导游必备技能及其工作职能
导游必备技能及其工作职能
Tour Guide 导游 – A tour guide is a person who has acquired a tour guide certificate and is assigned by a travel agency to escort tourists on their travels，providing them with commentary and guiding service as well as other travel services．
The basic principles of guiding service
导游服务遵循的基本原则
（1） Take tourists as the primary consideration and be ready to provide exceptional service for them．
（2） Safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of tourists．
（3） Combine standardized service with special individualized service．
The basic tasks of a tour guide
导游工作的基本内容
（1） Arrange the itinerary of visits and sightseeing according to the contract signed between the travel agency and the tourists．
（2） Guide the tourists to and around the sites and introduce them to Chinese culture and the local tourism resources．
（3） Arrange for meals，accommodation，transportation，shopping and entertainment，and ensure the security of their property and lives．
（4） Answer tourists’ questions patiently and help them solve their problem during the journey．
（5） Report tourists’ opinions and suggestions to the travel agency and，as necessary，help to arrange meetings for on-tour feedback．
（1）Build up a good image．
①Create a good first impression．
②Influence tourists with a pleasant personality．
③Respect tourists and win their respect by working hard and sincerely．
（2）Cooperate well with the national guide and the tour leader．
①Respect the tour leader and support his/her work．
②Cooperate with national guide in work．
③Graciously decline any unreasonable requests．
（3）Determine tourists’ mood and mind-set and provide specific service accordingly．
①Determine their expectations and special needs with respect to their nationality，occupation，age，gender，social status and travel motivation．
②Determine their expectations and needs at different stages of traveling．
（4）Help tourists to appreciate the natural beauty around them and point out things of historical significance．
①Create an appropriate aesthetic environment and help them exercise their imagination．
②Convey natural beauty to tourists in a gentle and appropriate manner．
Preparation for Meeting the Tourists 接团前的必要准备
Preparations on attitude and appearance before taking a group 导游人员带团前在形象上和心理上的准备
（1）Dress professionally and decently，especially on the occasion of meeting or sending off the group at the airport/train station．
（2）It is generally recommended to dress in accordance with the status of a tour guide．
For example，tattoos and dyed hair are inappropriate for public display．A tour guide should not wear his/her cap backwards or sideways．
（3）During the tour，the guide may dress casually but should look neat and tidy．A male guide should not wear shorts，a sleeveless shirt or sandals without socks．A female guide should not wear a mini skirt and should not wear excessive makeup．
（4）Be prepared to work with a friendly，gracious and polite manner and be mentally ready to face complaints from tourists，as well as difficulties or troubles that may arise in work．
(1）Be familiar with the reception program．
（2）Confirm details of transportation，accommodation and luggage delivery before the group arrives．
（3）Bring all necessary items including documentation—tour guide certificate and professional rating card—local travel schedule and the tour guide
banner．
（4）Be sure to have and use professional language skills and knowledge．
（5）Be tidy，friendly and use good manners．
（6）Have a positive attitude and be prepared to face complaints from tourists．
（1）Basic group information：name of travel agency；
name of liaison person in charge of the group with telephone numbers； Group code；names of tour leader and national guide；number of tourists； names of all tour members including nationality，gender，occupation，age， religion and special requests．
（2）Itinerary details：transportation，hotels and rooms，restaurant and meals；official reception，if any，meetings，banquets；Special zone entry passes as needed，inform travel agency．
（3）Air tickets，departure and arrival time：check names of tourists again for reservation of air tickets；for international flights，confirm tickets 72 hours prior to departure；For domestic flights，confirm tickets before 12 a.m. two days prior to departure．
（1）An itinerary consists of items such as tour title，tour code，day-today events，cities，duration and a descriptive account of the tour．
（2）An itinerary should include relevant information concerning the level of service；the tour grade（standard group/ luxury group）；travel expenses； the number of tour members，etc．
（3）The tour title is an important part of the itinerary，and usually highlights the length and location of the tour，eg．，“Three-Day Tour to Mt．Emei and the Giant Buddha．”
（4）For day-to-day events more specific information should be given about the cities，the scenic spots，the hotels and modes of transportation．
（5）The descriptive account should give an overall view of the travel route and destinations，in keeping with the contract made between the tourists and the travel agency．
（1）Brief self-introduction，introduction of coach driver and of travel agency as well．
（2）Warm welcome to tourists on behalf of travel agency，driver and tour guide．
（3）Sincere intentions of providing quality service．
（4）Notice or tips
（5）Wishes for a pleasant journey．
（1）Prior to arrival．
①Confirm expected arrival time．
②Contact coach driver．
③Arrive at airport or train station 30 minutes prior to expected arrival time and confirm exact parking place of tour coach．
④Reconfirm exact arrival time．
⑤Contact porter and inform him/her of destination of luggage．
⑥Stand at a highly visible location in the arrival lobby，in full view of arriving tourists with an identifying cardboard sign．
（2）Upon arrival of tour group．
①Meet the tour group and check the nationality，group code，number of tourists and name of the tour leader/national guide．
②Check that all luggage has been claimed and collected by porter for transfer to coach．
③Lead tour group to coach and assist with boarding．The guide should stand by the door to politely greet tourists and confirm number in group．
