China introduces blacklist for bad tourists, but will it work?

The records will be kept by provincial and national tourism offices for up to two years, “starting from the day the misbehaviour was confirmed by tourism authorities”, reports the China Daily. If necessary, the transgressive travellers’ deeds might also be shared with public security, customs, border inspection, transportation and banking authorities, further spreading the shame. Tourists are allowed to appeal, the China Daily says.

The bad deeds include causing disruptions on public transportation, including flights, damaging public facilities or historical artefacts, ignoring social customs and becoming involved with gambling or prostitution.

The newspaper welcomed the move.

“For years, the majority of the public could only watch or read news about Chinese tourists’ uncivil behaviours, especially while traveling abroad and only feel ashamed. But the regulation issued recently by the National Tourism Administration could help cure the malaise that afflicts some Chinese tourists,” said a China Daily opinion piece.

“Since the existing Tourism Law has no specific clause saying tourists should be held legally accountable for their uncivilised behaviours, uncivil acts such as spitting, littering or vandalising historical relics … Chinese tourists could not be pulled up for their shameful actions, which not only caused damage to the tourist spots but also ruined the image of the Chinese people and their country,” the column continues. “The new regulation has more or less plugged these legal loopholes and has certain binding forces on tourists who are prone to uncivil behaviour.”

However, there is doubt the blacklist will have much effect.

“Just like no-smoking signs in public areas, I’m still not clear how behaviour of Chinese tourists will be supervised worldwide,” Zhang Hui, an employee of a multinational firm in Shanghai, tells China Daily.

Zhang Lingyun, deputy dean of the tourism college at Beijing Union University, echoed her concerns. He’s kept an eye on the issue since December, when a flight from Bangkok to Nanjing was forced to turn back about 90 minutes after takeoff because two Chinese passengers created a disturbance. However, he pointed to grey areas where bad behaviour might be hard to determine.

“It will be very difficult to operate,” he says. “Take obtaining evidence, for example. Behaviour that breaches the law won’t be too difficult to define, but cases that involve morals will be.”