Tour guide - a "beggar" who "takes kickbacks"?

A media recently exposed the practice of tour guides taking kickbacks in a program. In the eyes of some people, the profession of tour guide has become inseparable from kickbacks. Tour guides seem to have become a profession dedicated to earning "black money". However, when reporters recently interviewed some people in the tourism industry, they learned that in fact, the profession of tour guide is full of hardships and helplessness.

Life without a salary is so hard

In a program produced by that media, the reporter, as an ordinary tourist, participated in a three-day tour group around Hainan Island. In the past few days, the tour guide spent most of the time leading everyone to shop, and very little time was actually used for sightseeing. The tour guide only showed due enthusiasm when selling products, but the introduction of scenic spots was hasty. Done. The different behavior of the tour guide when shopping and visiting scenic spots made the reporter suspicious. In order to find out, the reporter temporarily organized a group of 4 people, with the reporter playing the role of the tour guide and walking along the route he visited the day before. . This time, the reporter not only learned about the hidden room in the store specifically for tour guides to enter and exit to receive rebates, but also clearly understood that the shopping rebates given by the store to tour guides were as high as nearly 50%. It is probably this kind of high rebate that makes many people envious of the good job of a tour guide. Not only can they travel all over the world for free, but they also have such a generous income. But is that really it? Is this money really so easy to put in your pocket?

In fact, the seemingly glamorous tour guides are all "three no's" (no salary, no fixed work unit, and no insurance). In order to keep costs down, many travel agencies only hire a very small number of tour guides, look for tour guides temporarily during peak seasons, and do not pay the tour guides any remuneration. The income of tour guides only depends on shopping rebates and tips from customers. Of course, only foreign tour groups can get tips. For domestic tour guides, most of our tourists are not in the habit of tipping yet, and all their income comes from kickbacks (commonly known as "bargaining"). Sometimes, not only are there no wages, but there is also a certain capitation fee for traveling and socializing. For example, the head fee for a Japanese group is about 120 yuan. If you want to pick up a Japanese group of 20 people from a travel agency, the tour guide must first pay 2,400 yuan to the travel agency. The tour guide will also need to pay the tickets, fares, and food expenses for these days in advance, and then reimburse the travel agency with the receipts. Where can this money come from? The only way is to "set up shop".

Of course, there are conditions for reimbursement to the travel agency, that is, there are no complaints from the guests in the group. As long as one customer complains, the tour guide will not be reimbursed at all. In addition, some travel agencies do not respect credibility and professional ethics, and some illegal black travel agencies also harm the interests of tour guides. Miss Mei, the tour guide, took over an American group this summer. She worked hard for four or five days, but because a customer had a slight disagreement with the shop owner while buying cloisonne, she complained about her poor service. As a result, the travel agency not only refused to sign up for this group for her. The fees, including the four groups she took this month, were not paid at all. During the golden months of travel, not only did Miss Mei not make a dime, she actually pocketed five to six thousand yuan.

It’s not just the body that’s tired

Most of these stragglers living in Beijing are foreign tour guides who do not have Beijing household registration. Because they do not have a formal job unit and stable income, they have a hard time in their hearts. Lack of sense of belonging. Tour guides, a career that feeds youth, also gives them a greater sense of urgency than other employees. They must seize every opportunity to make money and save for future emergencies. Without any medical insurance, what they fear most is Get ill.

The flexibility of tour guides’ working hours allows them to take several groups without a break during the peak tourist season. During the period of leading a group, the uncertainty of working hours determines the uncertainty of work intensity. Once a tour guide joins a group, he is basically working 24 hours a day. During the day, the group eats, travels, uses, and plays, and at night he stays and rests. The tour guide may also have to deal with some emergencies at night: for example, when a guest is sick. Help find a doctor, or if there are not enough hotel rooms, you have to find another place to live. Depending on the schedule, they may get up at five or six o'clock in the morning and rest at 11 or 12 o'clock in the evening. Sometimes they can only rest for three or four hours a day. The energy and physical exertion is beyond the comprehension of laymen.

In addition, bad weather is often encountered during travel, which to a certain extent increases the intensity and difficulty of the work of tour guides. Many tour guides suffer from different occupational diseases due to overwork. Ms. Liu, who led a Japanese tour group, contracted diabetes after only four years of work, and had to say goodbye to her beloved tourism career in her young adulthood. Being a tour guide is a high-paying profession, but it comes at the expense of physical strength, health and even life.

On the other hand, the professional nature of tour guides also determines that no matter what happens to them personally or how picky the guests they encounter, they must face it with enthusiasm. For example, when some tourists ask the tour guide to tell dirty jokes again and again upon arrival, young and beautiful tour guides have to endure malicious harassment from individual male tourists. This kind of psychological pressure often exceeds the physical exertion.

