In a viral post on X, an Indian man staying in Zurich claimed to have witnessed an Indian family packing food from a hotel breakfast buffet despite a clear “no‑take‑away” notice. The post triggered a broader conversation around travel etiquette, food‑buffet rules, and the idea that this behaviour might be prevalent among Indian tourists. In his account, the user identified as Sumit , described how the family filled empty buckets with fruits, yoghurt and boiled eggs after finishing breakfast at the hotel in Zurich. He noted the sign at the buffet entrance explicitly stated guests should not carry food out of the dining area.
“Literally, everyone was surprised and shocked to see this behaviour . The Indian family was on Switzerland trip. I’m sure they must have paid a bomb of money. Still, they showed why we are being hated across the globe,” Sumit wrote on X.
Responses among X users were divided. Some expressed disappointment and called such behaviour an “embarrassment”.
However, others defended the Indian family, pointing out that the practice of packing extras from buffets isn’t unique to any one community. One user commented that he had seen travellers of many nationalities discreetly carrying fruits or snacks from hotel buffets.
“We stayed in 7 hotels in the last 2 weeks across England and Scotland Italian and American tourists also did the same at a couple of places, they packed croissants, fruits and yogurts But only Indians get highlighted on – hence wanted to share our experience as well,” he wrote in response to the viral post.
We stayed in 7 hotels in the last 2 weeks across England and Scotland
Italian and American tourists also did the same at a couple of places, they packed croissants, fruits and yogurts But only Indians get highlighted on ❌ – hence wanted to share our experience as well https://t.co/twtLQmvrOx
— PointsPerksPicks (@pointperkspicks) October 28, 2025
Another user commented, “Honestly, I’ve seen many foreigners picking up fruits and yoghurt from the buffet and carrying them for later. Not defending Indians, but group travellers tend to do this more than solo ones.”
A third user added, “Go to any cruise or good hotel or ppl in hotel industry, its always Westerner who eat the biggest portion of buffet, Indian bcz of lack of options are the most picky (scattered) eaters.”
“Honestly, have traveled to Swiss, Italy, Prague, Austria and many more, everyone does this. Europeans take fruits, breads, jams with them and hoteliers are okay with that, but the moment Indians do it becomes a News/tweet. Why?”, a fourth added.
