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Foreign etiquette for Americans: A guide to dos and don'ts abroad

Frequent business traveler Scott McKain many years ago learned a valuable lesson about etiquette abroad.
Handle with care: Visitors to Russia are urged to adhere to the country's vodka rituals never mix or dilute it, down your shot in one gulp (if you're a man) and remember that it's for toasting and not sipping.
On a trade mission in Brazil in 1974, McKain's mouth was full at a welcome dinner when a local mayor asked whether he was enjoying his first Brazilian meal. McKain made an okay gesture with his thumb and index finger — a gesture akin to extending a middle finger in the USA.
"The mayor literally dropped his jaw and his fork," recalls McKain, an author and professional speaker in Fishers, Ind. "Fortunately, my age and inexperience allowed the more seasoned members of our delegation to prevent any lasting damage from my mistake — and we all ended up in laughter minutes later. But it taught me a lesson I have never forgotten."
Since that first trip abroad at age 18, McKain says he studies the customs and etiquette of each foreign country before traveling there. He says he never accepts "that the way we do things here are the customs of other countries."
Many travelers like McKain have made a faux pas in another country. Such a blunder can be embarrassing and insulting — and even damage a business relationship.
"A potential mistake in business ultimately has higher stakes, and perhaps more sensitivity, than a traveler who flubbed an interaction one-on-one with a cafe worker or Laundromat attendant," says Robert Reid, U.S. travel editor for the international guidebook publisher Lonely Planet.
Dos and don'ts abroad
At USA TODAY's request, Lonely Planet put together a list of etiquette tips in the following situations for Americans heading abroad:
Table Manners: In Japan, it's "perfectly okay — even expected — to slurp" when eating noodles, Lonely Planet says. But never stick chopsticks into a bowl of rice upright, because "that's how rice is offered to the dead." In almost all of Asia, it's also poor etiquette to use the chopsticks you are eating with to pass food. .
In Russia, wrists should be placed on the edge of the table while eating, and the fork should be held in the left hand, and the knife in the right hand.
In Portugal, don't ask for salt and pepper if it is not on the table. "Asking for any kind of seasoning or condiment" casts aspersions on the cook, Lonely Planet says
In France, never discuss money over dinner, and splitting the bill "is considered the height of unsophistication."
In Mexico, whenever you catch the eye of someone who's eating — even a stranger — it's good manners to say "provecho," which means enjoy.
Drinking: When drinking with others in Japan, don't fill your own drink, but instead fill the glass of the person next to you, and wait for the person to reciprocate. "Filling your own glass amounts to admitting to everyone at the table that you're an alcoholic," says Lonely Planet.
In Russia, wait for a cue, "because vodka is for toasting — not for casual sipping," the guidebook publisher says. Men are expected to down shots in one gulp, while women are usually excused. Never mix vodka with another beverage or dilute it. "And don't place an empty bottle on the table — it must be placed on the floor," Lonely Planet says.
In Armenia, if you empty a bottle into someone's glass, it obliges that person to buy the next bottle. "It's polite to put the last drops into your own glass," Lonely Planet says.
In Sweden, it's considered vulgar to clink glasses unless you say "skals', which means cheers.
At a pub in Australia, it's customary to buy a round of drinks for everyone in your group.
Tipping and bargaining: Tipping is not common in Japan. "If you want to show your gratitude to someone, give a gift rather than a tip," Lonely Planet advises. "If you choose to give someone a cash gift, place the money in an envelope first."
In Russia, a 10% tip is customary in a restaurant. Prices in stores are usually firm, but it's okay to make a bid somewhat lower than a merchant's price at markets and souvenir stalls.
Body language: In the United Kingdom, don't stick up an index finger and a middle finger with the palm of your hand facing you. "It's the equivalent of giving someone the finger," Lonely Planet says. If you are ordering two beers in a British pub, make sure the palm is facing out when the two fingers trust up in a peace sign.
In Greece, don't wave to anyone with an open palm — even when greeting a friend. And don't show you palm, though you might think to do so when gesturing for someone to wait or hold on, or showing the number five. "It is essentially the way one flips someone the bird in Greece, but more than that, it states, 'I reject you,'" Lonely Planet says.
In Asia, It's bad etiquette to point at objects or people with your feet, and don't prop your feet on chairs or tables while sitting. Never touch any part of someone's body with your foot, "which is considered the lowest part of the body," the guidebook publisher says. "If you accidentally do this, apologize by touching your hand to the person's arm and then touching your own head."
Refrain from touching people on the head or ruffling their hair. "The head is spiritually the highest part of the body," Lonely Planet says. "Don't sit on pillows meant as headrests, as it is a variant on this taboo."
