Beijing to Punish Tour Guides Taking Kickbacks or Demanding Tips

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 ◆ Beijing to Punish Tour Guides Taking Kickbacks or Demanding Tips

Tour guides in Beijing will be severely punished if they take kickbacks from shop owners or demand tips from tourists, the Beijing Tourism Administration has announced.

Ahead of the summer tourism peak this year, the Beijing Municipal Tourism Department has launched a major campaign against illegal activities by local tourism agencies and cheating by tour guides, the Beijing Daily reported on Wednesday. The campaign will last till late September.

Unlicensed tour guides and misconduct such as changing itineraries, poor service and out-of-schedule shopping will also face penalties during the campaign, the newspaper said.

The tourism administration will send teams to check on the agencies and guides through on-spot inspections, secret investigations and other means. Beijingers are also encouraged to make reports or send in complaints through a special webpage run by the local government called "Window on the Capital", the newspaper added.