Tour guides are almost the same as beggars

Tourism can be divided into off-season and peak season. This characteristic determines that tour guides may be the most popular ones in the peak season, but in the off-season when there are more monks and less rice, They must find a way to find something to do. In order to find some work during the off-season, they usually have to have a good relationship with the travel agency. Sometimes they even have to beg the travel agency in a low-key manner. Even though they know that they are losing money, they still have to do it. Some tour guides also want to get some work. Some groups with better quality have to give gifts, because the size and quality of the group directly determine the income of the tour guides and their survival. Of course, most tour guides would not dare to imagine some inbound groups from Japan and South Korea, because travel agencies usually give these groups to tour guides who have a relationship with the travel agency. Therefore, some guides say that they are worse than beggars. Beggars are pure income, but they may not get anything in return for all the hard work they put in physically and mentally.

Another reason for calling themselves beggars is that in order to get customers to enter the store, they have to do everything possible to please the customers, sometimes even begging the customers to enter the store. As competition becomes increasingly fierce, and various media outlets expose the kickbacks given by tour guides, tourists become more and more disgusted with entering stores, and many people consciously boycott this behavior. As a tour guide, most people are not willing to be unscrupulous and risk being complained by tricking tourists into entering the store. Tour guide Miss Bai clearly told reporters that she only asks for the income she deserves, which is hard-earned money, As for the service fees and wages that the travel agency should pay, she hopes to work openly and openly, follow the travel itinerary to visit when it is time to visit, and enter the store when it is time to enter, and everything will be open to the public. However, the current status and system of the tourism industry prevents their rights and interests from being protected, and the various competitions between tour guides for business have also made their survival difficult. In order to get back the cost, the tour guides who have paid the first fee have to hide their conscience and self-esteem, and use all their strength to coax and deceive tourists to enter the store. This is an unspeakable torture for most tour guides.

Tour guides are having an even tougher time this year. November is originally a golden month for tourism, and tour guides can take advantage of this opportunity to make up for the shortfall in the off-season. Due to the impact of the "9·11" incident, the number of inbound tourists from the United States to China will drop significantly, leaving more tour guides with nothing to do.

Tourism management needs to be further improved

Just as tour guides have many unspeakable difficulties, travel agencies have no choice but to not pay tour guides. Li Hui, the head of CITS, told reporters that travel agencies also want to sign long-term contracts with tour guides and pay tour guides wages according to their work and corresponding insurance and other benefits. This will not only improve the service quality of tour guides, but also better treat tour guides. Carry out management and supervision to reduce complaints and disputes. But now the tourism market is a buyer's market. It is no longer easy for travel agencies to make "small profits but quick turnover". More and more people simply drop below the cost price to engage in vicious competition. Travel agencies no longer have the ability to support tour guides, let alone pay them wages, because their Profits can only be obtained by exploiting the labor of drivers and tour guides. For example, if Americans come to Beijing for three nights and four days, visit the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, Dingling Tombs and other scenic spots, taste Beijing roast duck, dumpling banquet and other delicious meals, and stay in five hotels, the group reception price Only $230 (including meals, accommodation, tickets and other fees listed). With such a low price, the travel agency has no profit at all and can only make up for it by collecting the head fee from the tour guide. But if you raise the price, other travel agencies will poach the group away. Therefore, it is obviously urgent to control the vicious competition among travel agencies. Only in this way can China's tourism industry better face the entry of foreign travel agencies after joining the WTO.

Manager Li Hui also said that the management and supervision of tour guides should be further strengthened. It is necessary to clarify the scope of responsibilities of tour guides and give them due wages. Once a tour guide neglects his duty and takes guests shopping without authorization, the relevant departments must severely punish him. And tour guides should also have organizations similar to "trade unions" to educate and manage employees in all aspects.

Finally, Manager Li Hui reminded tourists to think carefully and ask more questions when choosing travel products. For example: a three-night, four-day trip from Beijing to Hainan only costs 2,380 yuan, while the one-way air ticket from Beijing to Haikou is 1,950 yuan. Even if the air ticket is 50% off, the round trip costs 1,950 yuan. How can the remaining 400 yuan be enough for three nights and four days? What about the day's accommodation and meal tickets, transportation fees, and tour guide service fees? Therefore, before you make a choice, you must ask clearly what type of travel product you are purchasing. More importantly, as a consumer, you must remember your rights. If you find that the travel product you purchased does not agree with the agreement If there is any discrepancy in the book, a complaint must be made promptly.