The Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission said Friday it forbids travel guides from asking for tips or charging any kind of commission in advance, following the national tourism administration regulation that tourist guides are not allowed to request tips.

The administration made the announcement after the China Travel Service in Guangdong Province applied a new policy, saying that customers of its VIP inbound tour groups must pay 20 yuan (US$2.41) a day as tips.

Most local travel agencies did not follow suit, said the local commission.

But the guides can accept extra money if tourists pay for their good services on their own.

Some travel agencies also said they will not consider tips as compulsive payment in inbound tour packages until the governmental ban is lifted.

Though a common practice internationally, tipping has not been widely accepted in China.

According to an on-line survey conducted by the Beijing Morning Post and Sohu.com, about 60 percent of the 2,000 participants said they don't agree with tipping during inbound tours. But more than half of them said that tipping could serve as an incentive to improve services.

Yu Weihua, deputy general manager of the China Travel International Ltd Shanghai Office, said almost all Chinese tourists pay tips while traveling outside the country, usually 5 euros (US$6.14) per day in Europe, US$5 in America and 20 yuan (US$2.41) in Southeast Asia.

"We do in Rome as Romans do, but it's totally different in our own country," Yu said. "Most Chinese aren't aware of the benefits of tipping, and if the guides take it for granted, involuntary tipping won't help enhance the service quality."

The relatively low consumption ability of Chinese tourists is the other obstacle to tip charging, said Zhang Jianquan, vice general manager of the Shanghai Travel Service, which mainly runs inbound tours.

(Shanghai Daily August 21, 2004)