In Thailand, monks are not supposed to touch or be touched by women. If a woman wants to hand something to a monk, the object should be placed within reach of the monk or on the monk's receiving cloth.
Travelers to Thailand shouldn't be alarmed if locals pick their noses while talking to you. "It's considered a natural act of good hygiene," Lonely Planet says.
Business etiquette: In Brazil, expect clients to answer cellphones during meetings — even in mid-conversation. It's considered rude to not answer a phone call in Brazil to at least say you will call back and interrupting a meeting for this purpose isn't considered rude, Lonely Planet says.
Punctuality is uncommon in Brazil, the guidebook publisher says, so anticipate that appointments will be up to 30 minutes early or late.
In the Caribbean, address people with titles such as mister or professor "until a first-name is explicitly offered," Lonely Planet says.
'Ugly Americans'
Inexperienced North American business travelers commit etiquette blunders more than 70% of the time when doing business abroad, says Ann Marie Sabath, author of Business Etiquette: 101 Ways to Conduct Business with Charm and Savvy.
Common blunders include not bringing a gift made in the USA for a first meeting with a client, not saying "good morning, good afternoon or good evening" and not expressing interest in a country's history and culture, Sabath says. Other faux pas are taking a foreign client to lunch and talking about business, and assuming that a handshake rather than a kiss or bow is an appropriate introduction, she says.
Frequent business traveler Carl Woodin of Maple Glen, Pa., knows how inappropriate it is to sneeze loudly at a Tokyo restaurant. It was his first night on a business trip to Japan, and he hadn't been briefed about cultural differences.
"Many of the patrons gave me a dirty look," says Woodin who works for a multimedia company and has allergies. "I then proceeded to blow my nose, and some of the patrons got up and left."
Syndi Seid, an etiquette trainer and speaker, says it's "common and inevitable" that business travelers will make etiquette mistakes in a foreign country
The key, however, is to minimize the mistakes and know how to recover from them without compounding them into something much worse," she says.
Business travelers often give inappropriate gifts when they visit Chinese businesses, says Rob Collins, co-author of Doing Business in China for Dummies. Gifts considered inappropriate include clocks, hats, handkerchiefs and umbrellas.
Collins says it's also common for American business travelers to make such etiquette mistakes as being late — "the Chinese are usually very punctual" — or arrogant.
"The Chinese are humble people, so being pompous won't get you very far," he says. "Check your ego when you check your bags at the airport."
Michael Soon Lee, author of the book Cross-Cultural Selling for Dummies, says "we aren't called the 'ugly Americans' for nothing."
Americans "tend to assume that others around the world do things the way we do," Lee says. "We automatically try to shake hands with people who don't want to, and we look for eye contact from those who find it offensive."
Lee says it's "more crucial" to not make an etiquette mistake while working abroad.
"People serving tourists are much more forgiving, whereas business contacts may decide not to do business with us if we offend them," he says.
McKain, who insulted the Brazilian mayor on his first trip abroad, says he always learns how to say "thank you" in the language of the country he plans to visit and always apologizes about his lack of fluency.
"It is remarkable how wonderful people can be when you have a humble and sincere desire to learn more about their culture and are not reticent about doing things their way," says the author and speaker. "If a traveler would just make an effort to learn prior to departure and maintain humility and humor while traveling, the trip would be enhanced, and any faux pas you make are forgiven relatively quickly."
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France's Sarkozy plans to visit crisis-hit Japan
PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to meet Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan during a solidarity visit to the crisis-hit nation on Thursday following a scheduled trip to China, his office said.
Sarkozy, who earlier this month mooted a trip to Japan as a show of solidarity in the name of the G8 and G20 blocs he heads, is due in China on Wednesday and Thursday, after which he will travel to Japan.
He will hold talks with Kan and meet the French community living in Japan, his office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Sarkozy is to travel to Nanking, China, for a conference on reforming the world monetary system, a priority of his time this year at the head of the G8 and G20 groups of powers.
He said on March 17 that "if the opportunity presented itself and if the Japanese authorities agreed, it goes without saying that during my Asia tour, I would go there to show our solidarity."
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Travel Company Via to Raise $100 Million
Bangalore -- Indian travel services company Via plans to raise as much as $100 million from venture capital and private equity investors to fund its global expansion.

