China names and shames badly behaving tourists

China has named and shamed the first four tourists ‘blacklisted’ as part of effort to improve the reputation of Chinese travellers abroad.

A ‘bad behaviour record’ came into effect a month ago and is published by China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

It came about following several high profile cases of travellers behaving badly, including lack of cultural sensitivity at religious and historic sites and a number of air rage incidents.

Two tourists, named Zhang and Wang, have been placed on the blacklist for two years for their part in the notorious air rage attack on a Thailand to Nanjing flight in December.

Zhang was accused of throwing hot water at a flight attendant while Wang threatened to bomb the aircraft.

The incident caused the plane to turn back to Thailand.

Another tourist named Li will also be on the blacklist for two years after opening a plane hatch in mid-flight earlier this year.

The fourth received the most stringent punishment – a maximum of 10 years – after climbing to the top of a Red Army statue to take a photo last month.

CNTA has not detailed what restrictions will be placed on blacklisted tourists, but they will likely face more scrutiny when booking hotel rooms or travelling in tour groups.