Yet the point to make is that these tourists aren’t consciously disrespectful, for even within Chinese these same people can appear crude and loud among the more urbane Chinese. After all, there are many people in China who have acquired wealth before a concurrent assimilation of sophistication; it’s not only the educated and cultured Chinese who travel.

Moreover, for many Chinese tourists, an inability to speak or read English, tourism’s de facto lingua franca, makes their interactions awkward and makes them unaware of subtle sensitivities. Chinese tourists can often be seen eating instant noodles, I am sure they would like to sample the local food if only they could read the menus or have the courage to make fluent enquiries in a restaurant. But the unadventurous abroad often resort to familiar comfort foods. In this sense, any offensive or uncouth behavior is not so much rudeness but clumsiness; it’s largely a case of bewildered-tourists-abroad acting clumsily due to lack of knowledge and inability to communicate.

There is certainly a learning curve ahead for many Chinese tourists, and the Chinese government’s publication of a code of conduct for travelers will obviously expedite that process. Moreover, President Xi Jinping, who is often said to be China’s preeminent tourist, has been highlighting these issues, and his recent call to Chinese tourists to eat less instant noodles is welcome precisely because his words serve to inspire.

So, although the Chinese media and government have a part to play in educating the Chinese about sensitive and immersive travel, in time people in places where Chinese travel will get used to the particular quirks and whims of Chinese travelers. In the meantime people in host countries should bear in mind that many of the Chinese they come across will be making their first tentative forays out into the world beyond – and first steps are often awkward.

The author is a freelance writer that specializes in culture, travel, and lifestyle

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