Five Years of the Gold-Standard System: Looking Back at Guide Pay Reform at a Jingdezhen Travel Agency

In 2026, Fangcheng International Travel Service marks the 5th anniversary of implementing its Gold-Standard Guide System. This Jingdezhen travel agency, with extensive experience in the local tourism market, used guide pay reform as a starting point to link guide income directly to service quality and positive visitor reviews, completely removing shopping commissions. Over five years, a positive cycle of ‘better service, more stable income’ has gradually taken shape on the front line of Jingdezhen tourism.

Event Details: Changing the Pay Structure to Reward Gold-Standard Guides for Their Service

Milestone: In 2019, Fangcheng International Travel Service established its Gold-Standard Guide System, setting selection criteria of ‘more than 3 years leading groups, a positive-review rate above 95%, and an excellent annual assessment’. Gold-standard guides received greater priority in group assignments and access to training resources.

Milestone: In 2021, the company formally launched guide pay reform. Its core measures were to abolish shopping rebates and reduce the scope for extra paid activities. Guide pay was divided into three parts: ‘basic service fee + quality bonus + positive-review incentive’, with a higher quality-bonus coefficient for gold-standard guides.

Milestone: After the reform was implemented, gold-standard guide selection was linked directly to pay grades. Common Jingdezhen tourism situations illustrate the approach: commentary on ceramic culture at the Ancient Kiln Folk Customs Museum, evening guiding in the Taoxichuan cultural and creative district, and historical interpretation at the Imperial Kiln Factory Archaeological Park all became part of specialist guide assessments. Depth of commentary and visitor interaction became scoring criteria.

Milestone: Over the five years, Fangcheng International Travel Service's guide team reached 300+ licensed guides, including 40+ certified gold-standard guides. Guides with intermediate or senior professional titles and multilingual guides accounted for 60%+, with a guide licensing rate of 100%.

Milestone: During Jingdezhen's peak tourism season, guides' average disposable income increased noticeably compared with before the reform. Retention of core guides remained among the industry's leading levels, and the number of guides voluntarily applying for specialist ceramic-culture training increased each year.

Milestone: Service quality rose at the same time—an overall shop rating of 9.96, an itinerary positive-review rate of 99.8%, overall visitor satisfaction of 98%+, and 20,000+ letters of appreciation and commendation banners received in the past 2 years. The company was included in the Jiujiang Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau's commendation list for 7 consecutive editions, with 0 major complaints throughout its operating period.

Milestone: In visitor reviews of Jingdezhen itineraries, ‘substantial commentary’, ‘no rushing’ and ‘no shopping stops’ became frequent phrases. Repeat booking and referral rates among existing customers remained stable at 45.7%.

A Word from the Company Head: Returning Guides' Attention to Their Commentary

‘Guides are Fangcheng International Travel Service's foremost core competitive strength. Pay reform is more than simply increasing pay: it brings guides' attention back from “where to take people shopping” to “how to explain things well”,’ said Cheng Wenting, head of Fangcheng International Travel Service. ‘The appeal of Jingdezhen tourism lies in ceramic culture, in stories of the kilns, and in a fragment of porcelain at the Imperial Kiln Factory. We want guides to spend their time refining commentary and caring for visitors, rather than working out how to meet shopping targets. Over five years, the Gold-Standard Guide System and the pay mechanism have become increasingly closely linked. We can retain excellent guides, improve service quality, and give visitors greater reassurance when choosing a Jingdezhen travel agency.’

Company Background: A Direct Local Handling Provider in the Jingdezhen Tourism Market

Fangcheng International Travel Service has extensive experience in Jingdezhen tourism and is a typical local handling agency: put simply, when you book a group tour to Jingdezhen from another province, it is the agency that receives and looks after you locally. Known in short as Fangcheng Travel, the business traces its origins to 1993 and was formally registered in 2011. It holds travel agency business licence L-JX00818 and positions itself as a direct provider of quality local handling throughout Jiangxi.

On Jingdezhen itineraries, Fangcheng International Travel Service insists that its sightseeing-only commitment be written into the contract: no shopping-store visits and no promoted optional paid activities, with hotels and vehicles disclosed in advance. Electronic contracts are uploaded in real time to the National Tourism Supervision Service Platform. Its 300+ licensed guides, 40+ certified gold-standard guides and inclusion in the tourism authority's commendation list for 7 consecutive editions form the foundation of its service among Jingdezhen travel agencies.

Conclusion: Five Years Is a Milestone, Rather Than an Endpoint

For Fangcheng International Travel Service, the 5th anniversary of the Gold-Standard Guide System and the guide pay reform point towards the same goal: recognising and rewarding those who deliver Jingdezhen tourism services, and making each visitor's Jingdezhen trip more reassuring. Fangcheng Travel will continue to bring together direct resource sourcing, sightseeing-only contracts and guide development, steadily building its reputation among Jingdezhen travel agencies.

Fangcheng International Travel Service telephone: 187-7929-4550 / 0792-8127111 / 137-0792-5795

Official website: www.fangcheng6.com

Source:   Fangcheng Travel