Abstract
“Panic buying” or “Extravagant buying” (baku-gai) became a buzzword in 2015 to describe Chinese tourists in Japan. This phenomenon not only brought economic benefits to the host society, but also led to cultural conflicts, due to the impression created by the “rude tourists.” This became increasingly noticeable especially since 2010, with the sharp rise in the number of Chinese visitors to Japan. Hotels accommodating Chinese tourists gathered many experiences while coping with their behavioral issues.
In this study, I explore the feelings of disapproval and dissatisfaction with the behavior of Chinese tourists, by examining the reviews left by Japanese guests on a hotel reservation website. From the 914 reviews (January 2007 to December 2016) of about 18 hotels on Rakuten Travel, I analyzed the high frequency and co-occurring words using the text mining software, KH Coder. Network and Correspondence analyses were also carried out.
According to the Japanese guests, the behavioral issues encountered were mostly concentrated around the hotel rooms (noise), public baths (bathing habits), and during breakfast in the dining area (noise, congestion, table manners, and the taking of seats). Similar issues were faced at the reception desk (congestion). The data clearly showed that the Japanese guests felt especially irritated during breakfast. While they usually did not share tables with the others, the Chinese guests had no qualms in doing so. However, smoking and spitting which are perceived as general problems with Chinese tourists, were not overtly mentioned in the reviews. Over the past ten years, reviews pertaining to the behavior and manners of Chinese tourists have not changed significantly. It might be assumed that the hotel staff treat Chinese tourists in a way so as to avoid issues related to their manners, and that Japanese guests have grown accustomed to Chinese tourists’ manners. However, this is not supported by data.
As for the measures to deal with such issues, there were many attempts to draw the attention of the hotel staff, towards the noise and the problematic bathing habits. Suggestions to have separate floors and breakfast venues were made, which were accepted and observed to some extent. However, the staff’s exhaustion with trying to accommodate the Chinese tourists was often evident. Some Japanese guests did not attribute these behavioral issues they had, solely to the Chinese tourists, but also to the measures taken by the hotels and their staff.
