No one likes a queue jumper. And everyone hates being stuck in a line.
And yet, according to TripAdvisor, 80 per cent of travellers surveyed worldwide agree that they know they’ll be stuck in line while waiting to see major attractions across the globe.
Unless, of course, they book ahead.
Tourists can wait up to four hours to enter the Vatican, or an hour to see the Mona Lisa. And worse, they are stuck with hundreds of others trying to see the same thing.
TripAdvisor research shows that we waste between two and three days a year waiting in line.
The research, backed by ‘Professor of Queuing’ Adrian Furham (he’s an actual professor), revealed that half of those surveyed hate lining up – but do it anyway.
Of those surveyed, 69 per cent of Australians hate lining up, but are prepared to do it. We’re not alone, as 78 per cent of Spanish tourists do the same, as do 70 per cent Brits, 77 per cent of the French, 72 per cent US travellers and 71 per cent of the Italians.
The only solution to not line up is to cut in line. Yet when asked if these tourists had ever done so, only 27 per cent of the British said yes, as did 29 per cent from the US, 40 per cent of the French and 31 per cent Australian tourists. The Spanish, at 56 per cent, are the most likely to jump the queue.
While almost seven in 10 Aussies said they’ve never cut in line, millennial tourists are way more likely to do so than baby boomers (42 per cent millennials versus 17 per cent boomers).
Around 75 per cent of baby boomers consider jumping the queue is “the height of rudeness”, compared to just 38 percent of millennials, who think it’s fine.
Common reactions to queue jumping range from a mere “tut-tut” from the Italians, to killing them with kindness, which the Yanks tend to do. Funnily enough, the Spanish, who are most likely to jump a queue, are also the ones with one of the harshest reactions. They say they will call out a queue jumper and berate them in front of the rest of the line.
Oh, and don’t mess with the French, because they say they’ll apply ‘brute force’ to anyone who gets in their way.
Aussies, on the other hand, simply let their blood boil.
The research was set up to promote TripAdvisor’s ‘Skip-the-Line’ ticket, which aims to help travellers avoid queues to around 100,000 attractions worldwide.
Find out how to book a Skip-the-Line ticket at www.tripadvisor.com
Do you mind waiting in line? What do you think of queue jumpers? How do you handle them?
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