After an exercising tour of Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, a Chinese tourist can be forgiven for seeking respite in the luxury of a Bond Street jeweller. What they may not realise, as they browse diamond bracelets and Swiss watches, is that their trusted guide could be pocketing 10 per cent commission on anything they buy.
中国游客游完伦敦城里的威斯敏斯特大教堂(Westminster Abbey)、大笨钟(Big Ben)以及议会大楼(Houses of Parliament)等知名景点后，再去邦德街(Bond Street)逛逛高档珠宝首饰店换个口味，完全合乎情理。但他们或许未曾意识到的是：他们在店里淘手镯与瑞士腕表时，他们十分信任的导游就能拿到其所购货款的10%回扣。
Typically, tour guides and their agencies broker deals with luxury retailers: commission of 10 per cent for the guide for each transaction and 2.5 per cent for the agent. It is discreetly paid, long after the client has bought the jewellery or watch, and a top-performing Chinese tour guide can earn ￡250,000 a year, three people close to the guides say. The practice is so widespread that industry figures say the majority of well-known jewellery and watch brands are involved, raising questions about unfair incentives and even potential bribery.
通常说来，导游与旅行社及奢侈品零售商会订立协议：导游每笔交易的回扣是10%，旅行社的回扣则是2.5%。回扣通常是事后（游客购买首饰或腕表结束后很长时间）悄悄支付，带中国团的顶级导游每年能从中赚到25万英镑，熟知导游圈的三位内情人都这样说道。这种做法大行其道，因此业界人士说多数知名首饰与腕表品牌都参与其中，从而引发不公平激励、甚至潜在贿赂等问题。
Eileen Gao is a Mandarin-speaking tour guide who spends her days navigating London’s popular sites on minibuses filled with Chinese visitors. If a client requests shopping, she will oblige and take them to famous stores — ones she thinks they will enjoy and ones she receives commission from. “It’s a question of good relationships,” Ms Gao says of the “kickbacks” (her word) she receives. “They all want the Chinese business.”
导游Eileen Gao操着一口中文普通话，她的工作就是用中巴载满中国游客穿梭于伦敦各大知名景点。如果游客主动提出购物，她就会带其前往那些知名百货店——那些她认为游客乐于前往而且自己又能从中吃回扣的百货店。“这主要取决于比较好的关系。”高女士这样说自己收受的回扣，“店家都很想做中国游客的生意。”
The Chinese are among the most lavish of all UK inbound tourists, spending an average ￡2,174 per visit in 2015, three and a half times more than the normal visitor, according to tourism board VisitBritain. Three years ago China was not in the top 10 most valuable inbound markets, but as the Chinese middle class grows, so too do its travel and shopping ambitions; in 2015 it was the ninth most valuable market (Chinese tourists spent ￡586m). Flight bookings from China to the UK are 38 per cent higher for December 2016 to February 2017, compared with a year earlier, according to data by ForwardKeys, which analyses travel agent and online bookings.
据英国旅游业管理机构英国旅游局(VisitBritain)统计：入境英国的所有外国游客中，中国人出手最为阔绰：2015年人均消费额为2174英镑，是寻常游客花费的3.5倍。三年前，中国还未跻身英国十大最具价值旅游入境国行列，但随着中国中产阶层的崛起，其旅游与购物欲望也与日俱增。2015年，中国是英国第九大入境游客源国（中国游客总共消费了5.86亿英镑）。根据分析旅行社及网上预订量的ForwardKeys公司数据： 2016年12月至2017年2月之间，中国至英国的航班预订量同比去年增加了38%。
One agency that works with 10,000 tour guides across Europe and North America is EastSong Consulting, whose founder and UK chief executive is sinologist Peter Recknagel. EastSong has offices in Frankfurt, London and New York and although most of its business is in mainland Europe, sales in the UK are performing better, Mr Recknagel says, because of the weak pound and fear of terrorist attacks in mainland Europe.
