[Photo/IC]

The National Tourism Administration has asked for joint efforts to improve tourists' behavior, according to a guidance issued by the ministry on April 14.

Regional tourism departments should work with local foreign affairs, public security and transportation authorities to deal with improper behavior of tourists, the ministry said.

Unruly tourists will be held accountable for their bad behavior, according to the guideline. Taking shots of uncivil behavior is encouraged to help expose and punish violators of travel code.

Officials say the guideline encourages the media and public to help report tourists who behave badly.

The administration has asked for establishment of civil standards for both tourists and travel agencies, as well as strengthened training of tourism workers.

During the three-day Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, three Chinese tourists were arrested in Japan for sexual harassment. Under local law, one of them who allegedly used a mobile phone to take upskirt photos could face one year in prison or a fine of 1 million yen ($8,300). In December, a flight from Bangkok to Nanjing was forced to turn back about 90 minutes after takeoff because two Chinese passengers created a disturbance.

The tourism administration launched a new measure aimed at ending inappropriate behavior by Chinese tourists on April 6. Inappropriate behavior includes violating order on public transportation, damaging public facilities or historical relics, ignoring social customs at tourism destinations, and becoming involved with gambling or prostitution.

Records will be kept by provincial and national tourism authorities for up to two years, starting from the day the misbehavior was confirmed by tourism authorities. If necessary, they will also be handed to public security, customs, frontier inspection, transportation and banking authorities. Tourists are allowed to appeal.

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