23 July 2010

Dodgy tour guides haunt Hong Kong

Unscrupulous tour guides are back in the news, this time in Hong Kong where a video surfaced of a guide screaming at a group of Chinese tourists and demanding that they spend more money.

AFP/Relax News reported that mainland China's official tourism body, in response recent incidents, this week issued a warning to travellers planning a trip to Hong Kong

At one stage in the video the tour guide, Ah Zhen, reminds the tourists that she has arranged everything for the trip and "If you don't pay me back in this life, you'll still have to pay me back in your next life".

She also says, "Spend more, you'll be happier... don't tell me you don't need [to buy more], next you'll be telling me you don't need to eat at meal time. I will lock you out of your hotel rooms because you don't need them [either]."

These cheapie tours are not confined to Hong Kong. Australia has grappled with the problem of tours in which Chinese pay very little for their holiday while the tour guide makes his or her cut from commissions obtained from certain shops.

The size of these commissions is related to the amount of money the Chinese tourists spend on souvenirs and other personal items.

In one case, a tour guide tried to charge a group of Chinese tourists to walk on Sydney’s Bondi beach.

Tour operators in Shanghai have apparently claimed tours to Hong Kong are down 30 percent this year due to a spate of similar controversies.

The Hong Kong government is looking into taking control of the licensing system for tour guides and cracking down on "zero-charge" packages in the wake of recent scandals

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Rita Lau Ng, said free tours and lax regulations for tour guides are at the root of the problems besetting the industry.

Meanwhile, tour guide Ah Zhen said she has suffered emotionally since the release of the video that shows her shouting at the mainland tour group.

"My feelings have been very unstable," she told a local newspaper. "It may have just been a little incident but it has been blown up into a big controversy."

By Ian Jarrett

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Your Comments (3)

Like Europe in the 1950's

Although we probably don't want to admit it the travel couriers in Europe in the 1950's made their money on commission. A three-week tour of Europe in those days was very much structured around buying Rolex in Switzerland, Burberry in London etc. The commissions were big and the season was short May - September. A good courier could make incredible amounts of money in that short time, easily the equivalent today of $250,000 and if one client was spending the whole tour waited. Of course as soon as it became possible to buy European brands in every Mall in the US the business died, and with more sophisticated travellers emerged more professional tour guides. I am sure the same will happen in China and in a few years guides like Ah Zhen will not be believed when they recount to the new young guides that back in 2010 she had to make her money out of commission from shops!

By Martin Drew, Friday, July 23, 2010
what a vacation should be

Worldwide travel nowadays is very popular but it can also be very daunting especially when you're going to some place exotic. It would be a big help for the traveler to look for a destinations specialist or a local online travel agency to better prepare them for their vacation. But at the same time, tourists should always remember that you get what you pay for. A vacation is not the time to scrimp on expenses.

By Russell Ri, Friday, July 23, 2010
Commission Problems

I have been a tour guide for the last 20 years and never ever took a commission from any one. My philosophy is that the toursits who hires a tour guide, hires his integrity as well as his honesty! I am totally against this mallicious habit of earning behind the back of my client and i urge all tourism authorities to implememt very strickt rules and penalize those who abuse their position. remember that your guest is aware of such practices and the internet is spreading those negative practices very fast indeed.

By Karim Rushdy, Friday, July 23, 2010