Today we like to travel like a local. 58% like to meet locals for the authentic experience, 71% are ashamed to look like a tourist and 33% say they would rather soak up the local culture than visit the well-known sights. This is according to an Icelandair survey of 11,000 travelers worldwide.
Almost three quarters of Dutch holidaymakers (71%) admit to feeling embarrassed abroad because they look like a tourist:5% have ever been caught wearing a belt bag and 7% have driven on the wrong side of the road . 38% were ashamed because they did not speak the local language and 12% ordered the wrong dish in a restaurant because of the language confusion. 46% indicate that they have never actually managed to fully immerse themselves in the local culture.
The Dutch are happy to give up the well-known sights:33% of the respondents say they prefer to discover the local culture and hidden gems and 58% want to enrich their trip by hanging out with locals.
Travelers prefer to get the most out of their short trips:11% admit that they have visited places of interest very briefly just to say that they have been there. That number is even higher among 18-24 year olds, rising to 23%.
For a weekend away, we spend an average of 4 hours and 54 minutes perusing guidebooks and online research; sometimes that is even more than 49 hours (more than a full-time working week). A local knows the way like the back of his hand.
