Below-cost tours (BCTs) have long been considered a serious issue in the travel industry, yet they have rarely been discussed from a tour guides’ perspective. Today’s tour guides are mostly freelancers, hired by tour operators to lead tour groups. While previous studies cover the management and behaviors of tour guides, there is little insight into personal perceptions of their work. To better understand BCTs, this study provides an intimate look at the phenomenon through the use of semi-structured interviews from tour guides and employment of nonparticipant observation on their experiences. The structural problems of the travel industry and impacts of BCTs on tour guide performance are explored and highlighted. Framed in the agency theory, the managerial implications and solutions to the BCT problems are discussed and recommended.

中文翻译：

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导游对低成本旅行和管理意义的看法

低成本旅行（BCT）长期以来一直被认为是旅游行业中的一个严重问题，但很少从导游的角度进行讨论。今天的导游大多是自由职业者，由旅行社雇用来领导旅行团。尽管以前的研究涵盖了导游的管理和行为，但对他们对他们的工作的个人看法知之甚少。为了更好地理解BCT，本研究通过使用导游的半结构式访谈以及对他们的经历的非参与性观察来对现象进行深入研究。探索和强调了旅游业的结构性问题以及BCT对导游绩效的影响。在代理理论的框架内，讨论并推荐了BCT问题的管理含义和解决方案。