EastSong Consulting是与欧洲及北美1万名导游有合作关系的公司，其创始人兼英国市场负责人是中国通彼得?雷克纳格尔(Peter Recknagel)。EastSong在法兰克福、伦敦以及纽约设有分公司。雷克纲格尔说：尽管其主要业务在欧洲大陆，但英国市场的业绩更为亮丽，原因是英镑贬值以及游客担心欧洲大陆遭遇恐袭。
EastSong provides tour guides with a smartphone app showing them which stores offer a commission, information about the products on offer and tips on, among other things, how to help tourists claim back value added tax. It also arranges the back end: the tour guides are paid by the luxury brands through its computer systems. Brands can advertise on the EastSong app directly to the guides, and EastSong has annual seminars for the brands to promote their offering. The agency even produces a map for tourists in Chinese, which lists brands it works with.
EastSong为导游提供手机版App：哪些店铺给予导游回扣、店家所售产品相关信息以及如何帮助游客申请退还增值税。EastSong还办理购物后的回扣：奢侈品牌公司通过电脑系统向导游支付相应回扣。各大品牌公司可直接在EastSong手机App上向导游推销自己，EastSong每年会为各大品牌举办推介研讨会。EastSong甚至为中国游客提供中文版购物地图：列出与其合作的品牌名单。
Luxury companies approach EastSong, not the other way around, Mr Recknagel says, and he calls them “co-operation partners”. (It is not clear whether all partners pay tour guides commission and Mr Recknagel would not confirm this.) He says Chinese tourists understand that tour guides take a commission and even ask to be taken to shops where they earn it. “It’s not something secret, not at all, it’s a very natural thing,” he says. Mr Recknagel declined to comment on exact commissions paid or brands involved.
雷克纳格尔说：各大奢侈品公司都是主动找上门来，而非EastSong求着对方，他称对方为“合作伙伴”。（是否所有合作伙伴都给导游回扣不得而知，雷克纳格尔对此也不愿证实。）他说中国游客对导游拿回扣也是心知肚明，甚至主动要求导游带其去那些给回扣的商店。“拿回扣根本不是啥见不得人的事，完全天经地义。”他说。雷克纳格尔拒绝透露具体回扣数以及哪些知名品牌支付回扣。
An executive at one of the world’s biggest luxury conglomerates, speaking on condition of anonymity, says most global brands pay commission to tour guides. It is in their interest to know who the guides are, the executive adds, and companies often arrange in-store events to build a network and explain their stock. Once a relationship has been established, often the guide will approach the brand directly when they have arranged a busload of tourists.
某全球奢侈品巨擎、一位要求匿名的经理说多数世界名牌公司会向导游支付回扣，并补充说它们感兴趣的是了解导游的底细，然后公司会安排店内活动以便与导游搭建良好关系，并向对方介绍自己销售的产品。双方关系一旦确立，导游就会直接把游客带至品牌销售点。
There are legal issues tour guides and brands need to be wary of, according to Henry Priestley, a senior associate in the retail group at law firm RPC. Consumer protection law could be contravened if tourists are deceived and adversely affected in some way, whether by being given information that is false or not being given relevant information (such as a tour guide commission) at all. This might mean consumers make purchases they would otherwise not have, had they known about the commission structure, or if the store was artificially inflating prices for tourists brought in by guides, Mr Priestley says.
RPC律所负责零售事务的高级顾问亨利?普莱斯利(Henry Priestley)说：导游及品牌公司须注意相关法律规定。如果游客被骗或遭受某种形式的不利影响（无论是提供不实信息还是压根没给提供相关信息，如导游佣金），商家就触犯了消费者保护法。普莱斯利说：此举可能意味着游客受到忽悠（如果了解回扣构成，就压根不会买），或是店家人为提高卖给进店旅游团所购东西的售价。
In extreme circumstances, some commission payments could potentially contravene the UK’s Bribery Act, Mr Priestley says, if tourists paid a guide to take them to specific stores but in fact were taken only to different stores where the guide received an undisclosed commission. (There is no suggestion any individuals or companies referred to in this article have done any of this.)
