People these days love to travel particularly in the summer seeking cooler weather and freedom from worries. They go back with sweet or bitter memories. They will never forget places or countries where they suffered humiliation or unpleasantness.

An experience I had at an African airport two decades ago keeps haunting me whenever I plan for a journey abroad. It happened while I was returning from that country. The customs official at the airport asked me, while poking his hands through my baggage, if I carried certain items, which were not allowed out of the country.

As he did not find any banned item he wanted to know if I carried any local currency, as the monetary regulations did not allow foreigners depart with local currency. I did not carry it either. Then he asked me with a sly smile if he can have my watch. On my refusal he insisted that he should examine it. After that he threw it down with obvious contempt. I felt humiliated. Since then I never used a wristwatch.

Yet on another occasion, a customs official at another African airport welcomed me with a broad smile. He rummaged my suitcase. Finally he asked for some gifts because I was coming from the holy land of Islam. He wanted to keep some article brought from the holy land for good luck. Any visitor would have given him a few dollars but I did not because any gift to public officials in such situations amounted to a bribe, which involved three years jail. The official went on searching my baggage and when he became sure that I would not give him anything, he bid me farewell with abuses and curses. His treatment made such a disgusting impression on me that I cut down the duration of my stay there and never again visited that country.

Some officials at border check points and customs houses in some Arab countries demand from the travelers some cigarette cartridges or a little sum of money for a smooth crossing. Or else the traveler would become victim of their ugly behavior. Even incorrupt officials treat travelers in a rude manner as though they are the official’s enemy. The long-term and cumulative effects of unpleasant behavior toward foreign visitors will, undoubtedly, discourage foreign tourists coming to the country. The unpleasant behavior breeds distaste for the country in the minds of the visitors.

Hence, it is very important that the workers at the entry points to a country should be specially trained in polite behavior. Rough behavior and humiliating treatment will kill the tourism industry, which is a major source of revenue in several countries. The industry thrives in Italy and Spain where foreign visitors are welcomed with warmth and hassle-free procedures.