What is the nature of tour guides in China?

First, the nature of the tour guide work

The nature of tour guide work has different manifestations in different times and countries, which is caused by the differences in social system, economic development level, ideology, national culture and tourism development stage.

The tour guide work in socialist China is fundamentally different from that in capitalist countries. Our country's tour guide work is a tourism undertaking that serves the country's socialist construction and civil exchanges at home and abroad. It takes tourists as its service object, takes coordinating tourism activities, guiding explanations and helping tourists understand China as its main service duty, takes communicating language and culture as its main service form, takes enhancing mutual understanding and friendship as its main work purpose, and takes "warm, friendly and thoughtful service" as its service motto.

However, countries around the world have basically the same understanding of the sociality, culture, service and foreign-related nature of tour guide work (international tour guide work).

As a tour guide, it is very important to understand the nature of tour guide work, because it is a main line, guiding the words and deeds of tour guides, affecting and even determining the quality of tour guide service.

sociality

Tourism is a social phenomenon and plays a very important role in promoting the construction of social material civilization and spiritual civilization. Tour guides are the center of tourist reception, receiving guests from all over the world and promoting the biggest social activities in the world. So the work they are engaged in is social in itself. Moreover, tour guide work is a social occupation, and for most tour guides, it is a means of making a living.

(2) Cultural nature

Tour guide service is an important channel for spreading culture. The tour guide's explanation, daily conversation with tourists, and even his words and deeds are affecting tourists, expanding the influence of traditional culture and modern civilization of a country, a region and a nation. Tour guides serve tourists from all countries and nationalities in the world, giving them knowledge, fun and beauty through guidance and vivid and wonderful explanations. At the same time, they also absorbed the traditional culture and modern civilization of various countries and nationalities intentionally or unintentionally, and spread foreign culture. Therefore, the tour guide service plays a role in communicating and spreading spiritual civilization, creating spiritual wealth for mankind and directly or indirectly spreading the traditional culture and modern civilization of a country and nation.

(3) service.

Tour guide work belongs to the service industry and has important economic significance. Tour guide service, like other services in the tertiary industry, belongs to unproductive labor. It is a kind of labor that satisfies tourists' sightseeing desire, aesthetic desire and safe and comfortable travel demand by providing certain labor activities, such as translation, tour guide explanation and travel life service, so as to create special use value. However, tour guide service is different from ordinary and simple skill service. It is a complex, highly intelligent and highly skilled service, so it is an advanced service.

However, the tour guide work is a service work after all, and every tour guide in China must realize the principle of equality in interpersonal relationships and the relationship between unequal roles; We must clearly understand the relationship between China people's "master" role to foreigners and the "service" role of tour guides to tourists. If these relationships are confused and a clear line cannot be drawn, the tour guide's work will definitely go from failure to failure.

Tour guide work is a kind of labor that creates special use value through certain labor activities and has economic attributes. The economic significance of tour guide work is mainly manifested in the following aspects:

1. Direct income generation

Tour guides directly serve tourists, providing them with language translation services, tour guide explanation services, travel life services and various agency services, and charging service fees and handling fees. It can be seen that the tour guide work itself can generate foreign exchange for national construction, withdraw funds and accumulate funds.

2. Expand the source of tourists

Tourists are a prerequisite for the survival and development of tourism. Without tourists, it is impossible to develop tourism, and tour guides will have no customers. Therefore, all countries and regions wishing to develop tourism are making a big fuss about how to attract tourists. Countries all over the world, especially developed countries, spend a lot of money and energy on large-scale advertising activities at home and abroad to attract tourists. Spanish tourism authorities believe that the secret of the great success of national tourism lies in "meticulous, high-quality and effective publicity"; The Italian tourism industry pointed out that tourism propaganda is the "locomotive" to promote the development of national tourism.

However, advertising is not the only means to attract tourists. There is also a kind of publicity that is often more effective, and that is the "free publicity" made by tourists. Whether this kind of publicity can play a good role or have a negative impact is directly related to the quality of tourism services, especially the quality of tour guide services. Providing tourists with high-quality tourism services, especially excellent tour guide services, is an important means to improve the popularity of national tourism and tourist attractions, and to maintain and improve the reputation and competitiveness of tourism and tourism enterprises. In the international tourism market, the quality of tourism service has become the focus of fierce competition. Tourism service quality is the lifeline of travel agencies, and service quality is the basic guarantee of outreach. Tourists who are satisfied with quality service will generally introduce their experiences abroad to their relatives and friends, and even recommend the countries and regions they have visited, so as to enhance the popularity of travel agencies, expand their influence, and affect the flow of potential tourists to a certain extent. It can be said that the publicity of tourists' appearance statement is the best, most effective and most economical tourism publicity, which plays an important role in attracting repeat customers and expanding customers.

