Canada and the World

        Current Events with a Canadian Perspective

 

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19 November 2010

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Tourists Ask the Silliest Questions

 

Tourism officials collect and retell hundreds

of questions from visitors who may

have forgotten to pack their brains

 

 

“There are no dumb questions, only dumb answers.” Marshall Loeb, Editor of The Columbia Journalism Review is credited with that statement, but there do seem to be an awful lot of people who are bent on challenging its wisdom.

 

Tourist Bureaus Collect Silly Question Gems

The folks who staff the Tourist Information Office in Halifax, Nova Scotia have lost count of the number of times they’ve been asked, “What time does the noon gun go off?” But, that’s probably been asked of every tourist bureau in the world where midday is marked with by the firing of a cannon.

 

On the other side of Canada, at Tofino on Vancouver Island, they’ve published a fine collection of some of the queries they’ve had to field:

• “Do the whales come out when it rains?”
• “We’re going to Parksville tomorrow - will there still be tides there?”
• “How much do those islands weigh?”
• “When do the smoked salmon run?”

 

In Tofino they call this apparent separation of brain from the mouth Silly Tourist Question Syndrome (STQS). Other tourist destinations may not be quite so polite.

 

Silly Tourist Questions Are a Worldwide Phenomenon

The Daily Telegraph in the United Kingdom has put together an international list “of the most inexplicably simple queries fielded by tourism officials:”

• “Are there any lakes in the Lake District?”
• “Why on earth did they build Windsor Castle on the flight path for Heathrow?”
• “Is Wales closed during the winter?”
• “Why did they build so many ruined castles and abbeys in England?”
• “Is Edinburgh in Glasgow?”
• “Can I wear high heels in Australia?”
• “Do you know of any undiscovered ruins?”

 

Hospitality Staff Work

Hard but the Laughs are Plentiful

Niagara Falls is crammed with tourists in the summer and they provide a rich source of humour for those working in the hospitality industry. The Niagara Blog offered a $50 prize for the best funny tourist story in 2008.

 

Many perennial favourites showed up as entries, such as:

• “What time does the falls shut off?”
• “How far into Canada do I have to go before we have to drive on the other side of the road?”
• “How much does it cost to get into Canada and are children a different price?”
• “Can you tell me where the Skylon Tower is?” (This question asked while riding up the elevator in the Skylon Tower.)

 

And, of course, every tourism worker in Canada gets asked in the summer where the snow is?

 

Sometimes, the tables are turned on tourists. Travel writer Bill Bryson tells about buying a ticket on British Rail and asking for a receipt. The ticket vendor told Bryson, “The ticket is free but it’ll be £35 for the receipt.”

 

Image credits

Danie van de Merwe

Robb

 

Sources

“20 Stupid Questions Asked by Tourists.” Daily Telegraph.

Various Tourist Information Offices.

 

© Canada and the World, September 2010

All rights reserved

TOURISTS

BAFFLE BANFF

 

Bert Christensen has collected some of the queries put to folks in Banff.

 

“How far is Banff from Canada?”

“How do the elk know they're supposed to cross at the ‘Elk Crossing’ signs?”

 

“I saw an animal on the way to Banff today - could you tell me what it was?”

 

“At what elevation does an elk become a moose?”

 

“Is there anywhere I can see the bears pose?”

 

Tourist: "How do you pronounce 'Elk' ?"

Park Information Staff: " 'Elk' "

Tourist: "Oh"

 

“Did I miss the turnoff for Canada?” (while standing in the middle of Banff Park)

 

Are there any birds in Canada?

 

“When we enter B.C. do we have to convert our money to British pounds?”

 

“So it's eight kilometres away...is that in miles?

We're on the decibel system in America you know.”

 

“Is that two kilometres by foot or by car?”