Too bad they aren't aggrieved by their "government":
The rise of the ugly China tourist
By Chua Kong Ho
The Straits Times
Publication Date : 2005-07-31
It was something which Cathay Pacific had never encountered before: A planeload of passengers who refused to disembark.
The Chinese nationals, numbering about 200, were upset because their flight had been delayed. They demanded compensation and to press home their claim, refused to get off the plane.
It all happened two Fridays ago. The flight from Bangkok, CX713, was scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 3.35pm on its way to Hong Kong.
But the plane was delayed in the Thai capital for about five hours because of a technical glitch.
Because of the flight delay, the passengers could not go on the day tours that they had booked in Singapore. They staged a mass sit-in inside the plane.
The row was resolved only after Cathay Pacific paid each of the passengers US$50. By the time the passengers disembarked, it was midnight.
Confirming the incident, Cathay Pacific spokesman Sally Tan said: "It's the first time something like that has happened. We're reviewing our policies to see how we can better handle such situations if they happen again."
Call it chutzpah or boorish behaviour, but China tourists are gaining a reputation for being loud, pushy and downright aggressive when they are aggrieved.
Just last week, 344 China tourists staged a six-hour sit-in at the First World Hotel in Genting Highlands, Malaysia.
They were protesting against the pig drawings that staff had sketched on their room key dockets. A scuffle broke out, the police were called in and three people were arrested.
The hotel claimed the pig drawings were made to distinguish non-halal diners from halal ones. But it apologised anyway and compensated the guests with cash of between RM50 and RM100 (US$13 and US$27).
Singapore retailer Kenny Koo has seen up close how formidable Chinese nationals can be when they are pressing for their "rights."
The branch manager at jewellery shop Forever Jewels in OG People's Park recounted an ugly incident when a group of China tourists changed their minds after buying a diamond pendant from him.
They wanted their money back but the shop does not give cash refunds. He said that the tourists shouted and kicked up a big row in the hope that he would cave in.
But he stood his ground. The customers were finally appeased when he let them choose other items in exchange.
Nearly 900,000 China tourists visited Singapore last year -- twice the number five years ago.
China tourists are now the second largest market for the Republic after Indonesia. The increased presence inevitably means retailers like Koo will have more anecdotes of bad behaviour to tell.
Hotel staff talk about having to shampoo the carpets in their rooms because China tourists spit on them. The guests also smoke in bed and burn holes in the blankets.
At the Louis Vuitton boutique in DFS Galleria Singapore, service staff would politely offer to help China customers to stop them from reaching out to touch the French trunk-maker's expensive leather handbags.
Sales staff member Serene Tan, 44, said: "They just throw the goods back on the shelf and sometimes onto the spotlights, which damages the goods. Now we don't allow any customers to go behind the counter area."
For tour guide Sam Ling, 44, putting up with complaints from China tourists is an everyday affair. The worst are the tourists from small towns or rural villages, he said.
"They like to show who's boss. Good luck if you get some village chief from Guangdong, because he'd expect you to kowtow to him like he was back home."
But why single out China tourists? Surely tourists from other countries misbehave too?
While the service staff interviewed by The Sunday Times conceded this point, they pointed out that the China tourists, being "new arrivals," stand out from the crowd.
China tourists are among the top five holiday spenders in the world and it is a matter of time before they overtake other nationalities in being the top-spending tourists in Singapore, said Rolf Freitag, chief executive of Munich-based tourism consulting group IPK International.
Singapore Tourism Board figures show that in 2003, the average China visitor spent S$475 (US$286) while the overall average spending of visitors was S$705 (US$424).
He said it is a "normal reaction" for some in the destination countries to be unhappy with the new tourists.
There were similar reactions when British, American, German, Italian and Japanese tourists first travelled abroad in large numbers.
Most of the 20 China tourists The Sunday Times spoke to said there is some validity in people's perceptions of the "ugly" China tourist.
Sun Xiaoqing, 30, a transport clerk from Yunnan, said: "It's true, especially those from the backward areas. They are rude, loud and don't queue. Even I can't stand them sometimes."
But Yang Jian, 30, a clerk from Shanghai who is on a two-day stopover here, has an interesting take on her countrymen's behaviour.
She said China tourists may come across as aggressive because they feel that they are being snubbed.
"If anything, it's the Singapore sales staff who think they're too good to serve us. It's exactly how Shanghainese sales staff would treat those from the poorer provinces upon hearing their accents."
Singapore can ill-afford such misguided thinking, warned National Association of Travel Agents Singapore chief executive Robert Khoo.
With China easing travel restrictions to 26 new European destinations last September, the Republic faces stiff competition in wooing the China tourism dollar.
Perhaps Singaporeans should look in the mirror before picking on other people, advised Associate Professor Lee Guan Kin, director of Nanyang Technological University's Centre of Chinese Language and Culture.
After all, it was not too long ago when Singaporeans abroad too were labelled "ugly," she said.
She added: "It really depends on what strata of society they come from. As more Chinese get richer and become more exposed to other cultures, their social habits will improve just like Singaporeans did."
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