Tourists are being profiled more than ever before. Sometimes it’s harmless — you might get an English menu at a restaurant, for example. But sometimes the profiling can be deadly — in some places, you could be drugged, robbed, or even killed if you’re identified as a tourist.
If you feel like you have a target on your back while traveling, you might be right: Tourists are being profiled more than ever before.
Sometimes they’re harmless: when I walked into a cafe in Rio de Janeiro recently, the waiter handed me two menus in English before I could even say “Bom dia.”
How did she know? No matter how hard I try, I look American and smile like an American when I walk into a restaurant, so of course I get an English menu.
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But profiling can sometimes be deadly. In some places, being recognized as a tourist can mean being drugged, robbed, or even killed. The State Department has warned that many Americans have fallen victim to dating scams in Colombia, leaving them at risk of serious injury or worse.
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“Americans should absolutely be careful when traveling and do everything they can to remain inconspicuous and not be perceived as American while abroad,” said John Gobbels, chief operating officer of Medjet, an aeromedical transportation program for travelers.
No one keeps statistics on the number of foreign travelers who are profiled or killed abroad, but judging by the number of new State Department warnings and the stories we’re hearing from international travelers, the problem is worse than ever.
While most profiling is merely annoying (like hard sell of souvenirs or tip money), some of it can be dangerous. But there are things you can do to avoid being targeted, and we’ll show you how in a moment.
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Most profiling isn’t dangerous, it’s just annoying.
Let’s face it: Most tourist profiling is harmless and shouldn’t come as a surprise to the average traveler.
Ellie Blake was traveling in Japan for a college reunion when she started feeling pressured to buy things.
“For example, our tour guide took us through the museum shop,” she says, “and our time there was quite long compared to other places we visited.”
Along the way, people we met asked us “What did you buy?” as if to encourage us to buy more souvenirs.
Blake believes tour guides include these shopping stops because they assume their groups are wealthy Americans, a phenomenon I’ve witnessed recently in Japan: Last summer I took a coastal cruise and the land tour always seemed to end in a store selling expensive art.
Solution: Resist the temptation. Or better yet, choose a tour that prioritizes attractions over shopping. (If you’re taking a guided tour, be sure to ask if there are any shopping opportunities. If there are too many shopping opportunities, it’s best to choose a different tour.)
Profiling can be scary
You can’t just walk away whenever you want. Consider what happened recently when Ariel Figg booked a last-minute tour to the Dominican Republic.
One day, the guides stopped in a village and took Figg to a gift shop full of trinkets, pressuring her to buy some local art. She refused.
In the end, she gave her guides a generous tip. “They counted the money in front of us, laughed in our faces and told us that as Americans we could afford it and that we should pay more,” she said.
Figg said she should have known better – after all, she is a travel coach and should have told her clients to carefully vet tour operators before joining last-minute tours.
I had a similarly awkward experience recently in Santiago, Chile. After lunch at a small vegetarian restaurant, I stood up to pay the bill. The waiter brought out a mobile POS system. He asked me to enter the tip amount in front of him and then tap my card to pay. There was obviously no “no tip” option.
Fig is right that avoiding this kind of aggressive profiling is easy if you prepare in advance. I learned my lesson about tipping in Chile and have been ordering takeout ever since. Fig says he’ll never join a tour last minute without preparing in advance again.
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Profiling can be deadly
“Americans have been targeted overseas by criminals and sometimes unscrupulous corporations simply because they are American,” explained Michael O’Rourke, CEO of security consulting firm Advanced Operational Concepts.
Why? Because of Hollywood, he said, many foreigners perceive all Americans as rich. When compared to income levels and living standards in other countries, this perception has some validity.
Thankfully, profiling rarely leads to death, but experts like O’Rourke warn that in some parts of the world, people are desperate enough to become violent toward visitors, so it’s important for Americans to be aware of their surroundings, especially when traveling to remote areas.
I’ve never been attacked because of my nationality, but I have been followed. A few years ago I was in an old village in a remote part of Turkey. I turned a corner and came face to face with a group of young men hanging out smoking cigarettes. They saw me and said, “American! Hey!” and started following me.
I didn’t know what they wanted, and didn’t want to know, so I turned back and walked back to the town square and safety.
But maybe I should have stayed.
“Profiling isn’t necessarily a negative thing,” says 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, when students approached him and asked if he was American.
“I told them yes, and they politely asked if they could practice their English. We then went to a cafe and had a conversation for about an hour, which was beneficial for both me as a travel writer and for them,” he recalls.
He has a point: Being recognized as an American while abroad might just make your next trip that much more interesting — as long as you’re recognized for the right reasons.
Elliot’s tips for avoiding profiling
If you’re traveling abroad, here are some strategies to avoid being profiled as an American.
Dress modestly: Avoid American T-shirts and American sports jerseys. It’s an election year, so don’t be afraid to say it. No political hats or shirts. You could be putting yourself at risk. Wear muted colors and avoid sweatshirts and hoodies. That way, at least the other person won’t know what you’re thinking. Mind your manners: Kitty Warner, a former airline reservations clerk who has lived abroad, says nothing reveals your nationality faster than etiquette, or the lack of it. In Europe, but in places like the Middle East and Japan, casual dress screams “American!” “American tourists are easy to spot,” she says. Keep quiet: “Many tourists are loud,” says Harding Bush, vice president of security at Global Rescue. “Watch your volume and try not to draw attention to yourself.” The volume of your voice can be conclusive evidence that you’re an American tourist.
Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate and journalist. He founded the nonprofit Elliott Advocacy to help solve consumer issues. He publishes the travel newsletter Elliott Confidential and the customer service news site Elliott Report. If you need help with a consumer issue, contact him here or email him at chris@elliott.org.
