Have you ever gotten the ‘ick’? That feeling when a certain behaviour starts to bug you and you just can’t look past it. While most people think icks only happen in dating, they pop up everywhere – especially when travelling. New research from Vodafone reveals Australia’s ultimate travel icks – and surprise, clapping when the plane lands doesn’t even make the top three.
When it comes to other tourists, almost half of Aussies (49 per cent) say loud talkers in quiet places top their travel ick list. And we totally get it – there’s nothing worse than visiting a sacred site or historic church, only to have your peaceful moment disturbed by a stranger’s commentary.
The second-biggest travel ick is drunken behaviour (43 per cent), including getting all up in someone’s personal space. Gross! Close behind is littering (42 per cent), putting feet up on public transport (38 per cent), crowding the baggage carousel (36 per cent) and shameless photobombing (26 per cent). Honestly, just thinking about running into all of these on holiday has our blood boiling.
Interesting, only one in four Aussies get the ick if a stranger claps when the plane lands. Dare we say, bring on the applause!
When you spend so much time with your travel companion on holidays, it’s almost inevitable to get the ick at some point. But what's the biggest culprit? Always being late! Yep, 44 per cent of travellers can’t stand the human snail. Pro tip: tell your slowpoke mates you need to leave 15 minutes before you actually need to.
Aussies also get the ick when travelling with phone addicts (43 per cent) – you know, those who spend more time scrolling and snapping pics for Instagram than enjoying the view. Then there’s the fussy foodie, with 40 per cent annoyed by those who refuse to try the local cuisine. And finally, the budget police – one-third of Aussies can’t stand those who question every dollar spent on holidays.
We have so many more travel icks to add to the list: selfie sticks, disrespecting cultural norms and being rude to staff. What’s your top ick?