely has much more of an aggressive/rude vibe than the rest of the country (as lots of capitals do).”
