Quick travel tips.

When travelling it is easy to break little etiquette rules you don’t know exist. The following is a brief introduction into general etiquette for tourists in Japan, Spain, France and Colombia, to help break the culture barrier when travelling.

Tipping

Tipping is uncommon in New Zealand, so it is easy to forget its importance to other cultures or stress about how it works. Similar to us, Japan and Spain are both countries you would not need to tip in. However, in France you usually tip a small amount, (a 15% service fee is already included in your restaurant/café bill), and in Colombia you traditionally tip about 10% and only in restaurants and hotels.

Clothing

In Japan, don’t wear shoes on Tatami mats, and take care to remember where else you need to remove your shoes (when entering houses, temples, shrines, certain castles, and toilets).

In many warmer climates, it's easy to think about dressing to the temperature, but France requires a more formal form of dress (no shorts or jandals unless you are at the beach), in Spain, shorts are only for beaches, and in Colombia you should wear formal dress when going to nice restaurants.

Food Etiquette

In France, you should always use eating utensils, even if you are eating fast food. In Japan, there is chopstick etiquette, such as not leaving your chopstick upright in rice, never passing food from your chopsticks to another’s, and refraining from rubbing your chopsticks together. In Spain, you usually eat dinner around 9 o’clock so remember this when booking restaurants. Often in New Zealand we find ourselves eating/drinking while on the move, but in many countries like France, you should always stop and/or sit to eat or drink.

Public

To use public restrooms in France and Spain, you usually have to pay a small amount. In France, don’t touch the merchandise at markets, you should point or ask when you want to buy something. You should also keep your train tickets in France, as you can be fined if you don’t have your ticket while still in the station. Smoking in public is not as taboo in Spain as it is in NZ. Cash is your best friend when shopping in Colombia.

Further Reading:

• https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/colombian-culture/colombian-culture-do-s-and-don-ts
• https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/colombia/articles/13-things-tourists-should-never-do-in-colombia-ever/
• https://www.budgetair.com.au/flights/france/dos-and-donts
• https://www.francetraveltips.com/10-dos-donts-france/
• https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_by_languages.htm#:~:text=French%20is%20the%20official%20language**%20in%20Belgium%2C%20Benin%2C%20Burkina,%2C%20of%2C%20the%2C%20Congo%2C
• https://www.insidejapantours.com/blog/2015/08/18/japanese-etiquette-101-our-top-10-tips/
• https://www.businessinsider.com/12-things-you-should-never-do-in-japan-2017-9#1-dont-break-the-rules-of-chopstick-etiquette-1
• http://www.wanderluluu.com/tipping-in-colombia/#:~:text=The%20main%20takeaway%20is%20this,the%20way%20it%20is%20here
• https://secretsofparis.com/practical/money-matters/tipping/#:~:text=You%20are%20not%20required%20to%20tip%20waiters%2Fwaitresses.,health%20care%2C%20and%20living%20wages.
• http://www.wanderluluu.com/tipping-in-colombia/#:~:text=The%20main%20takeaway%20is%20this,the%20way%20it%20is%20here.
• https://www.japancitytour.com/info/removing-shoes-japan.html

Written by Milan Phillips.

Graphics from Canva