Originally Posted by
exbayern
Look at the last few pages of the tipping thread (or many other threads on FT) as an example of the type of behaviour which can make one a badly behaved tourist. Any time I read someone posting 'I paid XXX for my trip, therefore they should do YYY!' or 'I am the customer; they should do what I want!' I cringe. A few missing pieces of cutlery don't bother me in the same way.
I read that an, in fairness, that was a single poster AND about Disneyland. I confess to not understanding the impulse to visit Disneylands in other countries.
I think that ship has sailed. Look around FT for people who say they won't visit the US for the reasons you list, not to mention how many people I know in real life who say the same. I saw how TSA treated groups of Japanese tourists at LAS more than once, and cringed. While the US government and travel industry may be focussing on visas to improve tourism, they need to fix that impression of point of entry first. Waiting 2-3 hours at immigration, and then being yelled at by TSOs before boarding a connecting flight doesn't make a good first impression on visitors.
At least here in Southern California, there are tons of tourists from China and, among my friends in China, a trip (or multiple trips) to the US is high on their travel list. There is a huge middle class in China -- far larger than the entire population of the US -- and those people do not tend to travel in tour groups.