英语导游服务现状

【摘要】旅游业的竞争归根到底是人才的竞争，导游员作为旅游工作的一线人员，是旅行社和旅游者之间的纽带，也是旅游人才竞争的关键因素之一。本文通过对上海旅游业现状分析，重点研究了上海导游员的现状问题，并就这些问题从增加导游人员数量上和提高导游人员素质等方面提出了一些改进建议。

【关键词】上海；导游现状；导游服务

Introduction

Throughoutthepastcentury,Shanghaihashadnumerousnametagsattachedit,suchasthe“whoreoftheEast”,the“ParisoftheOrient”andthe“PearlofChina”.TheimageofShanghai,morethananyotherChinesecity,isbountifulinthewest.Asthelargestandmostprosperouscityinthenation,Shanghaiistheeconomic,financialandculturalcenterofChina.Shanghaiasafastandmodernmetropoliscanattractmoreandmorepeoplefromallovertheworld.ItisknowntoallthatShanghaiisthecitythatmostvisitorswillpayavisit.Therefore,tourismindustryinShanghaiisdevelopingrapidly.

Inrecentyears,moreandmoreinternationalmeetingsareheldupinShanghailikeAPEC.Ontheonehand,itpromotestourismdevelopmentinShanghai.Ontheotherhand,thetourismindustryinShanghaifacestheshortageoftourguides,especiallythehigh-leveledtourguides.Consequently,thisresearchwillfocusonthecurrentsituationsoftourguideserviceinShanghai.

1．TheCurrentSituationofTourismIndustryinShanghai

WiththerapiddevelopmentoftheeconomyinShanghai,tourismisbecominganewandsunrisingindustry.Throughthetouristyearbook(2002),youcangetthefollowingdata.From1997to2002,thenumberoftheforeignvisitorsincreasedfrom1.65millionto2.725million.Theaverageannualincreaserateisabout12.22percent.Theforeignexchangeearningsaregoingupfrom1.32billionto2.28billion.Theaverageannualgrowingrateisto11.55percent.Andthenumberofthetravelersinhomegrowsfrom67.8millionto87.61million.Theaverageannualincreaserateisabout5.26percent.Thetotaltouristincomewillbeupto11.826billionRMB.Theaddedvalueintourismindustryoccupyfrom4.4%to6.0%amongtheGDPofShanghai.Sothetourismwillbeapillarinthethirdindustry.

AsitisknowntoallthatinnextfewyearsthedevelopmentofthetourisminShanghaiwillprobablyrelyontheeconomicandcultureeffectcausedbytheExpositionin2010,whichisanunprecedentedopportunityforthetourisminShanghai.Meanwhileitisatryfullofchallenges.ThesuccessfulbidfortheExpoin2010meansthatShanghaihasmadegreatstridestothedirectionoftheinternationalcity.ItwillbethepeakperiodforthetourismindustryinShanghai.

TheExpowillsupplythreeopportunitiesforthetourisminShanghai.Firstly,citytouristresourceisbecomingricherandmoreofadistinguishingfeature.FortheExpoin2010,Shanghaiwillconstructalotofinternationallandscapearchitecturesandbesttrafficnetsandecologicalenvironment.Infact,since1984,theShanghaimunicipalgovernmenthasimprovedastrategyfocusingontheconstructionofinfrastructure,telecommunicationandenergyfacilities.Inrecentyears,thecityhaspumpedsome10%ofitsGNPand40%ofitstotalfixedassetsinvestmentintotheconstructionofthecity’sinfrastructure.Secondly,moreandmoreinternationaltradeactivitieswillgatherupinShanghai.TheExpoiscalledthegrandmeetingofOlympicsofeconomy,technologyandculture.Thirdly,thenumberofpeoplecomingtoShanghaiforavisitwillincreasesharply.Accordingtotheanticipation,foreignvisitorswillbeover5.5millionin2010andtravelersinnationwillreach13thousandto15thousand.

2．TheProblemsoftheCurrentTourguideServiceinShanghai

Fromthefollowdescription,youwillfindthatthetourguideteaminShanghaiisinalittledisorder.Sometourguideswithouttheprofessionalcertificatearepursuingthisjoballthesame.Additionallytherearesometourguidestakeupthiscareeronlyaspart-timejob.Forexample,apartoftourguideswilltakeadvantageofthegoldenweektoshowsomevisitors.Asamatteroffact,itseriouslyaffectsthemarketorderofthetourguides.

2.1ALackoftheTourguidesinShanghai

ThroughtheanalysisofthetourguideinShanghai,youwillcometoknowthegeneralsituationofthedistinguishingpersonalityandproblemsoccurringinthetourguideteam.

