- Tourists are being profiled like never before.
- Sometimes it’s harmless. For example, you can pick up the English menu in a restaurant.
- But sometimes, the profile is deadly. If you are considered a tourist in some places, you could be drugged, robbed or even killed.
If you feel like you have a target on your back when you’re traveling, you might be right. Tourists are being profiled like never before.
Sometimes it’s harmless. For example, I recently walked into a café in Rio de Janeiro. Before I could say “Good morning,” a waiter handed me two menus—in English.
How did she know? No matter how hard I try, I look like an American, and when I walk into a restaurant, I smile like an American. So of course I order the menu in English.
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But sometimes, the profile is deadly. If you are considered a tourist in some places, you could be drugged, robbed or even killed. The State Department has issued a warning that several U.S. citizens have fallen victim to dating scams in Colombia that could result in serious injury — or worse.
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“U.S. citizens should definitely exercise caution when traveling and do their best not to stand out or be perceived as Americans abroad,” said John Gobbels, chief operating officer of Medjet, an air medical transportation program for travelers.
No one keeps statistics on the number of foreign tourists identified or killed abroad. But based on the number of new State Department warnings and some of the stories I’ve heard from international travelers, the problem has never been worse.
While most profiles are just annoying – aggressively selling souvenirs or tips, for example – some of them can be dangerous. But there are things you can do to avoid being targeted. I’ll tell you how in a minute.
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Most profiles aren’t dangerous – they’re just annoying
Reality check: Most tourist profiles are harmless and should come as no surprise to the average traveler.
Ellie Blake was on a tour of Japan with her college alumni association when she began to feel pressure to buy things.
“For example, our tour guide took us to a museum shop,” she said. “It was a very long stop compared to other places we visited.”
Along the way, people they met would ask, “What did you buy?” almost as if they were encouraging them to buy more souvenirs.
Blake believes the tour guides added these shopping breaks because they perceived his group as wealthy Americans. It’s something I’ve seen recently in Japan as well. I was on a coastal cruise last summer, and our shore excursions always seemed to end at a business selling expensive art.
The solution: Resist the temptation. Better yet, choose a tour that puts the attractions—not the shopping—first. (If you’re on a guided tour, always ask about shopping opportunities. If there are a lot of them, you can select another tour.)
Sometimes the profile is scary
You can’t always walk away. Consider what happened to Ariel Figg recently when she booked a last-minute tour in the Dominican Republic.
One day, the guides went to a village, where they took Figg to a gift shop full of trinkets and pressured her into buying local artwork. She refused.
At the end, she offered the guides a generous tip. “They counted the money in front of us, made fun of our faces and told us that as Americans we should pay more because we can afford it,” she said.
Figg said she should have known better. After all, she is a travel coach, and before booking a last-minute tour, she would have told her clients to research the tour operator carefully.
I had a similarly embarrassing moment recently in Santiago, Chile. After lunch at a small vegetarian restaurant, I got up to pay. The waitress brought out a mobile point-of-sale system. She asked me to type in a tip amount in front of her and then tap my card to pay. There was no apparent option for “no tip.”
Figg is right—avoiding this type of harsh profile is easy if you do your homework. I learned my lesson about tipping at restaurants in Chile and then ordered takeout. And Figg will never again book a last-minute tour without doing his homework.
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Profiling can also turn deadly
“Americans have been targeted by criminals abroad and sometimes by rogue companies, simply because they are American,” explained Michael O’Rourke, CEO of Advanced Operational Concepts, a security consulting firm.
Why? He said that thanks to Hollywood, people in many foreign countries realize that all Americans are rich. The perception has some validity when compared to income levels and standard of living in other nations.
Fortunately, profiling rarely leads to death. But experts like O’Rourke warn that in some parts of the world, people are desperate enough to use force against a visitor. And especially at a time when Americans are heading to far-flung places, it’s important to be aware of your surroundings.
I was never attacked because of my nationality, but I was followed. A few years ago, I was in an old village in a remote part of Türkiye. I turned a corner and came face to face with a group of young people smoking. They looked at me and said, “American! Hello!” and then he started following me.
I wasn’t sure what they wanted and didn’t want to find out, so I turned and walked back to the town square – and to safety.
But maybe I should have stayed.
“Profiling isn’t always negative,” said Thomas Swick, author of the memoir “Falling into Place: A Story of Love, Poland, and the Making of a Travel Writer.”
Swick remembers visiting Vietnam in the early 1990s. Students would come up to him and ask if he was American.
“When I said yes, they politely asked if they could practice their English. Afterwards we went to a café for an hour of conversation, which was as beneficial for me, as a travel writer, as it was for them,” he recalled.
He makes a valid point. Being recognized as an American when you’re abroad can make your next trip more interesting — as long as you’re recognized for the right reasons.
Elliott’s Tips for Avoiding Profiling
If you’re traveling abroad, here are some strategies to avoid being identified as an American.
- Dress well: Avoid wearing US t-shirts and American sports shirts. And since this is an election year, I have to say: no political hats or shirts, please. You could be putting yourself in danger. Wear muted colors and avoid hoodies, and you’ll at least keep them curious.
- Mind your manners: Kitty Werner, a former airline reservations agent who lived abroad, said nothing reveals your nationality faster than your etiquette — or lack of etiquette. That’s true in Europe, but in places like the Middle East or Japan, her casual attire screams “American!” “You can identify an American tourist immediately by their manner,” she said.
- Shut up: “Many tourists are very loud,” said Harding Bush, associate director of safety at Global Rescue. “Be mindful of your volume and avoid drawing attention to yourself.” Your noise level is a dead giveaway and can also mark you as an American tourist.
Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer issues. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a travel newsletter, and Elliott Report, a customer service news site. If you need help with a consumer issue, you can contact him here or email him at chris@elliott.org.