（3）In route to hotel．
①Make welcome speech．
②Inform overseas tourists of local time．
③Give a brief introduction to local customs，location of hotel and its facilities；inform tourists of first meeting point and coach-parking place（if applicable）．
（1）Help the group check-in．
（2）Inform the group of all hotel facilities and services．
（3）Inform group of itinerary just for day of arrival and the next day．
（4）Ask the porter to deliver the luggage to tourists’ rooms．
（5）Confirm arrangements for the first meal for the group．
（6）Arrange morning call for the tourists．
What should a local guide do on the way to a certain scenic area？
①Inform the tourists of the itinerary of the day．
②Comment on the local customs and scenery along the way．
③Give the group a brief introduction of the tourist destination．
④Organize entertainment activities，promoting friendship between the local guide and the tourists．
2） What should a guide refrain from doing？
The guide is not permitted to talk about obscene or superstitious things； he/she should not harm the national interest or the dignity of ethnic groups； he/she should never make discriminating remarks about the religion，customs and living habits of any ethnic group in China or elsewhere．
（3) Upon arrival at the scenic area，what should the local guide tell the tourists？
The guide should tell the tourists of the immediate itinerary，including the meeting time and the meeting place after the visit．
（4） While sightseeing at a certain scenic spot or in a scenic area，may the local guide request a commentary from the site commentator？May the guide recommend that the tourists visit the sight on their own？
①At the scenic site，the guide or the site commentator may present the commentary．
②The local guides must remain with the tour group and may not dismiss tourists to go sightseeing on their own．
（5） On the way back from the scenic area，what additional commentary can a local guide make？
Summarize the sightseeing activities to provide additional insight and deepen the tourists’ impressions．
What should a guide do for tourists during the mealtime？
（1） Inspect the dishes one or two times during the mealtime to make sure the food is up to the standard specified in the contract．
（2） Answer questions about the food raised by tourists．
（3） Urge the restaurant to take corrective measures if the meals are not up to the expected standard．
What is the guidance for a local guide to arrange shopping?
（1）The local guide should take the tour group shopping only at shops designated by the contract．The local guide is not permitted to add extra shops or shopping time．
（2） If tourists request to go shopping by themselves，the local guide may agree，if there is enough time．
（3） If tourists want to purchase antiques，the local guide should inform them that sales receipts should be required by customs upon departure．Antique shops will provide such documentation；antiques sold by peddlers usually do not have signs of authenticity，and may not be allowed to take abroad．
（4）If tourists want to buy traditional Chinese medicine，the local guide should recommend reliable drugstores to tourists．The guide should inform tourists of the limit of traditional Chinese medicine one can take out of China’s mainland for personal use：product value of RMB300 for tourists going abroad；RMB1,500 for tourists going to Hong Kong and Macau．Some products such as musk，rhinoceros horns and tiger bone are forbidden exports．
（5）The local guide should graciously decline the request when a tourist asks him to buy or mail goods．If it is impossible to say“No”，the guide should first report the request to the travel agency leader．After getting approval，the local guide may receive enough money from the tourist to purchase and deliver the goods．The local guide and the tourist should both receive a copy of the receipt．
What should a local guide do before departure as well as en route to the airport/train station？
（1）Reconfirm the air/train tickets and departure time．
（2）Arrange the luggage delivery．
（3）Help the group check out from the hotel．
（4）Remind the guests to bring everything，especially the passport or ID card．
（5）Make the farewell speech．
What should be included in the farewell speech
（1）A review of the sightseeing activities．
（2）Express your appreciation for the cordial friendship established with the tourists．
（3）Ask them to give their comments or suggestion on the guiding service．
（4）Wish the tourists a pleasant journey or convey best regards to their families and their relatives．
What is the difference between an OK ticket and an OPEN ticket？If a passenger with an OK ticket does not depart within 72 hours, what procedures does he/she need to follow
（1）An OK ticket refers to the ticket with a confirmed seat．
（2）An OPEN ticket refers to the ticket with an open return date and the passenger needs to confirm an available seat beforehand．
（3）If a passenger with an OK ticket does not depart within 72 hours， whether or not because of delay or rescheduling，he/she must reconfirm the seat of his/her next flight in advance，otherwise the airline company will not guarantee the seat．International airline tickets need to be reconfirmed 72 hours before departure，while domestic airline tickets need to be reconfirmed before 12 a.m. two days prior to departure．
At what time should the group be at the airport or railway station for departure
（1）Two hours in advance for international flights．
（2）One and a half hours in advance for domestic flights．
（3）One hour in advance for the train．
What should a local guide do after the group has departed
（1）He/She should complete the paper work and deal with any unfinished business，according to the requirements of the relevant regulations．
（2）He/She should submit the bill to the accounting department and settle the account within the given time．
（3）He/She should write a brief summary of the tour and review the tourists’ opinions and suggestions from the questionnaires so as to improve his/her work in the future．
（4）If a serious accident occurred during the tour，the guide must submit a written report to the travel agency．