BasedonthedatafromtheShanghaiMunicipalTourismAdministrativeCommission,thereareabout15,000peoplewhoowntheprofessionalcertificatesastourguidesinShanghai.However,lessthanhalfofthemaretakingupthiscareer.Tooursurprise,thereareonly10peoplewhoarethesupertourguides.Manysecondarytourguidesarestillworkinginthefrontline.Butmostoftopgradetourguideswhohavebeenworkedinthislineforseveralyearsnowarethedepartmentalmanagers.Onthecontrary,someofthetourguidesinShanghaiareinshortofeducationalbackgroundandpracticalexperiencedealingwithemergencies.

ExcepttheChinesetourguide,similarlyalargenumberofforeignlanguagetourguidesareinurgentneed.Nowadaysmoreandmoreoverseas-fundedenterprisescrowdintoYangtzeRiverDeltasuchShanghai,Hangzhouandsoon.Shanghaihasbecomeaheateddestinationoftheinvestmentfortransnationalcorporations.AccordingtothedatainformationfromShanghaiStatisticalBureau,about190majortransnationalcompanieshaveinvestedinShanghai,acitythatisdirectlyunderthecentralgovernmentwithtotalinvestmentsoaringofUSDollars1.98billion.OrsomegrandactivitieswillbeholdupinShanghai.ThereisnowonderthatagoodmanyforeignersfromallovertheworldwillenjoythescenicspotsinShanghaimorethanothercities.

2.2InstabilityinthefieldofTourguidesinShanghai

Presentlytourguidesinourcityisaveryyoungteam.Thetourguidebelow20years,21to30years,31to40years,41to50yearsandover50yearstakeup13.3percent,56.8percent,20.2percent,7.4percent,2.3percentrespectivelybasedonthereportofhumanresourceoftourguideinShanghai.Becausetheyareallveryyoung,itistooearlyforthemtodecidewhethertheywillworkinthisfieldforlong.Inmostcases,theyoungtourguidestakeupsuchoccupationinashortperiodoftime.Oncetheygettiredofthisjob,theywilltryenteringanotherindustry.Itiseasytofindthatitwilltakeplentyoftimeandenergytobeagoodtourguide.Atourguidewillshowdifferenttouriststothesameplaceforseveraltimes.Andatourguideshouldarrangeanythingforthecustomersandbemorecareful.However,mostChildreninShanghaiarealltheapplesinparents’eye.Theyouthsareinterestedintheinvariablelife.Inmostcases,fewofthemwilltakethisjobasaforeverone.MoreoverShanghaiisacityoffastbeat.Itismorepossiblethatatourguidewillchangeanotherjobmoreofopportunitiesandchallenges.

2.3LowerCapabilityofTourguides

Inthetimebeing,Shanghaihastheproblemoftheshortageofhighqualitytourguidewithhigheducationalbackgroundandgoodmorality.OfallthetourguidesinShanghai,thegraduatesfromseniorschoolofsecondarytechnicalschoolareabout41.7percent.Andthetourguidegraduatingfromjuniorcollegesareonlytakingup48.3percent.Fewgraduatesofabachelordegreewillbeengagedinthecareerastourguides.

Inaddition,therequesttothepeoplewhowanttoattendthetestasatourguideislowercomparatively.Thegraduatesofseniorschooljustcanbequalifiedtotakepartinthetest.Itisreportedthatthereareabout6,000peoplewhowillapplytoattendinthetestthisyear.

Itisbecauseofthelowdoortothetestthattourismindustryisinashortageofbothskilledtourguidecoveringsomeinternationalguidesandinterpreters.MostofthetourguidesinShanghaiarenotavailableforthehigheducationandprofessionaltechniques.

2.4MisunderstandingoftheTourguideCareer

Firstly,manygraduatesholdtheideathatsincetheirmajoris“touristmanagement”sotheyareboundtobeamanagerevenattheinitialstage,therefore,itisverycommonforthemtochangejobstoavoidthetiringtaskasatourguideinthefirstline.

Secondly,somepeoplethinkthatthetourguideshouldbeservecustomers.Itseemsthatthiscareerislowerthananyothervocationsintherank.Butthetruthisonthecontrary.ThetourismindustryinShanghaiisbecomingthekeylineforthethirdindustry.Thenthegovernmentispayingmoreattentionandcostalottothisbusinessinordertoattractmoretoptouristtalents.

