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Tardy Chinese tourists in Japan

A short clip that shows the difficulties facing businesses that offer bus tours of Tokyo to rich Chinese tourists:

The tour guide’s schedule includes trips to various sites in Tokyo, where the tourists are given 30 minutes to an hour of free time to wander about before getting back on the bus. Unfortunately, many of the tourists completely ignore the schedule and return to the bus when they feel like it. At the first place they visit, only one tourist comes back to the bus on time. The poor guy has to wait 20 minutes while the others trickle back to the assembly area.

Throughout the day, the tour guide is forced to run around searching for late tourists and must make changes to the schedule because of the time lost.

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29 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - January 26, 2010 at 5:52 am

Categories: Foreigners in Japan Tags:

shavedwater

When I was in New York City, I saw a bunch of Chinese tourists.
As they were getting off the bus, the tour guide gave each one
of them a tiny beeper-like device. It’s about the size of a
iPod nano. When it’s time to re-board the bus, the tour guide
presses her master beepr and all the other beepers went off
with music and red blinking LEDs. (ironically, the music was
the MIDI version of “Auld Lang Syne”) The tour guide lady
told me the range was about 300 feet, which I believe is
roughly 100 meters. That’s plenty for most of the tourist
sites.

My local Fuddrucker(chain hamburger place in the US) also uses
a similar device, except it only blinks the red LEDs, to alert
the customer that his order is ready.

Why can tour guides in Japan take advantage of such devices?

Ken Aston

That’s a great idea.
Yom

why cant ppl just return on time?

maybe we should equip them all with dog collars which electrocute them if they dont?

Naniwa

Yes, because being personally responsible is far too ridiculous.

Let’s make watches that inject the user with a poison which activates in 20 minutes. If the user wants to live he has to run to the tour guide for the antidote.

Bojangles

that’s like Saw version of tourism. Awesome.

“So you like being late returning to your tour bus…?”

http://relaxedfocus.blogspot.com/ Rob

‘Cause you know what the most important thing is when visiting a foreign country, experiencing a different culture, infusing a so-so economy with tourist dollars? Keeping to the schedule. Always the most important thing.
Mattias

I don’t really get the point of this report. Is this some sort of national crisis, Chinese tourists being late to their tour busses?

Ken Aston

It’s interesting. That’s the point.
rainwater

lol cuz they don’t have anything better to report? no idea

Joe

Chinese people who can afford to come to Japan = rich people.

Rich people in general (not all) = arrogant f*ckers.

Drive off without them!

disko

Problem is they are responsible for their VISAs and thus responsible if they are not accounted for when their time’s up playing tourist.

Vonskippy

1) Post Schedule
2) Stick to Schedule – at the appointed time DRIVE OFF.
3) Profit

Who do I send my ubersmart consulting bill to?

Karisu

This is how it works for any bus tour I’ve ever been in. Went to NYC a few times via bus, and if you weren’t there when it was time to go home, you were finding your own way back.

Happened to a number of people, and they deserved it.

kjin

I’m a punctual person myself, but if people arriving back to their bus 20 minutes late for something as trivial as tourism is a travesty to you, you’ve PROBABLY been in Japan too long, I think. Anybody who (a) has the money to join a tour while visiting another country for vacation and (b) thinks they can come back that late to begin with is no doubt prepared to just splurge for a taxi to the next destination if the bus drives off without them anyway. I know many people that mindset about air travel, even, and no, none of them are Chinese.
Nicklas W Bjurman

It is obviously not the customers that are in the wrong, the service-tour business should have realized by now that they need to set a different schedule to better accomodate their customers needs.
MC Okii Dokii

I think its the Japanese tourists company that needs to adjust their schedule to the needs of its consumers. I mean, is there only one tour package thats available from the touring company? If its a recurring problem then don`t bully or complain about patrons whose sole purpose of being in Japan is to have a relaxing vacation. Who likes hectic schedules on vacation?

Karisu

Then why don’t they just do the site seeing on their own? Why go with a bus tour that you know has a set schedule? It’s not being inconsiderate to the driver, it’s being inconsiderate to anyone who goes by the schedule they;re given.

Rent a car or take a taxi if you don’t want to abide by a schedule.

nate

To the commenters saying that the customers aren’t in the wrong:
1. The late customers, more than anything, are making the other customers wait, a seriously uncool move.
2. The late customers had choices; they chose the whirlwind tour. Then they ignored the rules, and lessened the value of the tour for everyone else.

But I do appreciate that this video is super-Japanesey. I like that Japanese people are punctual, and I understand not everyone thinks its a big deal.

MC Okii Dokii

I totally agree with what you re saying dude. But this kind of reporting shows tourists in a bad light. As a Japanese business it fails to understand its target market.
It should have had stricter rules, a different package, a survey…. etc etc.

Personally, I would encourage my bus to leave on time. While leaving the number of a taxi company of my friend to pay extra for any stragglers to catch up to the next destination.
ita-man

Agreed. If you don’t like schedules on your vacation, than you’re better off wandering around by yourself. It’s rude to make other people wait for you.

kimsei

I personally think that a survey can be done to figure out if Chinese tourist need more time to look around. I mean that is more time that you don’t have to plan for, easy money. If this is only just one occasion, then their arguments are dumb. But I did not watch the video so I do not what they said. Or the travel agency can have several different tours where the customers can choose to have more time to explore or more time to actually follow the tour.
sevenfish

I’ve spent time in both Japan and Switzerland. Based on my
extensive experience riding trains in both countries, I have
found Japanese trains to be more punctual. (shocking, isn’t
it?)

Back to the Chinese tourists. It’s unfair that some hostess
bars (wink wink) allow male Chinese tourists inside, while
banning non-Asian-looking customer.(usually with a big sign
at the door)
helical

While I do think the tourists who don’t make it back on time fending for themselves is somewhat deserved, there’s probably the whole liability issue if something does ever happen.

These package tours probably include insurance as part of the whole deal, and then it will probably end up being a really sticky issue as to whether being late for the bus and getting left behind, thereby leaving the supervision (and responsibility) of the guide will merit reimbursement. I guess you could define it in really strict legal terms, but I’m betting most agencies would rather spend energy try to herd these wayward tourists than to try to fend off each and every pissed off customer’s complaint/lawsuit afterwards.
Kah Keong

The easy solution to all these is to ask the rich Chineses to spend their money elsewhere, don’t spend it in Japan. Let all the glittering gold flow into other economies that need it more.
IrishGambler

the tour guid can always do what kindergarten teachers do…

make all the Chinese tourists hold hands with each other
forming a human chain…. hard to lose someone like that!

by the way, Chinese ladies who go on these package tours
with their female friends(no husbands) are easy pickings.
Take them out to a nice dinner and they are yours. Most
are rich and bored house wives… they sometimes even
pay the dinner bills…. so you have nothing to lose.
Speaking from personal experience, aim for the cougars)
http://www.dragonhunting.com james

If these are the types of things that get Japanese people’s panties in a bunch, hope they never actually go to China. Their heads will pop like bubblegum.
Tofu

This is news why…?
Mister M

I think it is culture thing!!!
sally

I think it is Chinese culture to be late.

Tardy Chinese tourists in Japan

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