Foreign-language staff aid tourists

By Zou Qi  |   2008-6-28  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE city will employ the first part-time foreign language staff to handle tourism disputes filed by foreigners, the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission said yesterday.

The staff, who are proficient in foreign languages, including English, Japanese, French and German, from the Shanghai International Travel Service Co will be selected and employed by the commission. The part-time employees will also work at the commission as volunteers during the Beijing Olympics and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

A total of 510 people filed complaints regarding the city's tourism in the year's first half, compared to 617 a year ago.

The commission also said yesterday the public will be allowed to sit in on meetings to determine administrative standards for the Shanghai hotel industry which will be issued by 2010. "The measures can improve the service quality in the city's hotels through issuing the standards, such as the regulations on deposit and how to calculate the accommodation time," said Wang Jianming, director of the regulation division at the commission.

The policy will also focus on training for staff working in the city's hotel industry. The commission said training for tour guides this year has focused on emergencies and rescue.