'Misbehaving' Chinese tourists to be monitored by authorities

Officials in China to keep records of citizens doing anything illegal or inappropriate while in other countries
 

 

Tuesday 7 April 2015 11.59 BST

Chinese authorities are to keep records of citizens doing anything illegal or inappropriate while in other countries, in an attempt to encourage people to behave while travelling.

Provincial and national authorities would contact tourists when they returned home and work with them to fix their conduct, the China national tourism administration said on its website on Monday.

Police, customs officers, border control and even bank credit agencies should be contacted if necessary, it said.

Chinese tourists have made headlines recently with disruptive behaviour both inside and outside the country. Several have opened the cabin doors of planes to protest against flight delays. The official China Daily newspaper noted the arrests of three Chinese tourists over the weekend for taking lewd photos while on holiday in Japan.

Higher incomes have allowed millions of Chinese to start taking holidays outside their country.

The administration said in a separate post on Tuesday that “social supervision” of tourists was required because “tourism reflects on the country and the people’s image”.