The Chinese are Coming
We must seek inspiration from the pilgrims of the ancient times who braved the unknown in search of knowledge. So we have decided to extend electronic tourist visas to Chinese nationals
- PM Modi at Tsinghua Univ, Beijing
In a confidence building measure, Narendra Modi today announced that India will grant e-visas to Chinese tourists.
China’s economic resurgence has enabled more Chinese tourists to travel abroad. Over 1.07 crore Chinese travelled abroad in 2014. They have billions to spend, and India wants a piece of that pie.
Beware!
Is it time for India to brace itself against the globally known ‘unruly’ Chinese tourist?
Chinese tourists have attained notoriety in the past for letting infants defecate on the floor at Taiwan Airport, urinate in a bottle in a Michelin-starred restaurant, killing a Dolphin during a photo-op, vandalising an ancient Egyptian artwork and throwing scalding hot water on a flight attendant.
Even in 2013, the situation was serious enough to elicit an official response from China. Wang Yang, China’s Vice Premier acknowledged that his compatriots were harming China’s image with their behaviour.
They speak loudly in public, carve characters on tourist attractions, cross the road when traffic lights are red, spit anywhere. It damages the image of the Chinese people, has a very bad impact.
- Wang Yang, Vice Premier, China
Zhang, a tour guide, told QQ News -
There’s a lot of this uncivilized behavior out there. For example the sign outside the Louvre only in Chinese characters that forbids people from urinating or defecating wherever they want.
- Zhang, Tour Guide
No Lessons Learnt
Not much seems to have changed in the past two years.
Sample this Reuters report from March 2015 -
Drying underwear at a temple, defecating in public, kicking a bell at a sacred shrine, washing feet in a public restroom: sample from a litany of complaints about Chinese tourists in Thailand. Public outrage forced the Thai government to issue Chinese-language etiquette manuals to ensure sightseers behave.
In April, the People’s Daily newspaper, seen as the government’s mouthpiece, said new measures were being introduced to end inappropriate behavior by Chinese tourists.
Records will be kept by tourism authorities for two years, starting from the day misbehavior was confirmed. If necessary, they will also be handed to public security, customs, frontier inspection, transportation and banking authorities.
- People’s Daily
‘Unruly’ Chinese, Why?
Objectively speaking, our tourists are ‘relatively low-civilized’.
Overseas travel is a new luxury, Chinese who can afford it, like to show off.
Many Chinese are first-time tourists unfamiliar with overseas rules and norms.
- Liu Simin, Researcher, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to Reuters.
To be Fair
To be fair, it’s not just the Chinese. A poll with 63,000 respondents suggests that Russians, Germans and Saudis are also considered ‘offensive’ tourists.
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