British tourists are offending locals because they are ignorant about how much they are expected to tip, a survey has found. Their lack of local knowledge means that over the course of a typical break the average family over-tips by £78, according to the poll of 3,000 holidaymakers.

When questioned, fewer than half of people knew that a minimum tip of 15 per cent is expected in America, while only one in five was aware that they should round up the bar bill to the nearest 10 in Norway.

More than one third admitted to lacking in confidence on how to tip abroad, with one quarter knowingly over-tipping, they told Comparethemarket.com which conducted the survey.

Nearly one in five holidaymakers said being in the dark over tipping etiquette had caused a negative impact on their trip.

And one in 10 confessed to being confronted by a local over a tipping faux-pas, an experience which is likely to leave many people feeling stressed.

Just 16 per cent of British tourists know a 10 per cent tip is expected for a taxi ride in South Africa, with a mere one in five aware it is common to round up a bar bill in Norway to the nearest 10.