TripAdvisor Survey Reveals 82% of Travelers Think People Often Violate Some Form of Beach or Pool Etiquette But 53% of Travelers Say it's OK to Urinate in the Ocean When Others Aren't Near

NEWTON, Mass., July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's most popular and largest travel community, today announced the results of its beach and pool etiquette survey of more than 3,800 U.S. respondents. From beach chair hogging to "letting go" in the pool, 69 percent of travelers find that people often violate some form of beach or pool etiquette, while 13 percent believe that people always do. TripAdvisor Destination Experts, local gurus around the world that answer travel questions every day in TripAdvisor forums, also offered their insight into some of these waterside violations.

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Most Common Beach and Pool Etiquette Violations

    1. Beach chair hogging
    2. Urinating in the water
    3. Littering

Most Annoying Beach and Pool Etiquette Violations

    1. Blasting loud music
    2. Smoking
    3. Urinating in the water

No Beach Chair Hogging

Eighty-four percent of travelers agree that people should not be allowed to "save" beachside or poolside chairs by getting up early and leaving their stuff on the chairs for hours. Twenty-four percent of travelers find beach chair hogging to be the most common beach and pool etiquette violation. One TripAdvisor Destination Expert says, "My bugbear is when people throw a towel over one of the highly sought-after sun lounges/cabanas, and then go AWOL."

Whiz in the Water

Travelers may find others urinating in the water to be annoying (16 percent called it the most annoying beach and pool etiquette violation), but it seems travelers don't practice what they pee - 53 percent of travelers admit to finding it acceptable to urinate in the ocean if other swimmers aren't near.

Don't Puff that Stuff

Eighty-two percent of travelers believe that smoking should be prohibited around the pool, while 62 percent would like to see it banned on the beach. Smoking also ranked as the second most annoying beach and pool etiquette violation, with 17 percent of the vote. One TripAdvisor Destination Expert says, "I can't stand when on a crowded beach day people smoke one foot away from you, and then discard their butts in the sand...I don't care at all if people choose to smoke as long as it doesn't affect me or the beauty of the beach!"

Sour on the Shower

Thirty-seven percent of travelers rarely shower before going in to the pool, and 14 percent admit to never washing off before hitting the pool. Thirty-one percent of travelers think it violates pool etiquette not to shower before entering the water, with the remaining 69 percent finding it acceptable to splash in the pool without first rinsing off.

Don't Stand So Close to Me

At an uncrowded beach, the majority of travelers (38 percent) believe that you should sit no closer than 20 feet away from another stranger. Twenty-two percent find 7-10 feet away to be sufficient. At a crowded beach, however, 28 percent think that no closer than six feet away is an acceptable distance. One TripAdvisor Destination Expert recalls, "I find the perfect spot on the beach, far away from the intrusion of kids, pets, and game players. Then a family of 12 with undisciplined kids sits right next to me! When the beach is empty move over!"

Playpens and Pooches

An overwhelming majority of travelers surveyed - 97 percent - believe that it violates beach and pool etiquette when parents let their kids borrow others' sand or pool toys without asking permission. Fifty-five percent of travelers think it violates etiquette for parents to change their children's diapers in public at the pool or beach, and 73 percent even think the beach should be separated into kid-friendly and pet-friendly areas. Only 56 percent of travelers think that pets should be allowed on the beach at all.

Skimpy Double Standard

Twenty-four percent of travelers think that it violates beach and pool etiquette for women to wear revealing bikinis, while 35 percent of travelers think it violates etiquette for men to wear speedos. However, 14 percent believe that speedos are only inappropriate in the U.S., while 21 percent think they violate etiquette no matter where they pop up. One TripAdvisor Destination Expert admits to being especially peeved by those who "either go topless or wear tiny little dental-floss bikinis on the beach or by the pool."

Ugly Americans

Twenty-two percent of respondents find U.S. travelers to be the worst beach and pool etiquette offenders, with Germany coming in second at seven percent. When asked which U.S. state's travelers were the worst beach and pool offenders, they awarded New York the honor, which came in at 11 percent of the vote, followed by Florida with seven percent and California with five percent.

"With summer in full swing, 'tis the season for some annoying behavior on the beach and at the pool," said Michele Perry, vice president of communications for TripAdvisor. "Travelers would do well to mind their manners and take other travelers into consideration."

About TripAdvisor Media Network

TripAdvisor® Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts more than 33 million monthly visitors* across 14 popular travel brands: TripAdvisor®, www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.frequentflier.com, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com and www.virtualtourist.com. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 25 million monthly visitors*, 10 million registered members and 23 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover more than one million destinations, hotels, restaurants and attractions and operate in the U.S. (http://www.tripadvisor.com), the U.K. (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk), Ireland (http://www.tripadvisor.ie), France (http://www.tripadvisor.fr), Germany (http://www.tripadvisor.de), Italy (http://www.tripadvisor.it), Spain (http://www.tripadvisor.es), India (http://www.tripadvisor.in), Japan (http://www.tripadvisor.jp), Portugal and Brazil (http://www.tripadvisor.com.br), Sweden (http://www.tripadvisor.se), and The Netherlands (http://nl.tripadvisor.com). TripAdvisor also operates in China under the brand daodao.com (http://www.daodao.com). TripAdvisor® Media Network provides travel suppliers with graphical advertising opportunities and a cost-per-click marketing platform. Collectively, the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network have won hundreds of awards and accolades from press and industry worldwide. TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).

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©2009 TripAdvisor LLC. All rights reserved.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, March 2009

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SOURCE: TripAdvisor

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