Atlast,insomepeople’seyes,thiscareerisunstable.Thetourguidecannotbepaidsteadyincomeeverymonth.However,inmostcases,peoplethinktourguideinShanghaishouldrelyonthebackhanderfromthecustomerratherthanthewagefromthetouristagencies.

3.SeveralSuggestionsonImprovingTourguideServiceinShanghai

3.1ImprovingTourguideCapacity

TourguideisadevelopingoccupationinShanghai.Ofcourse,tourguidesshouldseekformoreimprovementduringthecourseofthedevelopment.Meanwhiletourguidesshoulddomoretoleaveadeepimageandimpressionasatourguidetothevisitors.Agoodtourguidemustbefirstlyofthemeritsasfollows.

Tomakebettertrainingofthegoodtourguide,on6thJuly2004,thefirsttourismtalentsnurturingbaseinShanghaiisestablishedinShanghaiJuniorCollegeofTourism.

Thefirstnurturingbasefortourismtalentsisbuiltonthecooperationbetweenschoolandcompany.Thetourismcompanyprovidestheprogramwithteachingequipments,whilethecollegeisresponsibleforthecoursedesignandreachingorganization.Theyaremakingjointeffortstotrainhighqualitytourguides.

Additionallythegovernmentshouldstrengthenthecontinualeducationandtraining.Professionaltrainingensurestouristservicequality.Theprofessionalskillisveryimportantduringthecourseoftrainingbutthevocationalethicsalsocountsagreatdeal.

3.2Changingconceptoftourguideservice

Asacapablethirdindustry,tourismindustryturnsouttobeanewgrowthpointofournationaleconomy;itplaysapositiveroleinabsorbinglaborforces.

However,therearesomewrongideasinthejobseekinginthetourismindustry.Forexample,asatourguidethereisnoneedtohaveahigheducationalbackground.Tourguideisnotagracejob.

Actuallyitisonlyone-sidedaspect.Meanwhilethisideaisnotgoodforattractthetoptourguides.Maybemostgraduatesareholdingsuchideasothatfewofthemwilldevotethemselvestothetourguideteamforlong.

Ontheotherhand,tourguideisnotashort-termwork.Similarly,thetourguideshouldtreatthisjobasothercareers.Inthefirstyears.Theycanworkinthefirstlinetoaccumulatetheexperiencethenreturntostayattheagenciestodosomemanagerialwork.Inotherwords,thisworkprovidesgoodopportunitiesforallthegraduateswhowanttodisplaytheirabilities.

Touristsshallbeofcorrectattitudeandideainfrontofthisbusiness.Inparticular,asatourist,heoughttoomuchmorerespecttheworkoftheguideandunderstandtheiroccasionallywinymentality.

3.3EnhancinggovernmentaladministrationoftourguideserviceinShanghai

Inadditiontotheimprovementofthetourguidehimself,thegovernmentshouldtakestepstomakestandardtomanagethetourguidemarket.

Asaninternationaltouristcity,Shanghaimustmakesomeregulationstoeffectivelysupervisethetourguideservice.

Ifstrengthenthecompetition,thegovernmentcanheightenthedoorandestablishnewmanagerialmechanismtothetourguide.Toimprovethequalityofthetourguide,thegovernmentcouldletthecustomersgivethefeedbacksothatcanfairlyevaluatetheservice.Inthelongrun,itwillformagoodcompetitionsystem.

Governmentwillcreateabetterworkingenvironmentforthetourguide.Thefunctionaldepartmentshouldpropagandizetheundeniablerecordevenpaymoreattentiontotheirlife.Thegovernmentshouldreleasetheeconomicpressureofthetourguidesothattheywilllessrelyonthekickbackfromtheshopping.

Theinternaldivisionoflaborofthetourguidewillbemoreandmorefine.NowthetourguidemarketinShanghaishouldbedividedintofive.

Conclusion

ThethesismainlyfocusesonthetourguideserviceinShanghai.Withit’sdeepeningeconomicreform,Shanghaicity,formerlycrownedasthefinancial,economicandtradehuboftheFarEast,isboostingthetourismindustry.

Thedevelopmentofthetourismindustrywillnotbeoffthetourguides.Therearesomeproblemsinthetourguideservice,whichbafflingthestrideofthetourism.

Thereisashortsupplyoftheoriginsrelevantwiththetourguidesbusiness.Theninthisthesisthevaluetotheproblemoccurringinthetourguideserviceislimited.Andperhapstheadviceputforwardinthethesisisnotall-sided.Anywaythisthesiscanenlightenthereader’sthinkmoreasforhowtoimprovethesituationofthetourguideservice.

References

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