Nouveau riche manner tops list of bad behaviour by Chinese tourists
Entitled attitude of some mainlanders visiting abroad is what hosts find most offensive, survey of travel agencies finds
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 04 February, 2015, 12:27am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 04 February, 2015, 10:23am
Andrea Chen [email protected]
Tourists pose for photos in Lijiang city in Yunnan. With wealth rising, more are heading overseas, but not all hosts are happy. Photo: Bloomberg
They may have deep pockets, but mainland tourists' "nouveau riche manner" is one of the worst things about them, according to a new survey.
A "Top 10" list of the very worst behaviour traits of Chinese abroad was published yesterday by Guangzhou Daily, following "in-depth interviews" with travel agencies both on the mainland and overseas.
A "nouveau riche manner" topped the list, and was joined by such bad habits as being too noisy in public, taking photographs of strangers without their consent - even when they're at the beach - and discarding rubbish at beauty spots.
And while Chinese tourists' deep pockets left a big impression on local businesses, it was not always in a good way; many felt annoyed at their arrogance, tourist guides told the paper.
Some Chinese tourists believed that as they had paid for their holiday they were entitled to behave in whatever manner they were comfortable with - even if that meant wearing slippers in the foyer of a luxury hotel.
Others knocked on the doors of beautiful houses in Zimbabwe to ask if the properties were for sale, a Chinese student in the country reported.
Foreign guides were puzzled at how some would "never stop asking" for discounts or free gifts - even when it was clear they could afford the full price of whatever service or product it was they were haggling over.
Embarrassed by the unruly behaviour of some mainland travellers who have made headlines across the world, China's tourism regulator has pledged to compile a database of badly behaved individuals.
More than 100 million mainland Chinese travelled abroad in the first 10 months of 2014, compared to 8.43 million throughout 1998, the China National Tourism Administration said.
Throughout 2014 they spent US$164.9 billion, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, some US$113.6 billion more than foreign tourists spent in China.
Asian destinations, particularly Japan and South Korea, were the most popular for mainland travellers, due to their proximity and simple visa application processes, the tourism regulator said.