3. Promotional goods

The development, production and promotion of commodities and tourist souvenirs are an important part of tourism development, and all countries and regions attach great importance to them as an important means to compete for tourists' charm and increase tourism income. According to statistics, shopping accounts for about 50% of the total consumption of international tourism in the world. In Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries and regions, the income from selling goods and souvenirs has exceeded the above ratio. In the process of selling goods, tour guides play an important role.

Tour guides are duty-bound to be good shopping consultants for tourists when selling goods. In order to do this job well, tour guides should:

1) attaches importance to ideas and has a positive attitude.

Tourists are satisfied and happy to buy satisfactory goods and souvenirs during their travels. The destination country (place) also sells goods on the spot, obtains foreign exchange or withdraws money, and accumulates construction funds. Every tour guide must realize that meeting the shopping requirements of tourists is an extremely important part of tour guide work, and try his best to meet the tourists to the maximum extent.

2) Be familiar with commodities and be enthusiastic about publicity.

Tourists come from far away and always want to buy some handicrafts, local products, souvenirs and practical items with national characteristics and local colors at the tourist destination, either as souvenirs, for home use or as gifts for relatives and friends. In order to meet the different shopping needs of tourists, tour guides should be familiar with the origin, quality, use value, price and artistic value of tourist souvenirs as much as possible, and actively introduce them to tourists and be good shopping consultants. In addition, we should also know where and which store is the best to buy certain items, so as to help tourists buy the best items in the shortest time, and more importantly, meet the rush shopping requirements of conference and business tourists.

3) Understand the object and make the best use of it.

In selling goods, tour guides should not only be familiar with domestic goods, but more importantly, try to find out whether tourists have shopping requirements, purchasing power and what kind of goods they want to buy, so as to provide targeted shopping services for tourists. For example, for middle-aged and elderly housewives, tour guides should introduce more practical items and gifts; For newly-married tourists, we should recommend more cheap and beautifully packaged gifts; For business and conference tourists, it is necessary to use a short time to help them buy satisfactory gifts for their wives, relatives and friends; For tourists with high cultural level and wealth, they can be advised to buy high-end goods such as handicrafts with China characteristics or national characteristics and local characteristics; For those who are short of money, don't recommend goods to them too much, let alone advise them to buy high-end goods, so as not to embarrass them ... In short, tour guides should understand tourists and try their best to meet their different shopping needs.

4) master the principle of sales promotion

The promotion of goods must be based on the premise that tourists "need to shop and are willing to shop". Don't arrange shopping time too much, never force sales, and don't violate the law and discipline, forcing tourists to shop in their "related households" to seek personal gain and harm tourists. We should not only sell goods, but also maintain the commercial reputation of the country or place. Tour guides must seek truth from facts when introducing commodities, and must not brag about them indiscriminately, and must not shoddy and confuse the real with the fake; The price should be reasonable and fair, and it is not allowed to raise prices at will, and it is not allowed to "kill customers" with unscrupulous merchants. The standard for tour guides to do a good job in shopping service is not only to sell goods, but also to satisfy tourists after shopping.

4. Promote economic exchanges

China is carrying out large-scale socialist economic construction, and all localities need funds and advanced science and technology. There are many scientists, professors, experts from all walks of life and people in the economic circles among overseas tourists and domestic tour groups visiting China. Some of them hope to get in touch with their counterparts all over the world and exchange information with each other, or hope to understand the possibility of cooperation and investment environment through visits, and some may have the intention of lending or donating. In the process of interacting with tourists, tour guides should be conscientious and try to understand the wishes of tourists. Once the above-mentioned signs are found, we should report to the travel agency without losing time, actively match the bridge under the instructions of the leaders, promote the scientific and technological economic exchanges between China and foreign countries and regions, and make due contributions to China's socialist construction.

5. Reduce expenditure and increase income

Tour guides are at the center of arranging the activity schedule, so they must have economic awareness, learn to make reasonable arrangements, adjust flexibly and save money. At present, many travel agencies implement independent accounting by department or even single group accounting, requiring tour guides to learn to settle accounts and calculate carefully to increase their income without affecting the quality of tourism services.

