The world of bad tourist behaviour

Last week, the Chinese government decided to get tough with errant Chinese tourists, announcing that they would create a database of such tourists so travel companies have the option not to conduct any business with and for them. The head of China’s National Tourism Administration, Li Jinzao, also encouraged Chinese tourists to take and submit photos and videos of their compatriots misbehaving, which would then be publicised.

This comes in the wake of a spate of high-profile incidents involving Chinese tourists behaving badly, including teenager Ding Jinhao vandalising a 3,500-year-old Egyptian temple and, most recently, the two Chinese passengers opening the emergency door of a China Eastern plane — while it was moving — to protest against the flight’s initial delay. Let’s not forget other shockers: A Chinese lady who scalded a Thai AirAsia flight stewardess with hot water from a cup of instant noodles after being told she couldn’t sit with her boyfriend; the group who were caught washing their feet in the fountain outside the Louvre and a Chinese man who became public enemy No 1 when he opened the emergency door of a plane to get “fresh air”.

While we can click our tongues and chuckle at these examples, we have to remember the Chinese are not the only guilty ones. Every nationality has a stereotype — the ugly American, the British lout, the rude Russian ... the list goes on. An Italian resort in Tuscany even went as far as to produce a television commercial for Russian tourists that featured Russian model Ljudmila Radcenko advising her countrymen to “smile more” and “say thank you”.

And we Singaporeans are just as capable of such outrageous and inconsiderate behaviour when we’re overseas. It wasn’t that long ago that we were piling our plates at buffet tables or found littering while on holiday. And industry talk has it that Singaporean hotel guests are sometimes blacklisted because they are prone to complaining about everything. We’re generally better behaved these days, though we can still be a pretty unreasonable bunch. Last year, for example, Minister of Foreign Affairs, K. Shanmugam shared that the ministry had received some strange requests, such as one in which a traveller complained he had received a smaller piece of KFC chicken (than what the locals were getting) and wanted the ministry to “seek justice ... for the unfair treatment”.

I’ll be the first to admit that I, too, have kicked up a fuss for nothing when travelling. I once sobbed for 20 minutes just so I could get a seat next to my then boyfriend — even though I mistakenly booked the wrong seat in the first place (crying is a safer and more effective bet than throwing hot water if you want to get your way). I also once called up the hotel reception in a fit of annoyance because the fire alarm was activated at 7am while I was sleeping for, well, a false alarm.

I’ve also seen perfectly nice, well-behaved pals go full Christian Bale when they thought they were being shortchanged. Others sheepishly admitted to having mini-meltdowns when they felt slighted by service staff overseas: A friend, after she was left waiting at a busy boutique, confessed to telling off a Parisian salesgirl cattily: “I’m not from China okay, I speak perfect English.”

Don’t get me started on the issue of air rage. Most of us would never flip out to the extent of making a flight attendant kneel over a mistake a la the Korean Airlines “nut rage” case; but surely we could emphatise over the legroom incident on a United Airlines flight last August, when a woman threw a cup of water at the passenger in the seat behind her because he prevented her from reclining her seat (with the use of a Knee Defender). Or how about the Delta Airlines flight that had to be diverted when two women started squabbling when one couldn’t rest her head on the tray table when the passenger in front tried reclining her seat?

Is there something about travelling that makes us think we can get away with bad behaviour? Sure, there is the anonymity — since nobody knows who you are in a foreign land, there’s no need to watch your conduct. For these travellers, being away is like being on the Internet — being a jerk is perfectly acceptable. For others, travelling is only about enjoying oneself. So the moment things deviate from expectations, all hell breaks loose: If I’m not relaxed and happy and you’re the one not making me relaxed and happy, I’m going to be a pain in your rump until I’m relaxed and happy.

Then, there are times when poor behaviour is simply due to general cluelessness. We unknowingly flout social etiquette in different countries. For example, you can save yourself a tantrum when in Italy by realising this little tidbit: Italian cafes don’t serve cappuccino in the afternoon as they are drunk only in the morning.

“Barbaric” travel behaviour cuts across all nationalities and countries; as the world shrinks further and more people start to travel, there’ll be even more to contend with. So perhaps, instead of tut-tutting, we should thank the Chinese tourists for showing everyone else how not to behave.