Sociologists and Tourist agency managers Urged Chinese tourists to learn to avoid embarrassing behavior. Li Zhongguang, of the China Tourism Academy, says it is time for everyone to have a global vision and think about the effects of their behavior on the world.
Li said that when the economy was still planned, traveling abroad was a luxury and subject to strict government scrutiny. The elite who were endorsed to see the outside world were either highly educated or very successful. These people were humble in demeanor and acutely aware what were proper ways of behaving in foreign countries. But today, many Chinese can afford a overseas trip, but their knowledge remains incomplete and many tourists are unaware, or claim to be unaware, that some of their habits are undesirable to foreigners.
Zha Qizhi, deputy chief of China’s Sanqing Mountain resort in Jiangxi Province, said “Tourists travelling abroad for the first time lack cross-cultural communication skills. They assume things tolerated in China are also acceptable in other countries. Talking loudly in public spaces, spitting in the streets, ignoring the queue and carving names on ancient monuments are just as improper in China as anywhere else, but people seem to get away with it here. When you do that kind of thing in a foreign country, it is completely unacceptable.”
Zha added, since the government wants to improve China’s soft power and cultivate a cultured and friendly national image, Chinese tourists have become a laughing stock around the world, symbolic of the whole country.
Now China has 150 countries and regions as its outbound tourism destinations. In 2013, almost 100 million overseas trips were made. In 2014, 110 million Chinese are likely to travel abroad.
With the mocking publicity given to unsuitable behavior by tourists abroad, the government and legislators are all too aware of the importance of teaching the public a lesson in manners.
Source:travelandtourworld
