Grounding bad jetsetters

A Chinese tourist sits on a decorated road lamp to take a break.[Phto by Qi Ta/China Daily]

China's breakneck economic growth has made the country the biggest source of outbound tourists. But it has also produced a noveau-riche mentality that manifests as behavior atrocious enough to grab global headlines. This has been so frequent that it gives outbound tourists a degree of notoriety.

More than 100 million mainlanders traveled abroad in the first 10 months of last year, compared with 8.4 million in 1998. A third of outbound Chinese tourists go for sightseeing. Others make trips for such reasons as shopping.

Education is the culprit, domestic think tank National Public Opinion Poll's chief analyst Liu Zhiming says.

"Chinese have been taught obedience to parents and authority. So they may go wild in foreign environments if unsupervised."

Chinese tourist etiquette is underdeveloped, he says. And this may become more apparent in foreign cultures.

Most other countries' globetrotters are middle class with some understanding of different cultures, Liu says.

Liu believes instances of uncivilized behavior should be publicized to remind Chinese they represent their homeland's image overseas and face serious consequences if they act disgracefully.

The National Tourism Administration last year announced plans to develop a system that tracks Chinese tourists' bad behaviors and shares data with airlines, hotels and travel agencies. Offenders may experience difficulties booking flights or accommodations.

The administration will carry out inspections of tour-guide training and actions, and provide guidelines for travelers, especially those who visit neighbors like Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, the administration's supervision and management division head Peng Zhikai says.

"Those who cause disruptions will be held accountable by law," he says.

The Guangzhou Daily named outbound Chinese tourists' Top 10 bad behaviors on Feb 4.