Sightseer Series/Roger Minick

The French resort operator Club Med has received a buyout offer from, among others, the The French resort operator Club Med has received a buyout offer from, among others, the Chinese conglomerate Fosul International . Fosul wants to help expand Club Med to China, where the company already operates two resorts.





This news highlights the growing importance of Chinese tourists in the global economy.

Only a short while ago, American tourists were the world's most important tourists. They were also among the world's most reviled tourists, with the stereotype of the loud, obnoxious, ostentatious, and rude "ugly American" becoming known throughout the world.

But now it's Chinese tourists who are spending big, appalling locals, and embarrassing their country.

Last week, a 15-year old tourist from Nanjing scrawled his name on a 3,500 year-old carving in Egypt's Luxor Temple. Another Chinese tourist took a picture of the graffiti and posted it to a Chinese social media site, triggering a massive backlash and parental apology.

Nor was this the only Chinese tourism incident that has caught people's attention.

Gwynn Guilford of Quart z describes a litany of recent complaints about Chinese tourists: