Clueless Brits Confuse Tips Abroad

LONDON, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site, has surveyed over 5,500 Europeans* and can reveal Britons are Europe's most clueless travellers when it comes to tipping customs. Britons are least likely to know tipping procedures and most likely to find themselves in a tipping confrontation.

The research showed that 60% of Britons do not know what they're expected to tip in foreign countries, compared to the European average of 45%. A further 16% have been confronted on holiday after not tipping, compared to just 11% of Europeans.

"In the UK tipping is relatively straightforward but that seems to have resulted in some British travellers taking other country's tipping rules for granted. In some countries, such as the USA, staff often rely on their tips to make a living and in certain situations in Japan tipping can be considered rude," commented Emma O'Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson.

The British resistance to tipping is so strong that nearly one quarter (22%) say American tipping culture puts them off holidaying in the USA, compared to just 11% of Europeans.

Despite admitting to poor preparedness and commonly causing tipping conflict, 45% of Brits claims they always tip when on holiday, compared to the European average of just 35%. In addition, 8% of Britons claim to have had a holiday "ruined" by a tipping situation.

The survey revealed a number of other interesting results:

- Almost half (45%) of all European respondents admit they are now tipping less or not at all because of the current economic squeeze. One-third (35%) of British travellers are tipping less due to the economic situation. The situation is most severe for Spanish travellers - 65% claim to have changed their tipping because of the financial crisis.

- When asked whether tips should be abolished altogether and service automatically added to the bill, 58% of Britons and 52% of Europeans do not believe tips should be added to the bill

"Just as you should check local customs and rules before visiting any country, you should also research their tipping rules to avoid unnecessary confrontation or embarrassment," concluded TripAdvisor's Emma O'Boyle.

NOTES TO EDITOR:

*The survey was carried out on 5,936 respondents in France, Italy, Germany and Spain between 25th March and 6th April 2011. 1,736 of the respondents were British

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor(R) is the world's largest travel site, enabling travellers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travellers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features (including Flights search, TripAdvisor Mobile and TripAdvisor Trip Friends) with seamless links to booking tools.

TripAdvisor(R) Media Group, operated by TripAdvisor LLC, attracts more than 50 million unique monthly visitors* across 18 popular travel brands**. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 40 million unique monthly visitors***, 20 million members, and over 45 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 29 countries worldwide****, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also operates TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors. The division includes Business Listings, which allows hoteliers to connect directly to millions of researching travellers, and Vacation Rentals, which helps property managers and individual home owners list their properties and showcase hotel alternatives.

TripAdvisor Media Group websites have been recognized as top travel resources in 2010 by Condé Nast Traveller, Good Housekeeping, TIME magazine and Travel + Leisure.

TripAdvisor Media Group generated $486 million in revenue in 2010. TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Group are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).

TripAdvisor and the TripAdvisor logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

(c)2011 TripAdvisor LLC. All rights reserved.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Media Group Sites, Worldwide, August 2010

** In addition to TripAdvisor, The TripAdvisor Media Group of websites includes: http://www.airfarewatchdog.com, http://www.bookingbuddy.com, http://www.cruisecritic.com, http://www.everytrail.com, http://www.familyvacationcritic.com, http://www.flipkey.com, http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk, http://www.holidaywatchdog.com, http://www.independenttraveller.com, http://www.onetime.com, http://www.seatguru.com, http://www.sniqueaway.com, http://www.smartertravel.com, http://www.travel-library.com, http://www.travelpod.com, http://www.virtualtourist.com and http://www.kuxun.cn.

***Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, Worldwide, August 2010

**** TripAdvisor sites operate in 29 countries worldwide: http://www.tripadvisor.com, http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk, http://www.tripadvisor.ca, http://www.tripadvisor.it, http://www.tripadvisor.es, http://www.tripadvisor.de, http://www.tripadvisor.fr, http://www.tripadvisor.jp, http://www.daodao.com, http://www.tripadvisor.in, http://www.tripadvisor.se, http://www.tripadvisor.nl, http://www.tripadvisor.com.br, http://www.tripadvisor.com.tr, http://www.tripadvisor.dk, http://www.tripadvisor.com.mx, http://www.tripadvisor.ie, http://www.tripadvisor.com.au, http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg, http://www.tripadvisor.co.kr, no.tripadvisor.com, pl.tripadvisor.com, th.tripadvisor.com, http://www.tripadvisor.ru, http://www.tripadvisor.com.gr, http://www.tripadvisor.co.id, http://www.tripadvisor.com.ar, http://www.tripadvisor.tw and http://www.tripadvisor.com.my.