Taiwanese tour guide training is outrageously bad!

▲ Aogu Wetland is home to at least 290 plant species across 70 families and 208 bird species, including 22 protected species. (Photo / Courtesy of the Yilan, Chiayi, and Tainan Coastal National Scenic Area Administration)

ByLai Peng-chih

On the evening of August 25, 2014, the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation commissioned a university to conduct pre-service training for tour guides in central Taiwan. A university professor (whose school, department, and name are withheld for now) was teaching over a hundred aspiring guides. He showed a map of Aogu Wetland in Dongshi Township, Chiayi County, mentioning that there were many birds there.To see the spectacular sight of thousands of birds flying together, he taught everyone a trick: just have ten cars honk their horns at once.Then the next slide appeared — thousands of birds in flight, truly a breathtaking scene. It earned thunderous applause from the audience, a delightful moment for both teachers and students.

Just think about how terrifying this is. These hundred-plus future tour guides, when leading groups to Aogu Wetland (or other places rich in natural ecology), may completely disregard the natural environment just to entertain tourists. They could do whatever they please and have their way. If that’s the case, won’t Aogu Wetland and Taiwan’s other natural wonders soon be ruined?

Sad, Taiwan. This is how our tourism industry treats the natural ecology, how our tour guides are trained, the level of our educators (university professors), the misguided concepts, the improper practices, the way tourism is managed, and how Taiwan is “presented.” The supervisory authorities couldn’t care less. The consequence of turning the whole island into a tourist attraction will eventually be the depletion of everything.

I myself attended such training years ago in Taipei, commissioned by an association. I also wrote about my thoughts in a blog post (Lai Peng-chih Obtains Chinese-Speaking Tour Guide License): “This training could do more in terms of environmental awareness. During the sessions, little was conveyed to participants about caring for and protecting the environment. As a result, guides may continue traditional tourism practices in the future, blindly consuming environmental resources without realizing it. I always believe that any educational training should include ‘embedded environmental education.’ This can be achieved through explicit requirements, communication, or subtle influence. But it all depends on the organizers (like the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation, which oversaw this training) whether they have such concepts and know how to instruct the implementing agencies to pay attention to details. (For example, asking participants to bring handkerchiefs and reusable water bottles, bringing their own eco-friendly utensils, carrying their own water flasks during outdoor sessions instead of distributing bottled water, bringing their own rain gear, using reusable ponchos instead of disposable ones, not using paper cups for lecturers, having properly sorted recycling bins, not littering cigarette butts... etc.).” I don’t know if things have improved since then. If they remain the same, Taiwan’s tourism industry won’t be sustainable.

▲ Aogu Wetland is located west of Aogu Village, Dongshi Township, Chiayi County. (Photo / Courtesy of the Chiayi County Cultural Affairs Bureau)

Editor’s note: Aogu Wetland is located west of Aogu Village, Dongshi Township, Chiayi County. It borders Beigang River to the north, the main drainage channel of Liujiao Township to the south, the Taiwan Strait to the west, and Provincial Highway 17 to the east. Covering an area of approximately 1,500 hectares, this wetland is part of state-owned reclaimed land managed by the Taiwan Sugar Corporation. It is currently the largest wetland ecosystem in Taiwan. With its diverse and dynamic environment, along with vast reed beds that limit human activity, it attracts a wide variety of wildlife, including at least 290 plant species across 70 families and 208 bird species, 22 of which are protected. In fact, Aogu Wetland is considered the largest wintering ground for raptors in southwestern coastal Taiwan. Fifteen species of raptors have been recorded here, including common ones like the Eastern Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, and Eurasian Kestrel... (Source: Chiayi County Cultural Affairs Bureau website)

Lai Peng-chih
General Manager of WildFUN Eco-Industry, Executive Director of Taiwan Black Bear Conservation Association, Board Member of Human Nature Environmental Ethics Development Foundation, Supervisor of Taiwan Ecotourism Association
Experience:
Led community ecotourism promotion and integrated marketing for Kenting National Park, guided the Aogu Wetland Ecotourism Development Plan under the Forestry Bureau, organized educational training for national forest recreation area management and service quality, developed ecotourism strategies and action plans, facilitated research on community forestry ecotourism development models, led ecotourism guidance and volunteer training in Ali Mountain’s Benzi and Dabang areas, organized training for Tsou cuisine and crafts, served as Secretary-General for both the Taiwan Ecotourism Association and the Chinese Wild Bird Federation
Blog:http://blog.xuite.net/wild.fun/blog