chinese tour guide turf war in southern california

Turf war! I didn't know the tour guide industry was so cutthroat. Here's a Los Angeles Times article on the competitive (and confrontational) battle over Chinese tour groups. Groups from China are increasingly bringing their own escorts, angering Southern California-based guides who say they're more qualified and cost less: In Southern California, tour guides battle over Chinese visitors.

Business should be booming for Wang and other Southern California tour guides who specialize in escorting big-spending Chinese tourists. Thanks to China's growing prosperity, more than 525,000 Chinese traveled to the U.S. last year, a 133% bump over 2002, according to the U.S. government.

The problem is that Chinese tour groups are increasingly bringing along their own escorts, usually Chinese citizens but occasionally Americans who travel abroad. (Colvin said she was hired while she was in Beijing visiting her mother).

It's a disturbing trend for professional American guides, especially since Chinese tourists are among the highest-spending visitors to the U.S. In 2009, Chinese travelers spent an average of $6,800 per person per visit, including airfare, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. By 2020, China will become the world's fourth-largest source of tourists, the United Nation's World Tourism Organization predicts.

Tourism from China is a huge industry, and where there's money to be made, people are going to find ways to make it -- even if it means stepping on some toes. According to the article, this conflict has led to at least half a dozen confrontations in Southern California between American guides and leaders of Chinese tour groups. One dude even got punched at Universal Studios Hollywood! Damn.