Here’s the tip: Japanese don’t leave tips
A new survey from MasterCard Worldwide that asked 7,000 people about their tipping behaviour found that the Japanese are among the worst tippers in the Asia Pacific region.
An impressive 89% of Thai bar and restaurant-goers regularly tip, while a paltry three percent of Japanese said they do the same.
Making up the top three tippers are the Philippines and Hong Kong, with 75% and 71% respectively saying they consistently tip.
South Korea (13%) and Taiwan (17%) make up the bottom trio, along with Japan.
More than half of Australians polled said they tip staff in a restaurant, although New Zealanders were not so generous, with only one in five leaving a gratuity.
Men tip more often than women, except in Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore.
Most consistent tippers in Asia-Pacific:
1 Thailand – 89%
2 Philippines – 75%
3 Hong Kong – 71%
4 India – 61%
5 Australia – 55%
6 equal Malaysia – 40%
6 equal Indonesia – 40%
8 Singapore – 33%
9 Vietnam – 30%
10 China – 28%
11 New Zealand – 20%
12 Taiwan – 17%
13 South Korea – 13%
14 Japan – 3%
Thanks for the tip to Andrew J Wood, President, Skal International Thailand and CNNGo.
Ian Jarrett
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