One of the main purposes of establishing and developing tourism is to generate income, earn foreign exchange and accumulate construction funds for the country. It is the sacred duty of every China citizen to contribute to socialist construction. Tour guides must establish the concept of commodity economy, organically combine the improvement of tour guide service quality with the improvement of economic benefits, and earn more foreign exchange, withdraw more money and accumulate more funds for the country.

(4) Foreign affairs

Overseas tourists are an important part of China's tourist sources, and the tour guide work for receiving overseas tourists is foreign-related.

Tourism is the largest non-governmental exchange activity with the largest number of participants in the world. According to the statistics of the World Tourism Organization, 1993, the number of international tourists exceeded 500 million (the number of domestic tourists reached more than 4 billion). Tourists have made great contributions to enhancing understanding among people of all ethnic groups in the world and safeguarding world peace, and tour guides who provide services for tourists play an important role in this folk diplomatic activity.

In socialist China, the political significance of tour guide work and the role of folk diplomacy are mainly manifested in three aspects: promoting China, understanding foreign countries and being a good folk ambassador.

1. Promote China.

China has a long history, a vast territory, a large population, splendid culture, world-renowned economic development, and increasing influence on the international stage, which will play a major role in the world China in the purple century. There are many tourists interested in China, and most of them want to know about the people of all ethnic groups in China and China. Therefore, it is the unshirkable responsibility of tour guides to help tourists from all directions correctly understand China (hometown). In fact, the tour guide's explanation, chat and discussion with tourists, and his every move are intentionally or unintentionally promoting China (hometown). Because of this, in the work of promoting China and hometown, tour guides should enhance their consciousness and subjective initiative, so as to make their propaganda work colorful and outstanding.

The tour guide's explanation and publicity are not separated or even opposed, but unified and complementary. Therefore, we should try our best to integrate political propaganda into the tour guide's explanation, daily conversation and sightseeing and entertainment, with various forms and flexible methods to avoid rigidity and sameness.

In order to better promote China and exert greater influence, tour guides must follow the following principles when explaining and promoting tour guides:

1) It is one of the basic tasks of tour guides in China to actively promote China and spread China's traditional culture and modern civilization according to the situation. Tour guides should always keep this in mind and be prepared to make efforts to this end. Tour guides must understand that the purpose of tour guides' explanation and publicity is to enhance the understanding and friendship between the people of China and the people of other countries (regions) in the world. Therefore, the way to explain and publicize should focus on the word "guide", explain vividly and naturally, guide actively, and not force preaching. Due to the different objects and atmosphere of the tour guide's explanation and publicity, the tour guide should improvise, take advantage of the situation, and grasp the opportunity and discretion.

2) Seeking truth from facts, there are differences inside and outside.

Visitors to China want to see the real thing and hear the real introduction. They always want to know about China truly. Therefore, a China person, a real China tour guide, must tell the truth when the tour guide explains and publicizes China, and don't talk empty words, cheat or whitewash it. When we talk about achievements, social progress and achievements in socialist revolution and construction, we should compare them vertically, that is, with China in the past, and horizontally, that is, with economically developed countries. A tour guide should know the truth of "seeking truth from facts, putting facts, and the truth is in it". In the tour guide's explanation and publicity, don't jump to conclusions, but let the tourists see the truth, tell them the truth, and let them draw their own conclusions after reading and listening. When we publicize, we should not only talk about achievements, but also talk about shortcomings, not conceal problems, and sincerely solicit opinions and even criticisms from tourists. In doing so, we will discredit socialist China. On the contrary, we will show foreign tourists the spirit and style of seeking truth from facts of the people of China, and show that the people of China are full of confidence in their cause.

However, it is the responsibility of every citizen to keep state secrets, and "internal and external differences" is a discipline that foreign-related staff must abide by. Whether at home or abroad, revealing state secrets is prohibited by national laws and allowed by political discipline. Tour guides must have a clear understanding of this and strictly abide by it when interacting with foreign tourists, and always adhere to the principle that "friendship is friendship, and confidentiality is confidentiality". In foreign exchange activities, any staff member has no right to act and speak at will, which may harm the national interests.

3) targeted, vivid and natural

Tourists have different occupations, social and economic status and national and religious beliefs, so their cultural literacy, hobbies and aesthetic tastes are also different. Therefore, tour guides should explain and publicize different levels of tour guides in different ways according to different objects, and improvise according to the content of the conversation, the mood of the interviewee and the atmosphere at that time, so as to be targeted as far as possible.

The tour guide's explanation and publicity should be natural, vivid and wonderful, the language should be interesting, the examples should be convincing, easy for the other party to accept and be willing to accept, and no preaching, rhetoric, empty talk or nonsense should be allowed.

