Timeline for Is there a way to prevent "looking like a tourist" in order to not be harassed?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
46 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Aug 19, 2016 at 19:29 | comment | added | Fiksdal | Did you wear an "I ♥ Paris" cap with an picture of the Eiffel tower on it? | |
| Jul 4, 2016 at 8:34 | comment | added | WGroleau | I'd answer this question if I could only figure out why I don't get taken for a tourist. It's not that I want to, it's just that I don't make any effort not to, yet I daily get asked questions in the local language that only a local can answer easily. | |
| Jul 3, 2016 at 19:32 | answer | added | user46925 | timeline score: 1 | |
| Jan 11, 2016 at 14:26 | answer | added | Olielo | timeline score: 0 | |
| Dec 1, 2015 at 8:48 | vote | accept | galois | ||
| Nov 28, 2015 at 14:30 | history | edited | Flimzy | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 1 character in body
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| Nov 27, 2015 at 17:51 | answer | added | Robert Orenstein | timeline score: 3 | |
| Nov 27, 2015 at 8:44 | answer | added | Andrew Welch | timeline score: 1 | |
| Nov 27, 2015 at 7:28 | answer | added | joseph f. johnson | timeline score: 0 | |
| Nov 26, 2015 at 22:22 | review | Close votes | |||
| Nov 27, 2015 at 5:42 | |||||
| Nov 26, 2015 at 18:40 | comment | added | user22443 | On the other hand, you might not want to blend in too much. When I am in Paris, tourists always ask me for directions. | |
| Nov 26, 2015 at 11:41 | answer | added | Karolina | timeline score: 1 | |
| Nov 26, 2015 at 8:14 | comment | added | JDługosz | I find it strange that the same trick would be done so much that everyone would already know it. Anyway, perhaps hand him some "forign" bills or coins that are worthless? Or start up your own scam back, "my lucky day? No it could be your lucky day! I'm selling these magic beans and I'm on my way to a preferred customer now. Maybe I could cut you in at the wholesale price if I combine your sale with the big order..." | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 18:48 | answer | added | Roberto Donadoni | timeline score: -1 | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 17:03 | answer | added | Willeke♦ | timeline score: 4 | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 23:34 | answer | added | Lonnie | timeline score: 7 | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 20:59 | answer | added | AKS | timeline score: 4 | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 20:27 | answer | added | Itsme2003 | timeline score: 11 | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 16:26 | answer | added | Heetola | timeline score: 31 | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 13:48 | comment | added | JonathanReez♦ | Ignore the harassers completely and don't speak anything except "no" in your native language. Call the cops if things get serious. | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 13:41 | answer | added | kamiel79 | timeline score: 9 | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 10:53 | answer | added | WoJ | timeline score: 4 | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 10:18 | comment | added | gerrit | Simple: Do not go near any tourist attractions. In Clichy-sous-Bois (no Wikivoyage article), you will be harassed as a tourist, because there are no tourists. | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 9:43 | comment | added | Axel | Don't wear khaki pants. | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 9:23 | comment | added | SantiBailors | A problem with faking being a local is that if the tourist scammers realize that not only you are a tourist but you are also actively trying not to look like one your appeal as a target automatically increases a lot. Not sure why, maybe they think you are carrying particularly valuable items to protect, maybe they subconsciously feel more compelled to defeat your attempt at fooling them, I don't know, but I think that faking being a local is not necessarily something that "at worst is useless", I'm afraid it's something that might backfire if it fails. So I'd try to balance the two aspects. | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 9:20 | comment | added | RedSonja | Don't look like you've got lots of cash. Don't wear your best clothes, no expensive jewellery, use an old smartphone or keep the new one hidden. If they approach you; no eye contact, hold your hand up as a block, say no and keep walking. If they still bother you, say NO very loudly. Works every time for me. | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 5:15 | answer | added | user37468 | timeline score: 13 | |
| Nov 24, 2015 at 3:24 | answer | added | MMann | timeline score: 6 | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 23:31 | answer | added | Tom Au | timeline score: 1 | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 20:16 | comment | added | phoog | @Loufylouf this is one of many points on which New Yorkers and Parisians are kindred spirits. To the original "blending in" question: tourist scammers are aware that many tourists in places like Paris come from places like New York. It's not necessary to blend in, just to telegraph that you won't be taken in, or, more likely, that you will be a tougher nut to crack than the people walking behind you. The scammers, once recognizing this, will move on. | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 18:58 | comment | added | Dr. belisarius | I guess it's futile for some people timothyarcher.com/kitchen/… | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 17:28 | answer | added | cire | timeline score: 5 | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 16:10 | answer | added | James M | timeline score: 41 | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 14:58 | comment | added | Loufylouf | Way too short to be an answer, but as a local, I'd say the main difference is that a tourist will answer to the person bothering him/her. Just shake you head as a "No", eventually put your hand in front of you as to keep the distance and that's it, not even a word. Some headphones might also help to notify that you don't want to be bothered, like a real parisian. | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 14:57 | comment | added | Mason Wheeler | Knowing another language helps. If for whatever reason I was in France, and some stranger walked up to me and started speaking to me in English, I'd say, "che, desculpame pero no hablo inglès" in my best Buenos Aires accent, and then just walk off. | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 13:28 | answer | added | user56reinstatemonica8 | timeline score: 84 | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 12:31 | history | edited | JoErNanO♦ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Nov 23, 2015 at 10:44 | comment | added | Golden Cuy | How about "tourist" rather than "foreigner" in the title? | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 10:42 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackTravel/status/668741359579373568 | ||
| Nov 23, 2015 at 9:31 | comment | added | SpaceDog | Here's one about bright colored jackets. I was sure there was a more specific 'how to blend in' question too but I can't find it either, at least not for Europe. | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 9:27 | history | edited | JoErNanO♦ |
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| Nov 23, 2015 at 9:27 | comment | added | JoErNanO♦ | Here's the one about the backpack. | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 9:00 | comment | added | CMaster | That just sounds like Paris I think. There's a lot of tourists there all the time, so it's worth trying the scam. I suspect a lot of what you would need to do to blend in is in behaviour as much as clothing. | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 8:50 | comment | added | drat | I'm not sure whether you are US-citizen, but if you are, this answer on another question might be interesting to you. I could swear that I there was another question on how to dress like a local in Europe, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 8:45 | comment | added | Relaxed | See also travel.stackexchange.com/questions/13300/… | |
| Nov 23, 2015 at 8:40 | history | asked | galois | CC BY-SA 3.0 |