Explain in detail what is the free practice of tour guides and analyze the development prospect of free practice of tour guides.

1. Tour guides and travel agencies: from "single appointment" to "two-way choice"

The Tourism Law stipulates that tour guides must be appointed by travel agencies to practice. That is to say, it is illegal for tour guides to appoint practitioners through other subjects.

changing this affiliation is the core of the free practice reform of tour guides, so that tour guides are no longer subject to the "single channel" of travel agencies, and can obtain practice opportunities through travel agencies, network platforms, tourism distribution centers, tourism consultation centers and tourist service centers in A-level scenic spots.

where there is a market, there are footsteps. The market is a prophet, while the reform is often a hindsight of the market. In reality, many tour guides have been in a state similar to free practice, and they have not signed employment contracts with travel agencies and are directly appointed by travel agencies to practice; At the same time, hotels, tourist centers and resorts will also match the practice of tour guides according to market demand. Therefore, opening tour guides to practice freely can be regarded as "confirmation of facts" and recognition of spontaneous "market creation" to a certain extent.

the free practice of tour guides has given birth to a new relationship between tour guides and travel agencies-from "single appointment" to "two-way choice and independent job selection".

first, the tour guide is liberated from the travel agency and establishes a more direct relationship between supply and demand with tourists through online platforms or offline institutions, which relieves or weakens the "personal attachment" and "interest attachment" of the tour guide to the travel agency.

Secondly, travel agencies are also liberated from "keeping tour guides", and choose excellent tour guides that suit them through the Internet platform, or get tour guide services conveniently according to the temporary demand of the market, and are not forced to sign long-term employment contracts with tour guides, thus reducing operating costs.

because the original model was that tour guides had to be appointed by travel agencies to practice, tour guides became the downstream of travel agencies in the tourism service chain, at the lowest end of the interest chain, and had the weakest voice in the distribution of interests. Travel agencies often regard "low price" as a means of competition and transmit risks to tour guides at the lowest end of the service chain.

the reform of free practice of tour guides is conducive to breaking the inherent chain relationship, making tour guides shift from the end of the service chain to the front end, making tour guides play an independent role as a certain market factor, obtaining practice opportunities by high-quality services and expertise, and forming a positive market orientation, which is conducive to breaking the inherent interest chain of "unreasonable low-cost travel" and forcing travel agencies to change the competitive mode of low prices.

2. Tour guides and tourists: from "designated dispatch" to "independent choice"

Travel agencies generally attract and organize group tours, and tour guides appointed by travel agencies generally only serve group tourists. The tour guide strung together all the links of the package tour, and the service of the package tour should be reflected through the service of the tour guide.

However, as consumers, tourists have almost no right to speak. Tourists mainly choose travel products according to the route and price. At present, there is no way to fix the tour guide when booking the route products, just like other elements in the itinerary.

As a front-line service provider, tour guides can't establish a direct supply-demand relationship between tourists and tour guides, and tour guides can't directly accept tourists' choices and directly face tourists' evaluations, so it is difficult to manage their own brands and service features.

However, the trend of individual tourists in China is becoming more and more obvious, and the proportion of group tours is getting smaller and smaller. There are about 8, registered tour guides in China, among which less than 2, tour guides are employed by travel agencies for a long time, accounting for less than 29% of licensed tour guides, and the number of jobs provided by travel agencies for tour guides is very limited. Tourists' fast-growing travel choices do not have much bets on travel agencies. The "bonus" brought by the rapid development of China's tourism industry has not spilled over to travel agencies.

what kind of market structure, there must be corresponding public management. The shrinkage of group tours and the rise of free travel require tour guides to get rid of rigid affiliation and the working mode of "travel agency assignment" and turn to individualized quality services to meet tourists' expectations for exquisite tourism.

Tour guides are determined by the relative independence of the nature of their work and the relative professionalism of their services, mainly focusing on professional explanation and guidance. Under the background of deep segmentation of tourism, free practice of tour guides means that the tour guide service will return to the value orientation centered on tourists' satisfaction, which is undoubtedly a rediscovery of the individual value of tour guides.

3. Tour guide and practice platform: from "single channel" to "multiple channels"

Due to policy reasons and industry operation habits, tour guides mainly rely on travel agencies to provide "job opportunities" and earn income, and the main income mode depends on the "arrangement" of travel agencies. Although some travel agencies have done some "optimization", the business model of traditional travel agencies has not changed fundamentally.

there are structural contradictions on the supply side in the tour guide service. Tour guides are attached to travel agencies, and the information receiving channels are narrow, so the demand found through offline travel agencies is limited; On the other hand, self-help tourists and tour groups need tour guide services, but they can't find corresponding tour guides.

The free practice of tour guides aims to change this situation, so that travel agencies are not the only accredited subjects, and more subjects can allocate tour guide resources. The increasingly popular mobile Internet is deeply transforming traditional industries. Tour guides promote themselves through the Internet platform, provide tour guide and explanation services, receive more jobs, and make it easier for tourists to find tour guides, thus eliminating the information asymmetry between the supply and demand sides.

"Internet platform+tour guide" is a new attraction of tourism. Through the Internet and other media to achieve direct connection between the supply and demand sides, and to build a "sharing economy" that makes full use of idle resources, it fills the shortage of huge demand for certain products or services in the market. Internet platform controls a large share of the market and will have stronger bargaining power and greater voice.

The free practice of tour guides is a brand-new standard of interest distribution and a brand-new way of interest incentive, and the presence and discourse power of tour guides in the whole tourism industry chain will be greatly improved. The "bargaining power" and "discourse power" of other links are not strong, and various transactions will be subject to Internet platform enterprises.

4. Tour guides and tourism departments: from "single law enforcement" to "social supervision"

The traditional supervision is like this. Tour guides provide services for tourists, and the supervision department supervises them, that is, what inferior services the tour guides provide. As long as the supervision department doesn't know and has no evidence, it is difficult to protect the interests of tourists, and the behavior of tour guides is difficult to be punished, and the illegal cost is lower.

this supervision mode requires a large number of supervision departments and full coverage of business activities. But in fact, the administrative expenditure is limited, and the number of law enforcement personnel is not unlimited.

the best management method is how to let the tourists who receive the service supervise and evaluate the tour guides who provide the service, and let the stakeholders supervise each other. Compared with tourists, tour guides are the majority, and tour guides are the majority compared with supervisors. It is a difficult problem to supervise the majority with the minority, and how to supervise the minority with the majority is the biggest weapon of supervision.

To this end, mobilizing the enthusiasm of tourists and letting countless tourists participate in the comments together will describe the practice track and service quality of tour guides. Judging the service quality of a tour guide from this track is always more accurate than the impression once or twice.