What is fashion for you may be religion for people living in your holiday destination. Well, how to avoid hurting sentiments when you are going on a holiday? As a matter of rule, try to avoid all dresses and other fashion accessories that make use of religious or cultural symbols. How would you react if you spotted the Statue Of Liberty as a part of footwear of a tourist? Or the Constitution?
You never know how people will react to a dress or accessory worn by a foreigner disrespects their culture in a casual and cavalier manner. If you want to play it safe, just visit the tourist destination and shop around for local trinkets and clothes. When you purchase an attire manufactured in the tourist destination itself, you can avoid all complications as it would not have been up for sale had it been unacceptable.
Another sensitive point in diverse cultures is language and accents. Choosing a witty statement on your T shirt in a foreign language can backfire if it offends people. Using the internet to know more about these issues will not very helpful because what is acceptable and what is not is a matter of individual choice. Since you are visiting as a guest, it is best to avoid complications and play it safe.
It goes without saying that you should treat all cultural monuments and places of importance with due respect. Of course, tourists from western countries have been found to respect and value monuments in developing countries more than their own citizens. Well, try to stick to this ruler because a thousand mistakes by local citizens may be pardoned but a single mistake by a foreigner may quickly turn into an ugly affair.
On the whole, try to avoid hurting people’s sentiments and make sure you cast a critical eye on your attire and accessories before leaving home. If you still want to experiment, just make sure you have a spare attire in your hand that is politically safe and correct. You can always drape it over your controversial attire.