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Americans Surprisingly Beat Canadians As More Polite Travellers In New Ranking

There's still time to regain our longstanding stereotype!

The general consensus among a majority of people is that Canadians are the kindest people in the world, especially when travelling. Some people even purposely wear our nation's flag when travelling to be treated better! But a new survey found that surprisingly enough, Americans beat Canadians as more polite travellers.

According to Expedia's 2019 Airplane and Hotel Etiquette Study, American travellers may outdo us Canadians in terms of kindness.

The survey was conducted by polling more than 18,237 people in 23 countries. The company took into account what’s most annoying while travelling and how people deal with it gracefully. It also considered overall travel etiquette. 

The results found that Americans are actually some of the kindest and most considerate travellers in the world. Try not to roll your eyes, you’ll only prove their point!

In fact, Americans ranked above the global average in terms of performing courtesies and acts of kindness for fellow travellers. For example, about 42% of Americans are willing to change their seats on a plane so another party can sit together, whereas only 33% of Canadians will do that. 

Nearly half of the Americans surveys said that they have helped someone lift their luggage into an overhead compartment. This is higher than the global average as only 41% said they would help.

It also found that 21% of Americans have helped entertain another travellers’ kids when compared to only 14% of Canadians that have done the same. 

Overall, Americans are also less likely to start fights when traveling by politely resolving conflict. 

Along with calling our neighbours to the south the kindest travellers, the study touches on the most annoying things about travelling.

According to the list, the top five most annoying flight passengers for Americans are the germ spreaders, the seat kickers, the drunk passengers, the aromatic passengers, and the inattentive parents. 

This survey was released today on June 11, 2019, which is just one day after Canadians were called out for ruining our nice reputation after cheering for Kevin Durant’s injury in Game 5 of the NBA finals. 

Coincidence? Probably. Either way, it might be time to step up and regain our reputation, Canada! We know though this ranking isn't representative of all Canadians. 

To read the full study, you can visit the Expedia website.