Travel agents should hire tour guides who have obtained the Tourist Guide Pass to receive tour groups, the Tourism Commission says.

So far 4,600 practising tour guides have passed the test and applied for the pass since the Tourist Guides Accreditation Scheme launched last July.

The Travel Industry Council has established a monitoring mechanism in enforcing the requirements, to ensure travel agents only employ accredited guides. The mechanism covers surveillance and enforcement against contravention by travel agents, and penalises non-conforming acts.

Supply, demand balanced

Employment prospects for tour guides is good with Hong Kong Disneyland and other tourist attractions coming up. At present, there is no imbalance in the demand and supply of accredited guides.

Regarding Hong Kong Disneyland's policy on preferential treatment for tour guides, this is in line with the Tourist Guide Accreditation Scheme. Only licensed guides taking a group of 25 or more tourists into the park will be entitled to free admission in its group ticket package.

Anyone operating tour businesses should obtain a licence from the Registrar of Travel Agents. The registrar will monitor the situation closely, follow up any suspicious cases and refer them to Police. Enforcement will be stepped up to combat unlicensed operations.