What impact will the implementation of the Tourism Law have on tour guides?

Tour guides have always been considered "the soul of the tourism industry" and "the most representative staff in the tourism industry" in China. However, with the rapid development of the tourism industry and the chaos in the tourism market, this once glorious profession has gradually evolved into the focus and flashpoint of problems and contradictions in the tourism industry, and has been criticized by society. The official implementation of the Tourism Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Tourism Law") on October 1, 2013 has had a great impact on tour guides who are in the professional whirlpool. In the short term, these impacts may lead to varying degrees of decline in the professional income of tour guides; in the long term, they will surely promote the professionalization process of Chinese tour guides, comprehensively improve the quality and social status of tour guides, and contribute to the promotion of China's tourism industry. Lay a solid foundation for rapid development. 1. The impact of the implementation of the "Tourism Law" on tour guides. Among the 112 clauses in 10 chapters of the "Tourism Law", there are as many as 14 clauses that explicitly mention "tour guides", accounting for 12.5%. From this we can see the important role and special status of tour guides in tourism activities and tourism development. The 14 articles clearly stipulate the admission conditions, salary income, profit distribution with travel agencies, rights and legal responsibilities of tour guides in their work. Judging from the results of the survey more than a month after its implementation, the promulgation and implementation of the "Tourism Law" has indeed brought many real impacts to the work and life of tour guides. (1) Positive impacts 1. Tour guides have stronger legal protection. Article 37 of Chapter 4 of the Tourism Law defines the application conditions for a tour guide certificate as “passing the tour guide qualification examination, entering into a labor contract with a travel agency, or having a relevant Persons registered with tourism industry organizations can apply for a tour guide certificate. "Compared with the "Regulations on the Management of Tour Guides" implemented in 1999, the "Tourism Law" replaces the "Relevant Tourism Industry Organizations" that have been used in the "Regulations on the Management of Tour Guides". "Tour Guide Service Company". This is because in actual operation, "tour guide service companies" have some institutional flaws: First, the "tour guide service company"'s own legal status is unclear, it is unable to sign a labor contract with the affiliated tour guides, and it cannot be used when legal disputes occur during tour guide activities. Second, some "tour guide service companies" implement a policy of only charging but not providing service or only managing but not protecting the affiliated tour guides, which has caused great harm to the rights and interests of tour guides. The implementation of the "Tourism Law" straightened out the legal relationship between tour guide management and the "Labor Law" and "Labor Contract Law", placed the professional activities of tour guides under the legal protection of the state, and ensured the various rights of tour guides. Strong legal protection. 2. Tour guides have fixed income channels. The Tourism Law ensures from the source that all types of tour guides have fixed income channels. Article 38 regulates the interest distribution relationship between travel agencies and tour guides by distinguishing the different income sources of the two types of tour guides. For full-time tour guides hired by travel agencies, the "Tourism Law" requires that travel agencies must "establish labor contracts in accordance with the law, pay labor remuneration, and pay social insurance fees." The legitimate interests of full-time tour guides as formal employees of travel agencies have been safeguarded; and for a large number of tourists For all kinds of social tour guides and part-time tour guides temporarily hired by travel agencies, it is required that "the travel agency shall pay the tour guides in full the tour guide service fees stipulated in paragraph 3 of Article 60 of this Law" (that is, the tour guides specified in the package tour contract tour guide service fee). The significance of this clause is to protect through legal form the fixed source of income that various temporary tour guides can obtain when providing tour guide services. Such legal provisions have reversed the income distribution mechanism in which most tour guides can only obtain "grey" income by increasing self-funded projects, leading groups to shop in stores, and evading fares. On the one hand, it will enhance the sense of professional honor of tour guides; on the other hand, It will harmonize the relationship between tour guides and tourists, thereby improving the quality of tour guide services. 3. Clarify the legal responsibilities that tour guides and travel agencies should bear respectively. Articles 96, 100, 101, 102 and 103 of Chapter 9 "Legal Responsibilities" of the Tourism Law impose strict regulations on tour guides when they are working as tour guides. Detailed and specific penalty provisions have been made for performance during the activities and related interests. Putting tour guide services under legal supervision will certainly standardize the professional behavior of tour guides. At the same time, these legal provisions also list clear punitive measures for travel agencies’ violations. For example, Article 96 stipulates that travel agencies that “fail to arrange for a leader or tour guide to accompany an outbound or inbound group tour in accordance with regulations, arrange for a tour guide to fail to obtain a tour guide certificate, or If a person holding a tour escort certificate provides tour guide or tour escort services, fails to pay the tour guide service fee to a temporarily hired tour guide, and requires the tour guide to advance or collect fees from the tour guide, fines, suspension of business for rectification, or revocation of the travel agency business license will be imposed. penalties for certification. This not only changed the dilemma of tour guides as a vulnerable group lacking professional protection when handling tourism disputes and complaints before the implementation of the "Tourism Law", but also reduced the economic burden of tour guides in tour guide activities, and also helped to reasonably standardize the legal responsibilities of travel agencies. , guide travel agencies to proactively strengthen cooperation with tour guides, jointly improve the quality of tourism services, and lay a good foundation for the development of the package tourism market. (2) "Negative" impact 1. Sharp drop in income Article 35 of the "Tourism Law" stipulates that "travel agencies are not allowed to designate specific shopping venues and are not allowed to arrange additional paid travel projects.

