Apart from the Code of Conduct for Tourist Guides, the following rules of the TIC are also binding on Tourist Guide Pass holders:

1. Directive No. 200 - Demerit System for Mainland Tour Reception Services: Tourist Guides

   The Demerit System for Mainland Tour Reception Services: Tourist Guides has been in place since 1 February 2011 with an aim to improve the standard of reception services for inbound tours organised in mainland China (mainland tours). If a tourist guide is suspected of violating such rules as listed in “Applicable rules under the Demerit System” and later found by the Compliance Committee to have violated the rules, then demerits will be given to the tourist guide concerned (the number of demerits which can be given includes: 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20) on top of the penalties currently imposable (including issuance of an advice letter, issuance of a warning letter, suspension of the Tourist Guide Pass, and revocation of the Tourist Guide Pass), both according to the grades of violation. If the number of accumulated demerits reaches 30 within two years, the Tourist Guide Pass of the tourist guide concerned will be suspended or revoked.

   Those rules of the TIC subsumed under the Demerit System are listed in “Applicable rules under the Demerit System”, which may be revised from time to time. Tourist guides should check its latest version here.

   • Download the latest version of “Applicable rules under the Demerit System” and details of the Demerit System

   For those tourist guides whose Tourist Guide Pass has been suspended or revoked for having violated such rules as listed in “Applicable rules under the Demerit System”, their names and the information about their Pass will be posted in the “Revocations/Suspensions of Tourist Guide Passes” section for one year.

2. Directive No. 201 - Signing service agreements with tourist guides receiving mainland tours

   Before assigning tourist guides to receive mainland tours, travel agents must sign with them the “Service Agreement between Hong Kong Receiving Agent and Tourist Guide for Mainland Tours” designated by the TIC. Both travel agents and tourist guides must comply with all the clauses of the service agreement. For details, please see Directive No. 201.

   According to the above Service Agreement, tourist guides must read out specified parts of itineraries when distributing them to mainland tour participants. The following demonstration audio clips are for reference only:

   • Cantonese version (mp3 format)
   • Mandarin version (mp3 format)
    
3. Conditions for issuance of the Tourist Guide Pass

   Tourist Guide Pass holders must observe the conditions for issuance of the Tourist Guide Pass.

In addition, tourist guides should pay attention to the following rules aimed at protecting their interests:

1. Directive No. 194 stipulates that travel agents which assign tourist guides to receive mainland tours must make payment of service remunerations to the tourist guides concerned.
2. Directive No. 195 stipulates that travel agents must not require tourist guides to bear or unreasonably advance any payments for mainland tours.

If tourist guides suspect that their travel agents have violated the above directives, they should report the case to the TIC for follow-up actions.