Despite great benefits to the economy, the presence of Chinese visitors remains an annoyance to locals in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa.

Although Khanh Hoa, especially its coastal resort city Nha Trang, has fetched massive revenue thanks to a recent wave of Chinese tourists gathering in recent times, these travelers’ manners and behavior have caused offense to local residents and tourism businesses, according to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

From pagoda to food court

On Saturday afternoon, a group of 50 Chinese visited Long Son Pagoda, one of the city’s sacred places, where staying quiet and wearing formal clothes are the customs.

Despite huge signs with images requesting silence and specifying restrictions on unsuitable clothing when visiting the main part of the pagoda, many laughed and talked loudly, while some Chinese women in shorts still approached the site before being stopped by the temple’s guards.

After turning around, the women burst into laughter, much to the annoyance of other visitors.

“It is so frustrating to keep reminding these people to remain silent in sacred places,” the guards whined.

“They even littered the front of the censer with used coconuts instead of throwing them into the waste bin.”

Many Chinese guests yelled, jostled, and brawled for food and seats, leaving leftovers scattered everywhere, said Duong Nguyen Ngoc Hoang, a resident of Nha Trang, who was with his family having lunch at a buffet restaurant in Hon Tam, an offshore tourist resort of the city, on February 8.

“Witnessing such a scene, the two Australian guests standing next to us shook their heads in disbelief,” Hoang recounted.

While having breakfast at the buffet, some Chinese brought food with them before leaving the food court, said a manager of a three-star hotel on Tran Phu Street, Nha Trang.

“Some of them even headed to local markets to buy fresh seafood, coal, and grill it to sell to others right in front of their hotel at night,” recounted the manager.

Behaving ‘with little politeness’

Khanh Hoa is putting all of its effort into tackling the issue to maintain the development of tourism, as well as making sure that all tourists can enjoy their time to the fullest and are equally respected, stated Phan Thanh Truc, deputy director of the provincial culture, sports and tourism department.

Most Chinese when visiting the province usually book high-class hotels and their overall expenses are high, which greatly contributes to local tourism growth, Truc said.

“However, although many Chinese tourists coming here are really polite, a huge number of visitors from this country still behave with little politeness, causing serious disturbance to others.

“We always remind travel agencies that bring Chinese tourists to Nha Trang to inform them of behavioral norms in the area to help them act properly,” she added.

Many hotels and resorts have found ways to ‘adapt’ to the situation, the deputy director said.

Some have divided its floors into sections, including corridors, food courts, entertainment centers and elevators to serve Chinese guests only, shielding their habits from other tourists, while some offer guide staff exclusively to Chinese visitors, Truc noted.

Nguyen Van Thanh, deputy chairman of the Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Tourism Association, told hotels and tourist resorts to set rules and regulations based on international practices about eating etiquette, dressing, using toilets, and more for all visitors.

“When such ‘rules’ are in effect, tourists will feel more responsible for their behavior,” Thanh firmly said.

“China, in return, has made several attempts to tell its citizens not to disfigure the country’s image with impolite habits when traveling overseas,” the head of a tourism firm’s branch in Khanh Hoa said.

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