There is a growing tension between locals and tourists across the globe, and the latter being blamed for being disruptive and causing trouble for the locals. Protests against the behavior of tourists have taken place in Barcelona, Venice, and Hong Kong.
For instance, in Hong Kong, tourists are accused of being loud or inconsiderate when they urinate in public, purchasing things like baby milk, and, in general, not adhering to local customs. Chinese tourists, specifically, have been subjected to severe criticism both within Hong Kong as well as in Thailand.
When in Spain, British tourists are frequently blamed for their poor behavior.
However, the ethics of tourists aren’t often studied, and numerous questions regarding their conduct remain unanswered. They include whether tourists possess different moral standards in comparison to locals if tourists from other regions of the world have differing moral values, and if tourists are more likely to engage in morally questionable activities during their vacation than those who live where they reside.
The issue of tourism behavior is especially relevant for discussions concerning ethical making. When we are at home, we might be expected by society to conduct ourselves in a particular way due to social pressures. We might be judged by family members and friends or even colleagues. We may be worried that anyone who knows us could easily learn about our behavior. Our actions could have lasting effects.
However, these pressures disappear when we travel to countries where no one knows us and where we aren’t staying for long. Tourism, therefore, can be viewed as an indulgent and egoistic thing.
That’s at least the idea.
Mean scores on a seven-point scale for how acceptable ethically are five possible scenarios. Authors
Overall, the use of a prostitute or queue jumping was not acceptable to the majority of people surveyed, while buying counterfeit items was the most accepted.
It was a bit surprising that two completely different activities, such as jumping queues and engaging in the services of a prostitute, were assessed similarly. Another possible explanation could be that most people have experienced queue jumpers and will remember the immediate and most definite negative impact they had (a short wait).
People are of the opinion that queue jumping isn’t right, it’s not morally acceptable, and it infringes on accepted social rules.
Immanuel Kant’s Deontology gives a plausible explanation for prostitution. Prostitution is the reduction of a person to an instrument used for achieving sexual climaxes with another. It violates treating each person as a goal in itself instead of a means to attaining one’s dreams.
Incredibly, selling counterfeit goods is illegal in several countries, including Hong Kong, but purchasing counterfeit products was thought to be the most acceptable. There are benefits of buying counterfeit goods for consumers (lower cost) as well as for sellers and producers (profit).
It is also accepted. It is also popular in Hong Kong as the practice is widely practiced. Anyone who purchases counterfeit products is not likely to be resentful about the loss of profits made by the top brands.
Buyers of counterfeit products will likely not feel guilty about the losses of the top brands. Tyrone Siu/Reuters
Cultural influences
Our research supports the notion that morality is different across cultures. There are some differences between the two groups of tourists that we examined and Hong Kong residents.
In contrast to Western tourists, mainland Chinese tourists feel it’s acceptable to buy fake goods within Hong Kong, jump queues, and fudge the age of a child to obtain discounts. Western tourists, on the other hand, prefer to find it more acceptable to use the services of prostitutes.
Both groups believe that public misbehavior due to drinking can be considered acceptable, but not as much as Hong Kongers. In the end, Hong Kong residents appear more morally upright than the other tourists.
Western travelers were much more inclined to be involved in all scenarios during holidays than they are at home, with the exception of drinking-related misbehavior. They perform the same at home, too. Hong Kong residents are also more likely to take part in any holiday-related activities in comparison to those who live at home.