Hmm, I've read most of the replies in this topic, and while I can understand how calling someone exotic would pose a problem (which seems to be what most people are discussing) I still have a hard time believing this is an actual problem, as in, does it actually occur often enough to warrant education on it?
I'll humor that thought though and try to explain how I feel about the word in general:
When I think "exotic", I immediately get a picture of a tropical beach on an island somewhere. This is just the first thing that pops into my head. The people on this island probably have clothes that are unfamiliar to me and they generally look differently from what I'm used to. This can also of course be because of their hair color, the color of their skin, their eyes etc. It's worth pointing out though that I realize that for the people living on this imaginary island this isn't exotic at all. For all I know, this place might not even exist outside my mind. This isn't the only image I get when I hear the word, but I feel it describes how I feel about the word nicely.
Now, I generally don't feel like the word necessarily emphasizes beauty, but I can agree with some of you that it points out that something is different to what you are used to, but in my opinion it doesn't really have a negative tone either.
I think when someone wants to describe a person, place or object as "exotic" they feel it matches the image they have in their head. This image most likely varies wildly from person to person though, so this in itself will pose a problem when trying to interpret the word.
If I were to use the word "exotic" to actually compliment someone, which I wouldn't, but let's say I did, I can see where this might put the person in a position where they don't know how to interpret what has been said to them even if they knew the actual definition of the word. Are you complimenting the person because he/she is different? In what way? Is it negative/positive? Is it even a compliment? What is it exactly you want to convey with telling me I'm exotic? Do you find my "race" attractive? Is this something that turns you on/off? And if it is, why should I take that as a compliment? Are you comparing me to an animal by saying I'm not usually part of your natural habitat? Is this an insult? And so on...
The ambiguity of the word itself makes it confusing and not very appropriate as a compliment as the interpretation itself isn't unanimous for everyone who knows it. This is also one of the reasons why some might find the word racist or derogatory simply because their vision of the word doesn't match the vision of the person who used it to describe them.
I personally try to compliment people's abilities rather than looks, but that's not really the point. In my opinion you probably shouldn't try to compliment people with words you can't quite explain yourself. Calling someone exotic, for me, is like calling someone esoteric or something. Better to give a more straightforward compliment or none at all.
As someone pointed out though, there's a time and a place for everything, but in that context you can probably get away with almost anything, especially if you know the person well.
