spaces or sacred areas, and unacceptable usage of public toilets (i.e., notflushing,
not defecating in the toilet bowl, putting soiled toilet paper on thefloor, and
squatting on toilet seats).
Generally three types of Mainlanders come to Thailand: (1) private individuals;
(2) high-end tourist groups (consisting mainly of well-educated people); and (3) the
so-called zero-dollar tourists, which form the majority. This third type comes as part
of a free of charge package tour (traveling, accommodation, and meals are paid for
by the tour organizer). However, the tour organizers try to recuperate their expenses
from getting commissions and from leading/luring the tourists to purchase sou-
venirs and luxurious items far more expensive than the actual prices. This is a kind
of fraud that Thais are in complot with; it is an agreement between Thai tour
agencies and their Chinese counterparts. This is not only zero but even lower than
zero as the Thai partners often offer kickbacks to the Chinese counterpart to recruit
“customers.”Chinese customers who agree to come to Thailand, free of charge or
even with promotions such as getting an air-conditioning unit, are mostly people
from the remote areas of China, most often not well-educated and not used to
traveling abroad and modern city life. They have saved up enough to come to
Thailand, because it is cheaper than going to other places in China. They will be
“herded”to where the tour guide wants them to spend money. Time allowed to use
bathrooms and eat is limited, and that may be one of the reasons that some people
do not pay attention to cleanliness and orderliness.
From the online discussions, four main problems can be identified regarding
Chinese tourists in Thailand:
- Thais have to blame themselves for not being able to screen the quality of
Chinese tourists the same way, for instance, Bhutan does for it visitors. All key
informants state that they really blame it to the management of this zero-dollar
tourist issue. - The way Thailand has (mis)managed its tourism industry in general, and
especially the Chinese component, over the past twenty years is part of the
problem. Chinese companies and Chinese tour guides are allowed to operate
freely without much Thai oversight or policy regulation. Many Chinese tour
guides do not understand the Thai language and culture enough to explain to the
tourists their faux pas or cultural differences between Thai and Chinese. There
are not enough Thai guides who speak Chinesefluently. They cannot cope with
the influx of Chinese tourists each year. The uncontrolled numbers of Chinese
tourists (especially those without a tour guide) have damaged natural habitats,
historical sites, and facilities. Some people write on walls and stones in for-
bidden areas, drive against the traffic rules, and exhibit unhygienic and disre-
spectful behaviors, such as urinating in sacred or public spaces. Thailand also
still has a problem of not being able to manage the unregistered tourist guides.
These are unqualified and untrained tourist guides who cannot advise tourists on
Thai culture and travel. - As a consequence of what’s stated under second, Chinese tour guides and shops
do actually not bring in much revenue to Thailand. The money comes and goes
5.2 Literature Review and Theoretical Perspectives 81