THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Relentless debate on Chinese tourists

Relentless debate on Chinese tourists

Racism or bias against races was an interesting topic discussed in social media over the past week, after Thai media publicised stories on the problems posed by the decreasing number of Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai, which was very popular among them, an

On Twitter, there are people who explicitly showed they did not like these “Tour Chin [Chinese Tourists]” and there were those who understood and wanted the tourists to come.
@hoonchuckyai wrote: “Blaming all Chinese tourists is just like blaming all political groups, blaming all politicians, blaming all soldiers. Shouldn’t we consider them separately? There are good Chinese tourists. There are many grades. But the standard should be controlled by our tour companies. In case anyone behaves badly, the agent must be banned. Otherwise, we cannot solve any problem.”
@aorwiki: “I went to Samet Island. A Chinese tourist wanted to take pictures of a crab then she split its claws. They found seashells and wanted to put them in the bags and take them home. I talked to them in English, they didn’t apparently get a word.” 
On Facebook, TCCTV (@ThaiCCTVthailand) publicised graphic memes on “Please Understand Chinese People”. It credited the content from the Facebook post of Noppanan Arunvongse na Ayudhaya, a Thai professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.
Noppanan wrote that he was not involved in making the meme but he had no objection. The relationship between Chinese and Thai people has been cherished for almost 1,000 years, he said.
However, last Friday he quoted president of Association of Thai Travel Agents in Chiang Mai, Boonta Chailert, from hedlomnews.com: “Nowadays, there has been a trend against the Thai government and some Chiang Mai people who insulted Chinese tourists. It was a result of people posting [messages] on social media complaining against Chinese tourists... The Chinese government has harshly punished its people. Then the Thai government also prohibited Chinese tourists’ vehicles. Now, some people think Thailand is insulting the Chinese [people].”
Dhanya Dhanyadhata wrote, “I think this is good. If they come to Thailand and want to drive, they should rent the car. Local car rent companies then have some income and there will be insurance. Many problems can occur if they drive their own vehicles.”
On Sunday, Noppanan wrote that the Chinese government media, Xinhua, and China Daily had reported continuously since late last year that Chinese tourists were not welcome in Chiang Mai. These media quoted from Thai media and a Chiang Mai University report that Chinese tourists could not speak English, they did not have manners, they littered, spit, they made loud noise, violated traffic laws and disturbed Chiang Mai’s peace and order.
The following day, he posted news from China Daily that said Baidu had joined hands with the Tourism Authority of Thailand in providing a Baidu Map for Chinese tourists to enjoy travelling in Thailand. 
Kornkit Disthan, whose has an interest in Asian cultures and had many times posted on Facebook about Chinese tourists, wrote that he usually read in Chinese media that the tourists praised and had a good attitude towards Thailand, especially Thai hospitality. 
While those positive comments were from quality tourists from China, Kornkit wrote that the Thai government should discuss with China to solve the problem of the so-called “Zero Dollar tours”. Some Thais were displeased that most of the money from these underprivileged and poorly educated tourists, who came in big, untidy groups, went to their agents and only a little money came to Thai people. The government and Thai people should not allow the nominees of Chinese or foreign companies to take advantage of tourism in Thailand.
Publicising the Dos and Don’ts as well as communicating with the tourists creatively and positively so that they understand the “Spirit of Thailand” should be among the best solutions, he wrote.
Meanwhile, Thai news anchor Varin Sachdev who is of Indian descent, posted on Facebook about a Thairath newspaper headline that said, “Time to reorganise ‘Kaek’ [South Asian descendants]”, that made many of his friends angry. He wrote that although he was not personally angry, he could not help question the choice of word. There are a lot of Thai-born Indians and Thais should not have bias against these people. Meanwhile, Indian descendants in Thailand should also reflect on themselves whether they had done anything to make Thais angry. “Have we adapted well enough to be Indian-descent Thais, and not Thai-born Indians?” he asked.
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