Recently, the Indonesian customs officers tore up the passports of our people because they failed to ask for tips, and as soon as this incident came out, it immediately aroused heated discussions among the majority of netizens.
Why do the customs officers of these countries always stare at our people and ask for tips?
Is this really just the problem of the customs officers? I think this matter has a lot to do with the "tipping culture" of our domestic tour guides.
Recall, every time I travel abroad, before I get off the plane, the tour guide begins to nag in my ear: "Remember to put some cash in your passport, and the customs officers will see it when you pass through customs." ”
The last time I went to Vietnam, the Chinese tour guide asked each tourist to put 20 yuan in their passports to the customs officers in order to quickly clear customs, and it became a habit.
Also, a few years ago to Bali travel, the tour guide is a request, let each of us have a passport holder of 10 yuan, the customs people tacitly, the money was collected and asked the name on the stamp, next to a group of Australian people have never received money.
This is simply to label the Chinese people as "rich and easy to do", so that the customs officers know that we are "fat sheep" at a glance. In this way, it's no wonder that they don't target us!
This kind of "tip culture", to put it bluntly, is the "unspoken rule" that tour guides make in the entry and exit links in order to make it convenient for themselves and take advantage of the kindness and ignorance of tourists.
They may think that this will not only reduce their own troubles, but also allow tourists to pass through the customs smoothly, so why not? But they ignore that this kind of behavior not only damages the dignity of the Chinese people, but also ruins our own image.
To make matters worse, this "tipping culture" is also prone to other problems. Once customs officers feel that they can benefit from the countrymen, they will become more unscrupulous, and may even deliberately make things difficult and blackmail tourists.
In this way, not only will the rights and interests of tourists not be protected, but the entire entry and exit link will also become a miasma.
So, how can this vicious circle be broken?
In my opinion, we have to start with the tour guide. Strengthen the supervision and training of tour guides, so that they understand that using tourists for convenience is not only unethical, but also illegal.
At the same time, tourists should also be encouraged to actively report such violations, so that this "tipping culture" has nowhere to hide.
Secondly, our people themselves have to fight. When entering and exiting the country, don't always think about using money to solve problems, but believe in your own ability.
When encountering unreasonable demands or behaviors, you must dare to say "no" and dare to protect your rights and interests.
A friend of mine, a weak girl, a heavy diver, likes to go diving in Southeast Asian countries, never tipped, and was never embarrassed because she would have a note in her passport. Written in English: I don't have a tip, but I have a Chinese embassy phone. I have to learn from her