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Call for greater push to train tour guides
Print Edition
Shanghai’s inbound tourism is facing a dilemma: While the visa-free policies and resumption of flights have boosted the number of international arrivals, there is a severe shortage of tour guides to meet the demand.
Zhou Weihong, a city legislator, is calling for increased efforts to train tour guides.
Shanghai received more than 6 million international travelers last year, according to the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism.
Zhou, also deputy general manager of Shanghai-based travel firm Spring Tour, said that the number of inbound travelers welcomed through travel agencies was about 170,000 between January and September 2024, up fivefold from the previous year.
She noted that the number of tour guides, particularly those proficient in less mainstream languages, is significantly lower.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was already a shortage of inbound tour guides in Shanghai, particularly those with excellent professional qualities and the ability to speak less-known languages.
“The shortage of professionals greatly limits the reception capacity of tourism companies,” Zhou said.
Some schools and universities in the city eliminated tour guide courses, leading to the shortage, she noted, adding that characteristics like work intensity, financial stability and social repute influence the low sense of professional belonging that tour guides experience.
Many tourism graduates are hesitant to work as tour guides, Zhou said.
She has suggested providing assistance to students at Shanghai’s schools and universities, expanding the scope and frequency of incoming tour guide qualification certificate training, and boosting their desire to take on the work.
For example, authorities can increase the frequency of relevant examinations from once a year to twice a year and provide free training. She also encouraged travel businesses to provide additional internships for newly qualified inbound tour guides.
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