After consultation with tourists or at the request of tourists, travel agencies can also choose tourist destinations and commercial districts that mainly serve the local public and arrange shopping for tourists, but they are not allowed to obtain kickbacks and other illicit benefits through these activities. "The direct impact of this regulation is that tour guides no longer receive commissions from tourists for shopping and participating in self-funded projects, which was the main source of income for tour guides before the implementation of the Tourism Law. Although Article 38 of the Tourism Law stipulates that tour guides You have the right to require travel agencies to pay labor remuneration in accordance with the law, that is, "tour guide service fees". Tour guide service fees are generally included in the tour fee paid by tourists, but due to differences in the quotations of various travel agencies, the "tour guide service fees" given to tour guides are also different. Similarly, there is currently no unified payment standard for tour guide service fees for travel agencies in the tourism market. In Dali, some travel agencies charge 400 yuan per day for tour guide service, but most travel agencies charge 150 yuan to 300 yuan per day. However, compared with the income earned by tourists from shopping and participating in self-funded projects in the past, it is an indisputable fact that the income of most tour guides has dropped significantly. Among the Dali tour guides who participated in the survey, 70% have been working for more than ten years. of the tour guides admitted that their income has decreased by 80%, 22% admitted that their income has decreased by more than 50%, and only 8% of the tour guides admitted that their income is about the same as before or slightly reduced. 2. There is no tour group to take except shopping. In addition to commissions for self-funded projects, another impact the implementation of the "Tourism Law" has on tour guides is the reduction in the number of tour groups. Many tour guides are in the embarrassing situation of having no tour groups to take. After the implementation of the "Tourism Law", various tourist routes have changed. Prices have generally increased by 30% to 40%, and some have increased by more than 50%. When many tourists heard that the prices had increased so much, they would rather go on a self-guided tour and stop joining the group tour. According to statistics from the Dali Digital Tourism Platform, During the National Day Golden Week this year, Dali *** received 2,986 tourist groups, a year-on-year decrease of 11%; the number of group tourists received was 43,000, a year-on-year decrease of 18%; the number of group tourists in major scenic spots dropped by approximately 21% compared with the same period last year. The situation is not that tour guides do not want or are unwilling to take tours, but that many tour guides simply have no tours to take. Although the "Tourism Law" has only been implemented for more than a month, many tour guides have already begun to consider changing careers. 2. "Tourism Law" Self-adjustment strategies for tour guides in the context of implementation (1) Face up to stress In modern society, high pressure in work and life is a common phenomenon, and it is not just present in tour guide work and the tourism industry. Stress can have positive effects. When faced with a decrease in the number of tour groups and income, tour guides should take the initiative to relieve pressure, turn pressure into motivation, and strive to adjust their roles to adapt to the new situation faced by tour guides after the implementation of the Tourism Law. When tour guides feel too stressed in life or work, they should learn to take the initiative to vent, tell their relatives, classmates, and friends about their various experiences at work, or engage in some sports and entertainment activities to release their depression and let themselves go. Feel physically and mentally comfortable. After receiving a tour group, the tour guide should actively summarize the work, solve and release the difficulties, problems and resulting pressure in a timely manner to avoid bringing them to the next tour guide job. (2) Re-examine the job and evaluate yourself. Redefining the job can allow tour guides to maintain their enthusiasm for the job even if their income drops. Tour guides should regard each group tour as a systematic task, make overall arrangements, and prepare carefully. It is necessary to have a clear understanding of the work process and every detail and be confident; to organize an efficient team of workers, which not only has a clear division of labor, but also combines each other's tasks, coordinates with each other, and decides together how to to complete the work smoothly; work hard to make tourists feel satisfied and even praised for themselves and their work, thereby improving their sense of accomplishment and pride; open up smooth channels for information exchange and feedback, and understand the travel agency, colleagues and *** employees’ expectations of themselves and their evaluation of their work, and provide them with timely feedback on their views, opinions, and suggestions on their work to establish a mechanism of mutual trust. (3) Beyond professional self: The repetitive and boring work of tour guides day after day, year after year, as well as the sharp drop in income, have caused tour guides to lose their sense of pride, intimacy and freshness in their work and life. Therefore, tour guides should escape from work after work, find new areas for life outside tour guide work, discover their own fun, shorten the psychological distance with relatives and friends, show many potentials that they have no chance to show in their work, and gain some kind of potential. degree of psychological satisfaction and spiritual compensation lost at work. Don't just think of the amount of income as the only criterion for measuring the work of a tour guide. If you attach the feeling of success outside of work, it will be easier to maintain a positive attitude when you are frustrated in your work as a tour guide. 3. Conclusion The implementation of the "Tourism Law" is undoubtedly an external restraining force for tour guides. It can solve the problems faced by tour guides such as high pressure in the working environment, no guarantee of professional income, low social evaluation of tour guides' work, and interests among working groups. Problems such as conflicts and curbing various irregular behaviors of tour guides will have an important impact. Tour guides can become beneficiaries of the implementation of the "Tourism Law" only by strengthening their studies, striving to improve their business skills and quality, providing tourists with high-quality tour guide services, and adapting to the new changes and trends in the tourism market after the implementation of the "Tourism Law" , so that their own interests are fully protected by the law.

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