Relax - Beijing seeks to stop commissions for tour guides

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Beijing seeks to stop commissions for tour guides

China Daily, ANN | Fri, Jan 22 2010

Almost 19,000 registered tour guides in Beijing will lose the bulk of their earnings.

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[top photo: File picture of locals and tourists visiting the Forbidden City in Beijing on November 10, 2009]

ALMOST 19,000 registered tour guides in Beijing will lose the bulk of their earnings if a government proposal to stop them from asking for commissions from souvenir shops is enacted.

The draft, known as the “Service Requirement for One-day Sightseeing in Beijing”, will collect feedback from the public on a government website until Feb 18.

Specifically, it aims to prohibit tour guides in Beijing from asking for commissions from shops at scenic spots, for introducing one-day tourists. The Beijing tourism administration proposed the draft.

A Sina.com article stated that there were 18,815 registered tour guides in Beijing in 2007, the most recent statistics available.

The People’s Daily wrote last November that a typical day tour in Beijing involves two hours of sightseeing and six of shopping.

“There are only 40 registered travel agencies in Beijing, but over 800 travel agencies run day tours in the city. Most are illegal,” said a municipal official surnamed Zhu.

“Many shops give a large (amount of) commission to guides.

They want them to introduce many customers,” he added.

However, tour agencies and guides said the draft edict is unrealistic and may damage the industry.

Said a travel-agency manager surnamed Zhou: “The government wanted to stop tour guides from earning commissions for years but never succeeded.”

Mr Bruce Yang, a 25-year-old tour guide who has been working in Beijing for two years, said commissions make up virtually all of his income.

“Travel agencies pay us, per tour, no more than 50 yuan (S$10). But, if my clients spend 2,000 yuan at shops with business connections to my agency, they give me as much as 1,000 yuan in commissions. I give 500 yuan to the coach driver and another 10 per cent to the agency. I clear 450 yuan per trip,” he said.

Mr Yang also said tour guides do not ask for commissions from the shops, but are given it regardless.

“This is a hidden rule. If we stop taking commissions from the shops, the agencies need to charge customers more to make up the difference. The number of tourists will obviously drop,” he added.