4) neither supercilious nor supercilious, seeking common ground while reserving differences

Tourists, regardless of nationality, nationality, color, rich or poor, as long as they are our guests, tour guides should treat them equally. In words, manners and attitudes, we should be modest, generous and decent, and avoid doing things that insult the country.

"Seeking common ground while reserving differences" was first put forward by Premier Zhou Enlai at the Bandung Conference in 1955, aiming at correctly handling the differences in social systems of various countries and establishing and developing normal international relations. "Seeking common ground while reserving differences" has become one of the basic principles in handling state-to-state relations, and it is also one of the working principles that foreign-related staff must follow. When dealing with foreign tourists, the tour guide represents China. When talking about China's internal affairs, tour guides should be confident; For some important and subtle questions, we should answer them positively, with clear views but no entanglement; Personal provocation should be rejected, but it should be reasonable, beneficial and restrained. Because different countries and nations have different customs and habits, different moral concepts, different ways of thinking and different political views, the attitude of tour guides should be: express their opinions, respect each other and seek common ground while reserving differences. Arguments are often useless and it is wrong to impose them on others.

Understand foreign countries

Understanding foreign countries is one of the basic duties of tour guides, which is the need of tour guides' work and the need of developing tourism. If you want to know about foreign countries, you must do research.

Knowing about foreign and international tourists can facilitate the work of tour guides and help improve the service quality of tour guides. Tourists' social status, cultural level, living habits, religious beliefs and hobbies are all important basis for tour guides to arrange tourism activities; Knowing the general situation, social dynamics, customs, lifestyle and manners and customs of the destination country is helpful for tour guides to provide tourists with satisfactory tour guide services and tourism life services; Knowing tourists' economic situation and shopping demand is helpful for tour guides to provide them with better shopping services; Knowing the mood and psychological state of tourists, tour guides can provide them with more targeted psychological services ... The above knowledge can be obtained from books, but in the process of getting along with tourists, it is more real and practical to know foreign countries and tourists from their manners, shopping ability and interest, their choice of sightseeing landscapes and their reflection on the visited landscapes. In other words, not only should we learn from books, but more importantly, we should also learn from tourists, investigate and study, understand the situation and increase our knowledge, so as to provide them with more targeted tour guide services and improve the quality of tour guide services.

The operating conditions of foreign tourism enterprises, the combination of tourism products and the way and scale of sales, the flow of tourists from various countries, what tourists from various countries like to see, eat and buy in China, what requirements, suggestions and opinions they have, as well as the general situation, customs and customs of destination countries are all of great significance to the tourism industry of a country and a region, and are helpful to introduce advanced foreign experience and management methods. It is helpful for local tourism industries and tourism enterprises to carry out more targeted publicity and recruitment activities according to specific conditions and continuously develop tourism.

3. Be a good non-governmental ambassador

Tourism is the largest non-governmental diplomatic activity in the world today. Tourism promotes interpersonal communication, enhances mutual understanding and friendship among people of all countries, regions and nationalities, and eliminates misunderstandings caused by mutual isolation. Suspicion, strengthen unity, safeguard national stability and world peace. In this respect, tour guides play an extremely important role.

In the eyes of tourists, a tour guide is a representative of a country or region, a friendly messenger of the people and a "folk ambassador". Tour guides can make friends by making use of the mass and extensive characteristics of tourism activities, and make use of the advantages of wide contact, many opportunities, long time, no language barrier and familiarity with foreign countries and tourists to make extensive contact with tourists and carry out emotional exchanges. A foreign tourist praised China as a bridge of friendship and a friendly messenger of the people of China. Most domestic tour guides are well-deserved. They have noble ideology and morality, profound knowledge and superb tour guide skills. Enthusiastic service attitude, providing excellent tour guide service and humanized tour life service for tourists from all corners of the country, helping them to know China, enhancing mutual understanding of people of all ethnic groups, winning friendship and friends for China and fulfilling the important task of "People's Ambassador".

Second, the characteristics of tour guide work

Tour guide is a highly intelligent and skilled service, and it is a representative service in tourism services. Jobs in all walks of life are different, and tour guide work is no exception. It has many characteristics different from other service industries. With the progress of society and the development of human beings, the characteristics of tour guide work will also change. At present, the basic characteristics of tour guide work can be summarized as follows:

independence

Independent work. The tour guide accepted the task assigned by the travel agency, and it is often necessary to take a group out to travel independently. They should publicize and implement national policies independently, organize activities independently according to the tourism plan and take tour groups around, especially when problems arise, which generally require independent and reasonable handling by tour guides.

