VIETNAM: Will Vietnam Declare Code Of Conduct For Only Chinese Tourists?

Last year March, Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it had released a nationwide code of conduct for tourists for the first time, instructing visitors on how to behave while on holiday.

Details such as where and how the guide was distributed are scant, but the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism’s (VNAT) official website declared that it would help international and local tourists, and tour operators “respect local customs and culture, abide by regulations at both tourist and public sights, provide help for the disabled, the elderly, children and women, and protect the environment.

Unfortunately, the code does not seem to contain any information pertaining to China’s controversial nine-dash line.

If it had, the headline-grabbing incident in May that saw a group of Chinese tourists having to remove T-shirts asserting Beijing’s claim over disputed South China Sea territory upon arrival at Cam Ranh International Airport, south of Nha Trang, might never have happened.

To say that relations between the two neighbours are strained is to put it mildly, with anti-China sentiment culminating in protests across Vietnam over the past few days against proposed special economic zones critics believe would favour Chinese investors.

And disapproval is not confined to government policy, with calls to restrict or even refuse visitors from the Middle Kingdom, according to an article published on June 15 by online newspaper VietnamNet, which went on to suggest that a code of conduct should be created specifically for Chinese tourists.

This follows widespread condemnation of zero-dong package tours, which inject little into the local economy, and the fining of Vietnamese tour guide Tran A Hung, in Da Nang, for having allowed a Chinese woman in his charge to spread distorted information about the history of Vietnam, in April.

The woman, Wang Jihong, told fellow travellers that the traditional Vietnamese dress, the áo dài, was based on the cheongsam and that Vietnam used to belong to China.

In the first five months of the year, Vietnam received 6.7 million tourists, an increase of 27.6 per cent on the same period in 2017, according to VNAT. Of those, 2.1 million came from China, 37 per cent more than in the corresponding months last year.

However, the current tension is likely to affect arrivals. Travel agencies were hurrying to alter routes and schedules as demonstrations broke out, while social-media users have announced that tour companies have begun cancelling trips following embassy and consulate warnings.

Following widespread anti-China protests in May 2014, the number of Chinese visitors to Vietnam fell sharply. If history repeats, the country might lose its top source of tourists, and that targeted code of conduct will not be necessary.

While Vietnam may be willing to lose out on Chinese travellers, Scottish businesses are hoping to cash in on a recent uptick, with the introduction of the first ever direct flights between the mainland and Scotland.

Hainan Airlines launched the Beijing to Edinburgh route on June 12, and already businesses are scrambling to fulfil Mandarin-speaking positions.

A hotelier in the Highlands, said: I struggled to get a Mandarin-speaking receptionist. There aren’t very many Mandarin speakers in Drumnadrochit.

While current numbers remain modest – a mere 41,000 Chinese tourists visited Alba in 2016, spending a total of £36 million (US$47.7 million) between them, according to VisitScotland, the castle-filled country wants a slice of the world’s most lucrative wedding market and is courting Chinese couples with its countless wedding-picture-perfect locations.

We are seeing more and more Chinese couples choose Edinburgh’s historic heart to take official photos prior to their wedding, said Rob Lang, chairman of Edinburgh Tourism Action Group’s China Ready initiative.

That such a drive exists just goes to show how serious Scottish destinations are about making this particular union a happy one.


Tourism Observer

VIETNAM: Chinese Tourists In Vietnam

A record year for visitors from the Chinese mainland is filling municipal coffers, but tensions are emerging as the Vietnamese tourism industry struggles to keep up.

A long day following the tourist trail in Da Nang, on Vietnam’s central coast. And as the group’s attention fades, somewhere around Linh Ung Pagoda and its huge statue of the Goddess of Mercy, their tour guide rattles off an alternative version of Vietnam’s history and culture.

It’s late and it’s hot, and thoughts have turned to air-conditioned hotel rooms, so the Chinese group can be forgiven for missing the subtle geopolitical implications of what their unlicensed leader is saying.

For instance, the guide tells them while Vietnam is no longer a part of China and has claimed its independence, it still depends on China and pays tribute to it. Or that the city’s My Khe Beach, a broad sweep of white sand once dubbed China Beach by American soldiers, really belongs to China.

That such bold claims are being made should perhaps come as no surprise. Many of the unlicensed guides who have sprouted up to feed off Vietnam’s Chinese tourism boom will feel they are merely playing to an audience that naturally sees things from a China-centric perspective, or that they are simply rehashing official Chinese narratives of domination over Southeast Asia and particularly the South China Sea – the very body of water overlooked by Da Nang.

But the fact that such accounts are being given here on Vietnamese soil is something far more controversial, and is just one example of the growing tensions brought on by an influx of Chinese visitors, which has filled municipal coffers but left the country’s tourism industry struggling to meet demand.

A record 2.7 million Chinese tourists arrived in Vietnam in 2016 – a 55 per cent increase over the previous year, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. That means tourists from mainland China accounted for 30 per cent of Vietnam’s total foreign arrivals.

Most Chinese visitors head to either Da Nang or Nha Trang, two coastal cities in the centre of the country famed for their beaches, historical sights and seafood.

This has caused headaches for the local tourism industries, and especially Vietnamese guides.

Some Chinese guides operating in the country have been accused of telling their groups that Vietnam hates China, and that they should not believe anything the local guides say. They are also accused of using regional dialects so that Mandarin- or Cantonese-speaking Vietnamese guides cannot understand them.

