Brits rate Thai hospitality top, French last: survey
An image of France. Britons think France is the least hospitable country in which to go on holiday, according to a new online survey of 1,412 Britons.
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Britons think France is the least hospitable country in which to go on holiday, according to a new online survey of 1,412 Britons. Respondents ranked 10 countries including Mexico, France and the United States according to perceptions of hospitality. More than 24,000 people were questioned worldwide. Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia were not included in the choice of holiday destinations. Thailand was the most popular destination with the British, scooping 25 percent of the vote. The United States wooed 11 percent of British respondents, but France came last, scoring a miserable two percent. The survey was conducted throughout October by holiday website www.Zoover.co.uk to identify which of the selected countries treated tourists in "the most hospitable way." Zoover marketing executive Chris Blonden said he could not explain why people voted like they did, but offered his own explanation for France's low score. "When you go to France they are not inviting you there, you are not feeling invited when you go to their country," Blonden said. "I was in Thailand myself. When you go there you are treated very well...they show a real interest in you." French Tourism Development Agency head of public relations in London Jacqueline Mirtelli said the Zoover survey appeared to have overlooked statistical evidence which shows that 78 million tourists from around the world visited France last year, 11 million of them British. "11 million British have visited France in 2008 and over 350,000 own a house in the country," she said in an emailed statement. "Something must be appealing." |
一项共有1412名英国人参与的在线调查显示，在英国人看来，法国是最不好客的度假目的地。 在这项调查中，受访者按照自己对一国好客程度的感受对包括墨西哥、法国和美国在内的十个国家进行了排名。 全球共有超过2.4万人参加了调查。阿富汗、伊拉克和索马里不在度假目的地选项里。 泰国是最受英国人青睐的度假地，得票率为25%，11%的英国人青睐美国。但法国最不受英国人欢迎，得票率仅有可怜的2%。 该调查由度假网站www.Zoover.co.uk于十月份开展，旨在评选出对游客最热情的国家。 Zoover网站市场总监克里斯·布隆德恩称，他无法解释投票结果，但对于法国的低分给出了自己的解释。 布隆德恩说：“去法国旅游时，你会觉得自己不受欢迎，感觉自己不是受邀的客人。我去过泰国。在那里你会受到热情款待，当地人对你很热心。” 法国旅游发展署伦敦部公关主管杰奎琳·米尔泰利称，Zoover网站的调查似乎忽略了数据证据。去年全球有7800万游客前往法国旅游，其中有1100万是英国人。 她通过一份电邮发表声明称：“2008年，共有1100万英国人去法国旅游，还有超过35万的英国人在法国拥有房产。法国一定还是有其吸引人的地方。” |