China Issues Guidelines for Chinese Tourists Abroad to Be 'Civilized'

Following an incident where a Chinese teenager defaced a 3,500 year-old Egyptian sculpture, China has issued guidelines on traveling, according to the Telegraph. The Chinese National Tourism Administration has posted advice on littering, protecting cultural relics and showing courtesy.

"Being a civilized tourist is the obligation of each citizen," the government convention states, according to Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency.

The Chinese government is responding to the outcry after a 15-year-old Chinese tourist from Nanjing sprayed his name in graffiti on a sculpture at the Luxor Temple.

China is experiencing a boom in international tourism. The World Tourism Organization predicts there will be more than 100 million Chinese residents traveling internationally by 2020. There were more than 80 million outbound trips made by Chinese last year, according to the Chinese government. As citizens become increasingly affluent, they go to places including Japan, Britain and Australia.

The government's new guidelines are intended to denounce behavior such as that of the teenager, including spitting, littering, vandalism, jaywalking and cutting in line. They also recommend only photograph relics when local regulations allow it. They are also promoting seven behavioral norms, including maintaining a clean environment, complying with public orders, protecting ecology, protecting public infrastructures and utilities, respecting other people's rights, showing courtesy when with others and seeking appropriate entertainment.

"The quality and breeding of some tourists are not high yet," Wang Yang, one of China's four vice-premiers, said, condemning the actions of some Chinese behaviors abroad. Authorities should "guide tourists to conscientiously abide by public order and social ethics, respect local religious beliefs and customs, mind their speech and behavior...and protect the environment."

Earlier this year, authorities urged travelers from the eastern province of Jiangsu to take less cash and to keep valuables out of sight after 23 Chinese tourists were robbed in Paris.