“Lately, some unlicensed Chinese guides have provided incorrect information on the territory and island disputes in the South China Sea,” says Nguyen Huu Tuan, sales manager at In-Out Tour Company, based in Ho Chi Minh City. “Unlicensed Chinese guides have destroyed the truth, causing worries for the Vietnamese people and the government,” he says.

It’s not only what the guides are saying – but that they are operating at all – that has angered local operators.

“By law, foreigners are not allowed to be tour guides in our country,” says Tran Tra, chairman of the Da Nang Tour Guide Club. At first, “Vietnamese tour guides were happy at the increase in Chinese arrivals in 2016,” he says, as they thought “they would have more opportunities to earn more money and increase their living standards”.

But the opposite happened – they have been losing business because “Chinese tour operators have illegally assigned Chinese tour leaders to act as guides”.

Aside from the legal aspects, local guides feel slighted by what they see as a lack of cooperation from Chinese guides and operators, says Cao Tri Dung, chairman of the Da Nang Travel Association.

Tensions reached a head in July, when the governments of Da Nang and Nha Trang cracked down on unlicensed guides. Da Nang deported four Chinese guides for working illegally. The guides were also fined US$4,200, while the company that hired them had its licence revoked and was fined US$560. The same month, Khanh Hoa Province, home to Nha Trang, expelled 66 Chinese who were working illegally in the travel industry.

The growing conflict over guides can be seen as part of a larger narrative of the countries’ relationship.

Despite close economic ties, China and its people are often unpopular with ordinary Vietnamese and recent diplomatic disputes, particularly in the South China Sea, have exacerbated resentment. Vietnam is proud of its history and land, and perceived efforts by foreign guides to distort facts are not taken lightly. At the same time, the behaviour of some Chinese tourists has not helped.

In June, a Chinese visitor reportedly burned Vietnamese currency in front of a bar in Da Nang. Chinese visitors have also been accused of harassing street vendors, trying to pay for items with Chinese yuan and threatening staff at Cam Ranh International Airport outside of Nha Trang. The Da Nang government has responded by publishing 5,000 copies of an etiquette booklet written in Chinese. These will be distributed in public places and list acceptable behaviour, such as queueing to buy tickets, respecting local culture and not littering or getting drunk in public.

Despite the blips, many Vietnamese recognise the spending power of Chinese tourists as something to be welcomed. As Tuan, from the In-Out Tour Company, says, “the fact that more and more Chinese visitors are coming will boost local tourism, and the economy”.

And with Da Nang and Nha Trang now firmly established as popular holiday spots for affluent Chinese, regional governments recognise more can be done to welcome their visitors. Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the Da Nang Tourism Department, says Chinese tourists have become frustrated at a lack of Chinese-speaking Vietnamese guides, so the department is now working to educate and train more guides to meet these demands. “We are also collaborating with the Da Nang University of Foreign Languages, tourist sites and travel agents to build and provide Chinese language resources at certain tourist attractions.”

Airline VietJet has launched a weekly flight from Zhengzhou to Da Nang on January 12.

Through initiatives such as this and the etiquette booklet, Da Nang and Nha Trang hope to nurture the welcome aspects of Chinese tourism even as they cut down on some of the less welcome ones – tour guides with bold claims among them.

CHINA: Chinese Tourists Angered By Vietnam Airport Customs Officers Demanding Bribes

A group of Chinese tourists caused an uproar inside Vietnam's Cam Ranh International Airport on Monday after customs officers demanded that they give them tips.

The tourists were on their way to a flight back to Sichuan from the coastal resort of Nha Trang in southern Vietnam when they ran into problems at customs. One of the tourists posted an account of the incident on Weibo, claiming that Vietnamese customs officers asked for a 10 yuan tip from each traveler, threatening to seize the passports of any who refused to pay up.

Some who did refuse were then asked for more and more money. One man was eventually forced to pay 100 yuan so that he, his wife and their child could get on the plane.

Predictably this situation led to a confrontation between about 100 Chinese tourists and a dozen Vietnamese officers. In a series of videos that have gone viral on Chinese social media, Chinese tourists can be seen protesting against this latest injustice by using the tried and true tactic of breaking out into the Chinese national anthem.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Vietnamese customs officers readied their stun guns.

Overall, the incident did not result in much violence. One woman said that officers had struck her husband on the back with a stun gun while he was trying to film the confrontation.

Netizens from across China have wrote in, claiming that they were also hassled for tips when returning from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, and arguing that Chinese tourists should no longer visit Vietnam until these issues are resolved.

The Chinese consulate in Ho Chi Minh City has confirmed that the incident took place, issuing a statement to say that all Chinese citizens involved have already returned to the mainland and that they have requested an immediate response from the Vietnamese government. So far, nothing from Hanoi.

State media reports that already, in just the first four months of this year, 789,500 Chinese tourists have traveled to Vietnam, an increase of 47% from last year. Which all seems like pretty good money for Vietnamese customs officers, blackmailing Chinese tourists leaving the country with luxury items -- like lucky pears, brides and lychees, we presume.

While extorting travelers seems to have been a fairly common practice in the past for Vietnamese customs, in recent years, various anti-corruption crackdowns have managed to mend the ways of unscrupulous officers, though apparently it hasn't worked on everyone.