In order to standardize the operation of the industry and further protect the rights and interests of consumers, the tour guide service has ushered in a new standard.
The new version of the national standard "Specification for Tour Guide Services" (GB/T 15971-2023) (hereinafter referred to as the "New Specification") has been implemented since April 1. Compared with the old version, the new version of the "Specification" has been reorganized and optimized in terms of tour guide quality requirements and service requirements, and has improved the handling requirements for emergencies and common problems. In response to the chaotic phenomenon of deceiving and coercing tourists, the new version of the "Specification" stipulates that tour guides should arrange shopping activities in strict accordance with the provisions of the travel contract, and should not peddle goods to tourists or induce, deceive, force or disguise tourists to shop.
From the perspective of the industry, the implementation of the new version of the "Specification" means that the tour guide service is developing in a more standardized, professional and safe direction. In the future, improving the professionalism of tour guides through various ways will also add new impetus to the development of domestic tourism.
More and more attention is paid to the quality of tourism services
Tour guides play an integral role in the travel experience, not only as guides, but also as storytellers, cultural communicators, and customer service experts. The role of a tour guide goes far beyond simple route guidance, and they provide visitors with a unique travel experience through a deep knowledge base, a wealth of human care, and professional customer service skills.
Based on the importance of the existence of tour guides, the old version of the national standard of "Specification for Tour Guide Service" was issued and implemented in May 2011, which stipulates the requirements of tour guide services and the principles for dealing with several problems in the service process. Since the implementation of this standard, it has played an active role in standardizing the professional behavior of tour guides, improving the quality of tour guide services, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of tour guides.
With the rapid development of the mainland's tourism industry and the continuous upgrading of the people's consumption demand, the tourism market has shown the characteristics of quality, personalization and diversification. In this context, the market demand, policy background, legal environment, and management requirements faced by tour guide services have undergone great changes, which also puts forward higher requirements for tour guide service capabilities and service quality.
Therefore, in order to meet the needs of consumption upgrading and industry development, promote the improvement of tour guide service levels, and promote the high-quality development of tourism, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has organized the revision of the national standard of "Tour Guide Service Specifications" since 2020, and the new version will be implemented from the 1st of this month after it is approved.
It is worth noting that by comparing the old and new versions of the "Specification", the reporter of China City Daily found that the new version of the "Specification" updated the requirements for the service ability of tour guides, and updated the "quality requirements for tour guides" to "requirements for the service ability of tour guides", and standardized the service capabilities of tour guides from the aspects of ideological quality, technical skills, business knowledge and professional image, such as increasing the value requirements of the tourism industry of "tourist-oriented, sincere service"; and other requirements for reception and operation capabilities, and the addition of knowledge and skill requirements such as "information technology application ability".
"The optimized content of the "Specification" releases a clear signal that the tourism industry is developing in a more standardized and professional direction. Zhu Keli, executive director of the China Information Association and founding president of the National Research Institute of New Economy, said in an interview with a reporter from China City Daily that the new version of the "Specification" is reorganized and optimized in terms of tour guide quality requirements and service requirements, which is conducive to improving the quality of tour guides and refining the service process, marking a new height in the mainland's tourism industry to pay attention to service quality. In particular, the improvement of the quality and service requirements of tour guides shows that the tourism industry has higher requirements for the professionalism and service attitude of employees. This change will help to improve the overall image of the tourism industry, increase the confidence and satisfaction of tourists, and promote the continued prosperity of the tourism market.
It will play a substantial role in curbing the chaos of tourism
Although the state has severely cracked down on the bad behavior of tour guides in the process of tourism development, in recent years, tour guides have deceived and coerced tourists to consume chaos from time to time, such as Lijiang's report that "tourists were driven out of the car without buying 50,000 yuan bracelets", and 37 tourists in Xishuangbanna who did not shop were detained from shopping stores.
Among the top ten public opinion hotspots for consumer rights protection in 2023 released by the China Consumers Association, related complaints caused by deception and hidden traps such as research and study tours and low-cost tours ranked fourth.
The new version of the "Specification" has also added relevant requirements for the above-mentioned tourism chaos caused by tour guides, such as tour guides should arrange shopping activities in strict accordance with the provisions of the travel contract, and should not sell goods to tourists or induce, deceive, force, or disguise to force tourists to shop.
Whether the implementation of the new version of the "Norms" can substantially restrain the chaos has also become the most concerned issue for consumers.
"The new version of the Code will have a substantial restraining effect on the behavior of tour guides from many aspects. Du Shanchuan, secretary-general of Beijing Tongzhou Tourism Industry Association, analyzed in an interview with a reporter from China City Daily, on the one hand, it is clear that tour guides should arrange shopping activities in strict accordance with the provisions of the travel contract, which helps to reduce the inducement, deception, coercion, disguised compulsion of tourists to shop;
In this regard, Zhu Keli also believes that the new version of the "Norms" can not only effectively reduce improper consumption inducement behaviors, but also improve the consumption experience and satisfaction of tourists by clarifying the code of conduct of tour guides. "These regulations contribute to the establishment of a healthy tourism market environment and will further promote the sustainable development of the tourism industry. Zhu Keli said.
Improve the professionalism of tour guides in multiple ways
Since this year, the national cultural tourism market has continued to be hot last year and has a great warming trend.
The just-concluded Qingming holiday took over the Spring Festival holiday, and also handed over a brilliant report card. A reporter from China City Daily learned from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism that according to the data center of the ministry, there were 119 million domestic tourism trips during the three-day Qingming holiday, an increase of 11.5% over the same period in 2019 on a comparable basis, and domestic tourists spent 53.95 billion yuan on travel, an increase of 12.7% over the same period in 2019.
As an important way to promote consumption and stabilize growth, the development of tourism is very important, and as a bridge directly related to tourists and travel agencies, the service of tour guides directly affects the experience and mood of tourists, and the professional level of tour guides is also closely related to the high-quality development of tourism.
In Du Shanchuan's view, the new version of the "Specification" clarifies the service standards and work requirements of tour guides, which will help improve the professionalism and professional ethics of tour guides, so as to provide tourists with a better travel experience. At the same time, it also helps to maintain the order of the tourism market and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
Yuan Shuai, executive vice president of the Institute for the Promotion of Agriculture, Culture and Tourism Industry, suggested that in addition to complying with the new version of the "Norms", tour guides should strengthen cross-cultural communication skills to meet the needs of tourists with different cultural backgrounds under globalization, and use the Internet and social media platforms to improve personal visibility and influence to attract more tourists; In addition, they should continue to learn and self-improvement, pay attention to industry trends and emerging technological means, and constantly improve their professional quality and service level.
In fact, in order to strengthen the construction of the tour guide team, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has taken the lead in holding the national tour guide competition for consecutive years. In the finals of the 5th National Tour Guide Competition, Li Jie, a gold medal tour guide, said in his acceptance speech that he hoped that all sectors of society would work together to work hard for the healthy development of tour guide groups, such as more effective restraint on the behavior of tour guides from the policy level, and severely punish those who touched the red line;
■China City Daily reporter Zhang Yaxin
![The tour guide begged to delete the bad reviews, and the tourists knelt down and begged to be let go, and the reason was bright[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)