The tour guide's explanation is also relatively independent. According to the different cultural levels and aesthetic tastes of different tourists, as well as their emotions in the tourist destination and surrounding environment, tour guides should give targeted explanations to meet their spiritual enjoyment needs. This is the main task of tour guides, and every tour guide should work hard to complete it, and no one else can replace it.

(2) Complexity

The tour guide work is a service work with a high combination of mental work and physical work, with heavy tasks and complex contents. The following seven aspects basically reflect the complexity of tour guide work:

1. International tourism is a foreign activities with strong policies.

The tourist guide work for receiving foreign tourists has the characteristics of foreign affairs and strong policy. There is no small matter in diplomacy, even if it is a small matter. With a little negligence, the problem is not small, and it may even become a major event affecting state relations.

2. The object of work is very complex

The main target of tour guides is tourists. They come from all corners of the country, different nationalities, different colors, different social classes, different occupations, different sexes, different ages, and all kinds of people may have them. Tour guides have to deal with domestic tourism enterprises and their staff when implementing tourism plans, which is also a very complicated class. The relationship between the three members of the tour guide team (full escort, local escort and tour leader) is sometimes difficult to handle.

3. Wide working range

The tour guide should not only carry out the travel plan, but also arrange meals for the tourists. Living, traveling, shopping, entertainment and other activities, but also do a good job in all aspects, play a role in communicating up and down, inside and outside, left and right relations.

4. The content explained by the tour guide is complicated.

The content of the tour guide's explanation is extremely extensive, ranging from astronomy and geography to trivial matters, all within the scope of the tour guide's explanation, and these contents are constantly updated and expanded; On-site tour guides have the characteristics of "urgency, urgency, difficulty and miscellaneous", and there are various difficulties in understanding, knowledge, expression and language, which require tour guides to have the ability to improvise.

5. It is difficult and highly mobile.

Tour guides often have no restrictions on working hours, workload, working procedures and responsibilities. During the tourist season, tour guides often work around the clock and work outside all day and all month. They have to rely on tour guides to explain and climb mountains on foot. It is heavy, difficult and exhausting, and they often cannot rest and live a normal family life.

6. Diversification of tour guide means

With the progress of society and the development of science and technology, there are more and more tour guides, which are becoming more and more complicated and constantly developing and changing.

7. Dual relationship

Tour guides are not only representatives of travel agencies, but also the interests of tourists. They should always think of tourists, negotiate with relevant parties and protect their legitimate rights and interests. Tour guides can't handle this relationship well, and there will be no less trouble.

(C) Cross-cultural

Tour guide work is an important channel for spreading culture. However, the cultural traditions, customs, taboos, ways of thinking, values and ideologies are different among countries in the world and among ethnic groups and regions in China, which determines the cross-cultural nature of tour guide work. Tour guides must work in the differences of various cultures, even in the collision of cultures of various ethnic groups and regions. Tour guides are required to know as much as possible about the differences between Chinese and foreign cultures and the cultures of various ethnic groups and regions in China, so as to successfully complete the important task of spreading culture.

(D) in the face of material temptation and spiritual pollution

Tour guides directly face material temptation and spiritual pollution. The development of tourism activities is conducive to mutual understanding among ethnic groups and promoting cultural exchanges, but it will also produce "spiritual pollution", that is, a country or region will often "introduce" bad ideology and lifestyle while developing tourism. The tour guide plays an indispensable role in cultural exchange through tourism, but he is dealing with all kinds of people anytime and anywhere, some with elegant taste and some with low style; Sometimes tour guides will also face the constant temptation of money, pornography, fame and status, consciously or unconsciously influenced by various concepts, and the chances of directly facing "spiritual pollution" are much more than ordinary people. Some tour guides with weak will and poor self-control ability will be more or less corroded by various decadent ideas and lifestyles, and even become prisoners and sinners of the country.

All countries in the world attach great importance to the "spiritual pollution" caused by tourism activities. Many travel experts have made incisive comments on this, and Hans George Gogenheim, a Swiss tour guide expert, has clearly pointed out: "We are faced with all kinds of temptations, such as money, beauty and wine. It is not that the tour guide is worse or weaker than others, but that the bait in front of us is more fragrant and has more opportunities. "

Tourism management agencies and educational institutions at all levels and every tour guide should pay enough attention to the material temptation and spiritual pollution that accompany some overseas tourists. Don't take it lightly, a little negligence may lead to unimaginable consequences.