Tourists tarred with old brush

A self-drive tour group arrives in Chengdu, Sichuan province, after traveling for more than 40 days from Paris. [Photo/Agencies]

Perhaps because of some embarrassing previous incidents overseas, there was much online criticism directed at the Chinese tourists supposedly making trouble at Bangkok Airport recently.

Even without satisfying any curiosity to know the truth about the incident, many netizens unhesitatingly reproached the tourists concerned, claiming they had "no quality" and were making "Chinese people lose face".

In view of past reports about the uncivilized behavior of Chinese tourists overseas, from "making too much noise" to "vandalizing historical monuments", many Chinese do feel there is a need for our fellow citizens going abroad to behave better.

However, further details reported so far about the incident at Bangkok International Suvanabhumi Airport indicate that the Chinese tourists were not completely out of order. According to one of the tourists, the 260 Chinese tourists kept calm during the first hours of their extended wait for their delayed flight. Yet the prolonged flight delay along with the failures to provide hot water and proper accommodation irritated some of the tourists waiting deep into the night.

Put simply, the incident was the result of the lack of effective communication following a flight delay. It has little to do with the quality of Chinese people. People at home should not jump to conclusions about such incidents.

However, the uncivilized behavior of some Chinese people abroad has tarred the national image with the same brush, underscoring the need for Chinese tourists to keep a cool head and behave in a civilized manner. When encountering some "unfair treatment", reasonable appeals should be expressed properly.