Shenzhen is drafting a regulation to create a new payment system for tour guides, highlighting a "reasonable" service fee, to improve the quality of the entire travel market, a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday (Oct 19).

The draft, to be promulgated next month, will be the first in China to legalize tips for tour guides, a source from the city's tourism industry was quoted as saying.

It did not specify how much would be "reasonable" or whether the service fee would be compulsory.

The source said travel agencies would be asked to include a tour guide service charge in their quoted prices, which would be a basic guarantee of income for tour guides.

The National Tourism Administration has said that tour guides cannot ask for tips.

In China's tourism industry, more than half of the tour guides work without a basic salary. Although some of them get a 50-150 RMB(7.3-22 USD) allowance per day, many don't have a guaranteed income.

The "zero basic salary" system for tour guides has caused a lot of problems for travelers, as some tour guides try to supplement their salaries by taking travel groups to businesses where they receive kickbacks.

"The new draft will make tourists' cost more transparent," Ma Ning, a local resident, said. "But I think tourist agencies should inform tourists how much they should pay as a service fee for guides before they sign up for organized group tours, or it will be unfair."