The Bangalore-based company, formerly known as Flight Raja Travels Pvt. Ltd, also plans to sell shares to the public in India and the U.S. to raise as much as $1 billion in the next 18 months to 24 months, said Vinay Gupta, co-founder and chief executive of the company.

Indian travel company Via is in talks with more than half-a-dozen investors, and expects to complete the initial fund-raising process in four to five months.

In India, travel portals have generated a lot of interest among venture capital and private equity investors with firms such as Cleartrip Travel Services Pvt. Ltd and Yatra Online Pvt. Ltd raising multiple rounds of funds from investors

Via is in talks with more than half-a-dozen investors, and expects to complete the initial fund-raising process in four to five months. The corpus raised would be used to fund Via's growth and build its brand.

The company, established in July 2006, has earlier raised funds from venture capitalists such as IndoUS Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital India.

The travel company turned profitable in 2007, Gupta said, without revealing its revenue and profit numbers. According to Via's website, its annual revenue is $500 million.

Via, which mostly caters to corporate clients, will launch an online platform for individual customers from April. It has outlets in 1,700 cities and towns in India, besides offices in North America, West Asia, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. It has at least 50,000 registered travel agents.

The travel services company, which is growing at an average rate of about 60% a year, will need capital to back its plan to have a presence in 50 countries that have flight connections to Bangalore and New Delhi, said a person familiar with the company's plans, who didn't want to be named.

"Gupta is known for his profit focus, he quickly gets out of what does not work for him," the person said.

Online consumer sites are generating a lot of interest among investors, who are looking for opportunities in search engines, travel portals and online shopping sites, said Sunil Jain, vice-president, MAPE Advisory Group, an investment bank.

"The (online travel) space has seen rich valuations with listings in the U.S. markets," he said, referring to the initial public offering of MakeMyTrip Ltd on the Nasdaq, the first travel portal from India to list overseas.

Shares of MakeMyTrip jumped 89% on its debut last August, valuing the company at about $903 million. The company raised $80.5 million through the sale.

The sector remains unsaturated, Mr. Jain said.

"As long as someone comes up with a unique value offering, there is enough market out there to be captured," he said.

Mr. Gupta has ambitious plans for his company, and wants a dual listing, both in India and the U.S., for Via.

"We are looking at different listing and tax structures," he said. "It will be a billion-dollar IPO; I don't want a $300 million to $400 million listing."
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AirAsia chief says Japan tourism will rebound
 AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes said Tuesday he expects Japan's tourism trade to bounce back from the quake-tsunami disaster and was looking to open more routes to the country.

Japan's tourism industry has been hammered by the March 11 devastation to the northeast of the country and resulting crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, with foreigners cancelling trips.

But Fernandes said: "There's always an initial decrease but in my history, very quickly people start going (back).

"It's a fantastic country, there is so much to offer, (Japanese) culture is very embedded into Southeast Asia," he said, adding that his son was going ahead with plans to visit the country next month.

He told reporters in Singapore: "We are very, very committed towards Japan and we are looking to open more cities (to expand into).

"We see this as a minor blip, one of the hundreds of blips that happen in the travel business."

AirAsia's long-haul affiliate AirAsia X has been flying to Tokyo's Haneda airport from Kuala Lumpur since December last year.

Based in Malaysia, AirAsia X was launched in January 2007 and flies to other long-distance destinations such as London and Paris.