The social media uproar over Indian tourists misbehaving while travelling abroad is not new. Almost every other day, a new video surfaces where Indians are seen disrupting social norms or disrespecting the culture of other places. On June 28, influencer Khush Ahlawat shared why she agrees with this opinion.
Khush revealed that while travelling to Japan, she witnessed extremely disruptive behaviour of Indian tourists. She underlines that Indian visitors often rank poorly in global travel etiquette, due to their excessive noise and lack of social awareness in public spaces.
The disruptive Indian traveller
The influencer gave specific examples – all from her personal experience – to prove her point, which included families shouting in restaurants and demanding tax refunds on meals, which clash with the local culture of quiet and respect.
She said, “I just saw a reel where they were ranking the worst travellers in the world, and India was in the top three, and I 100% agree. Let me share some examples I have seen in Japan itself.”
According to her, when on the road, Indians are not considerate of their surroundings and stay in their own bubble, giving examples of the phrases they shout in Hindi, “Hey, those Tiger shoes are available there. Let’s go,” “Eat, no one is watching,” and “Dad, they want to watch the stupid Shinjuku cat. I don’t want to go there.”
She also shared that when in stores, instead of being polite and talking amongst themselves, they shout across shelves, inconveniencing the staff. Recalling an incident, she revealed that an Indian tourist repeatedly asked the staff to let her try a headband, even though the instructions clearly said she couldn’t.
Lastly, recalling an incident at a restaurant, Khush revealed that while having lunch, she saw another table where a family of eight Indians was having lunch, and they kept talking loudly. When the bill was given to them, she revealed that the guy had asked the staff to give him a tax refund.
“Waiters were looking at each other the whole time. The rest of the diners were visibly upset, but they had no idea. Because obviously. Why? If you have visited Japan, you know exactly why this is wrong,” she added.
Lastly, she requested fellow Indian travellers not to be this kind of tourist. She also stressed that this chaotic energy disrupts Japan’s peaceful atmosphere and urged fellow citizens to be more mindful and soft-spoken abroad. “Enjoy the calm, the joy of being softer and learning a thing or two. Don’t add chaos,” she stated.
How did the internet react?
The internet was pissed with how a section of Indian tourists behaves abroad, putting a bad name to those who respect others’ culture. One Instagram user commented, “Stop being so loud. You’re not the only ones living. Learn a thing or two before leaving Japan. No 1 – being considerate of others. You can’t do it like the Japanese, but you can start by speaking softly and not letting the whole world hear your conversations. Or maybe make the conversations worth listening to.”
Someone else wrote, “Tell me about it! My everyday train story in Switzerland. The loudest are Indian travellers. Please, people, understand where you are!!! The whole train doesn’t need to hear your experience and what your family thinks on a video call that you are having without headphones.”
Another user wrote, “I mean, even in India that pisses me off, so I can’t imagine how it must feel to them.” Someone else commented, “Strange, isn’t it? We care so much about ‘log kya bolenge (what will the people say),’ but when it comes to basic civic sense, we act as if no one else exists.”
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
