Badly behaved Chinese tourists invade local university and are even accused of using ancient moat as a toilet in historic Thai town



A top Thai university has been forced to install more security after it became an unexpected tourist hotspot for Chinese travellers, following in the footsteps of a comedy caper film.

Chiang Mai University has issued the clampdown after tourists were caught sneaking into classes, making a mess in the cafeteria and even pitching a tent by the lake on campus.

The Chinese visitors have flooded the university to follow in the footsteps of the 2012 movie 'Lost in Thailand' that was filmed on the campus and became the highest-grossing homegrown film ever to be released in China.



Tourism boom: More Chinese travellers than ever before are visiting Thai cities such as Chiang Mai

In its first two months, the film grossed £130million at the box office, beating the Leonardo DiCaprio film Titanic and coming close to Avatar.



Now visitors are restricted to entering through a single gate manned by Mandarin-speaking volunteers who direct Chinese tourists to a line of vehicles for guided tours.



Individual visitors are banned, and a sign at the gate requests that passports be produced by tourists.



With their economy surging, mainland Chinese have become the world's most common world traveller, with more than 100 million expected to go abroad this year. In 2012, they overtook the Americans and Germans as the top international spenders, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.



Star appeal: After being used as a location for China's highest-grossing homegrown film of all time, Chiang Mai university is experiencing disruption from visiting tourists

However, Chiang Mai is one city that is not so keen on its new visitors, who are considered loud, uncouth and culturally unaware.

While the tourism industry may welcome the influx, 80 per cent of residents in Chiang Mai have said they are highly displeased with Chinese behavior.



The survey and numerous comments on Thai social media blamed Chinese for spitting, littering, cutting into lines, flouting traffic laws and allowing their children to relieve themselves in public pools.



Some restaurant owners complained of Chinese filling up doggy bags at buffets.



Displeased: A survey of Chiang Mai residents found that 80 per cent were unhappy with the behaviour of Chinese visitors

A photograph posted online has further inflamed the situation after it purported to show a Chinese person defecating into Chiang Mai's ancient moat.



'Unfortunately, right now, the feeling is very anti-Chinese. In order to bring out such strong feelings in Chiang Mai people, it must be really bad. Generally, Chiang Mai people are quite tolerant of foreigners,' said Annette Kunigagon, Irish owner of the long-established Eagle Guesthouse.

