China was the biggest spender in international tourism last year, overtaking Italy, Japan, France and Britain. It is the world’s fastest-growing tourism source market, according to the latest figures from the World Tourism Organisation.Several countries have eased their visa requirements to attract rich Chinese tourists.
Chinese tourists, however, have endured much criticism for their public behaviour while travelling. Wang Yang, one of China’s four Vice Premiers said in May had it “damaged the image of the Chinese people”. Yang condemned “talking loudly in public places, jay-walking, spitting and willfully carving characters on items in scenic zones“. A 2013 Chinese law allows travel agencies to ban misbehaving tourists from using their services again.
To combat this the National Tourism Administration in China have published a handbook for citizens: Guidebook for Civilised Tourism. The illustrated 64 page tome suggests that Chinese tourists should not:
- pick their noses in public
- pee in swimming pools
- steal plane life jackets because “if a dangerous situation arises then someone else will not have a life jacket”.
- have untrimmed nose hairs
- to use their fingers to pick their teeth
- occupy public toilets for long periods of time or leave footprints on the toilet seat
- not drink soup straight from the bowl or make slurping sounds when eating noodles
I hope they say not to rush gates at airports too!
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As a chinese (by race, not nationality), I lament at the fact that whenever some chinese tourists set foot to a nature place, they have no regard of the environment. They destroyed what’s there. My sister has seen them collect live coral reefs, buckets of it, to bring home as souvenirs! She dumped them back to the ocean when they were not looking 🙂 It makes the rest of us pay the Chinese “tax”.
This is a guide book for the barbarians to the civilized world!