Contretemps of Chinese tourists abroad

Chinese tourists keep making news, sometimes for the wrong reason. Thanks to the rapid growth in their numbers, Chinese tourists are ubiquitous in many countries; what has made them even more conspicuous is their propensity to travel in groups.

Chinese tourists, especially independent travelers, are mostly huggable: they usually appear slightly befuddled, unsteady with their language abilities, erring on the side of caution in their effort to avoid causing offence, ever watchful and bashful.

But some of those traveling in groups can be different: they may lack cultural sophistication, feel emboldened in a group, and, given the collective psyche of groups irrespective of which country they belong to, they can misinterpret the world around them and exhibit mob mentality. It doesn't help that in some Asian countries, Chinese tourists are seen as easy targets for scams. Sometimes tour leaders connive in the scam, and media reports say many Chinese tourists have been exorbitantly charged in places like Thailand for stepping on a beach.

Some Chinese tourists have begun to fight back against the cheats, and perhaps that's what happened when a man in a group of three independent travelers was allegedly to beaten up for refusing to tip border guards in Vietnam. Despite the vehement denials from the border guards, the version given by the travelers appears true. (Years ago, I was asked to pay such an illegitimate tip at a Vietnamese border and I also refused). Such incidents should remind us how disciplined China's civil servants are.

That Chinese travelers are refusing to give in to blatant corruption is welcome news. But the sad news is that arguably because of their group mentality that 28 Chinese tourists boarded a catamaran that sunk in bad weather off the coast of Malaysian Borneo during the Spring Festival holiday. If the weather was so bad as to sink a catamaran, didn't anyone among those 28 tourists question the wisdom of going out to sea?

The tragic incident suggests that Chinese tourists still don't realize the importance of asking questions when in doubt and understand that people in other countries might have different standards of precaution.

Befuddlement cuts in every way, and groups can amplify the effect as they have been doing in Jeju Island in the Republic of Korea. One story covered by regional newspapers said Jeju Airport staff struggled to clear the trash dumped by Chinese tourist groups. Delving into the story, it appears that goods purchased by tourists from shops outside the airport were delivered to the tourists at a spot near the departure gate, and after finding their goods were cumbersomely over-packaged, they got rid of the excessive packaging before boarding their flight.

Some may argue that the tourists should have used the trashcans to dispose of the excessive packaging. Maybe a better way of solving the problem is for the Jeju Airport authorities to ask the shops that deliver goods to tourists at the airport to use minimal packaging. After all, Chinese tourists will continue to visit Jeju Island and buy goods from the shops near the airport.

There have been other stories of Chinese tourists supposedly acting outrageously. But whatever the truth, a dose of perspective is in order in such cases: such isolated cases are not representative of Chinese tourists. Brawls happen everywhere (especially when people get drunk), but they should not be seen with prejudiced eyes.

This is not to say such cases should be overlooked. In fact, the Chinese tourism authorities have introducted a system of points for tourists who behave badly or are involved in brawls abroad. But those people who cross a predefined threshold of points should be banned from traveling overseas for a few years. Such a measure will weed out the few troublemakers who are tainting the image of well-behaved Chinese tourists.

The author is a freelance writer who specializes in culture, travel and lifestyle.