Chinese tour guide filmed shouting at tourists when they refuse to shop

Officials are investigating the incident, which took place just before the country’s longest holiday

The group was en route to Guizhou province (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A tour guide has been filmed shouting at the group she was leading because they refused to shop for gemstones while on the trip.

A video that captured the incident has gone viral on Chinese social media, with the guide said to have shouted for an hour while tourists were on a bus from Guangzhou to Guizhou, in southwest China, at the end of September, reports VnExpress.

The guide reportedly took her guests to several shops that sold gems but allegedly became angry when the majority of the tourists did not purchase anything.

She threatened to cancel the trip and leave the group where they were if they did not spend money, and even branded them “stingy” – and the argument became more heated when one of the group said “it is the tourist’s choice to shop or not”, reports Sing Tao Daily.

Officials from the Guiyang’s Culture and Tourism Office are investigating the incident along with other law enforcement agencies, and are working to verify the identity of the tour guide.

In one response to the video, a viewer wrote: “Do not force shopping upon tourists”.

The clip was filmed ahead of Golden Week, the longest annual holiday in China, this year taking place from 29 September until 6 October. The annual event sees millions of domestic and international visitors travel into and across the country.

It’s not the first run-in between tour guides and their groups this year.

In July, a tour guide in China’s Yunnan province provoked online debate after waking up a tourist who had fallen asleep on the bus, shouting at her for being “disrespectful”.

The unidentified tourist had been visiting Lijiang – a preserved ancient town – and uploaded a video of the guide on 9 July.

In the video, the guide asks her: “Don’t you think sleeping on the bus means you don’t respect me?”