WASHINGTON – Chilling out at the beach or pool is supposed to be relaxing, but vacationers admit what the people around them do annoys them.
TripAdvisor.com surveyed 1,400 American travelers and found they think 83 percent of people commit beach and pool etiquette violations, up from 74 percent a year ago.
The most annoying beach abuses:
- Blasting loud music – 18 percent;
- Not picking up after dogs – 11 percent;
- Hogging beach chairs – 9 percent.
At the beach, people say they want their personal space. On crowded beaches, 27 percent of those surveyed say they want strangers to be 3 feet away. Twenty six percent say 6 feet is the acceptable sand distance.
If it’s not crowded at the beach, back that blanket or beach chair away. Three in 10 say the next person on the beach should be 20 feet away. Twenty four percent say they can deal with a distance of 7 feet to 10 feet.
At the pool, chair hogging is the No. 1 etiquette violation (29 percent), followed by loud music (11 percent) and smoking (10 percent).
The travelers — 84 percent of them — said they get agitated when somebody saves pool chairs by putting their belongings on them. Nineteen percent say chairs should not be saved at all, while 37 percent say a 30-minute limit is OK. Thirty percent will tolerate an hour.
Both beach-goers and pool junkies say smoking is a real no-no. Sixty nine percent say it should not be allowed at the beach, while 89 percent say it should be banned at the pool.
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