普莱斯利说：在极端情况下，有些佣金支付可能会触犯《英国反贿赂法》(UK’s Bribery Act)——游客付给导游一定费用，要求去特定购物店，而实际上他们被带到了导游秘密收取回扣的商店。（这并不暗示文中所提任何个人或公司做过此类事。）
The Financial Times approached luxury brands and jewellers which are listed on EastSong’s website and tourist map or were named by guides, and asked them if they paid commission. De Beers Diamond Jewellers, which tour guides told the FT did pay commission, declined to comment, as did Bulgari, also named by guides. Garrard, which holds a royal warrant, confirmed it did use EastSong and paid commission, but ended the relationship last year. It did not comment further.
《金融时报》记者联系了EastSong网站与游客购物地点图（包括导游）所列的奢侈品牌与珠宝首饰品牌，询问对方是否支付回扣给导游。导游明确告诉《金融时报》支付回扣的戴比尔斯钻石珠宝行(De Beers Diamond Jewellers)对此拒绝做出答复，同样遭导游点名的宝格丽(Bulgari)也不愿正面回应。皇室御用品牌Garrard证实自己与EastSong有合作关系，并支付相应回扣，但双方去年就终结合约了，并拒绝作进一步回应。
Lynn Schroeder, UK managing director of Wempe, the German family-owned jeweller which has a store on New Bond Street and is listed on EastSong’s website, said: “I don’t want to comment. We don’t want to confirm. The end consumer isn’t interested.”
德国家族式珠宝品牌Wempe在伦敦新邦德街开有门店，是EastSong网站点名支付回扣的品牌，其英国分部总经理林恩?施罗德(Lynn Schroeder)说：“我对此不做任何评论。我们不想回应，终极消费者对此并不感兴趣。”
Watches of Switzerland, which sells brands including Patek Philippe, Cartier and Rolex in its Regent Street, Oxford Street and Knightsbridge stores, has a VIP team that handles wealthy Chinese clients. Several tour guides and a source close to the company said it pays commissions, although a spokeswoman declined to comment.
在伦敦摄政王街(Regent Street)、牛津街(Oxford Street)以及骑士桥(Knightsbridge)开有门店的瑞士表行(Watches of Switzerland)专售百达翡丽(Patek Philippe)、卡地亚(Cartier)以及劳力士(Rolex)等世界名表，并设立了服务中国有钱贵宾的特定小组。好几位导游以及消息灵通人士说表行支付回扣，尽管其发言人拒绝做出回应。
Late last year as Christmas approached, British luxury house Asprey invited Mandarin-speaking tour guides to its Bond Street store to show off its product lines, its brand and build relations with staff to encourage the guides to bring their clients to their store, a tour guide told the FT. A spokeswoman declined to comment on “private consultations with clients” or commissions paid to guides.
一位导游告诉《金融时报》：去年底圣诞假期前，英国奢侈品牌Asprey邀请会说普通话的导游到其邦德街门店，向其展示生产线、旗下品牌以及培养员工与导游间的关系，旨在鼓励后者把游客带至自家门店购物。Asprey发言人拒绝就“私下给游客提供咨询”及支付导游回扣事宜做出回应。
Frey Wille, an Austrian jeweller which specialises in enamelled designs inspired by art, pays 10 per cent commission to tour guides through EastSong to bring tourists to its Piccadilly store, opposite Fortnum & Mason. “We have to be open-minded [about] how we target the Chinese,” says Pia Bittner, London area manager. The tour guides “go where the money is”, she adds. Ms Bittner says she is hoping EastSong will encourage more educated, art-focused tourists to visit her store.
奥地利珠宝品牌Frey Wille专门制作艺术灵感味十足的珐琅首饰，其伦敦皮卡迪利门店就在Fortnum & Mason高档百货店对面，它给带团至门店的导游（通过EastSong牵线）10%的回扣。“就如何吸引中国游客到店购物，我们必须解放思想。”Frey Wille伦敦地区经理皮亚?比特纳(Pia Bittner)说。导游总是“向钱看齐”，她补充道。比特纳说自己希望EastSong能鼓励更多教育程度好、艺术修养高的游客光临其门店购物。
Luxury retailer House of Hanover, which says it depends almost entirely on sales from Chinese and Korean tour guide visits, is a stone’s throw from where the tour buses park, between Regent Street and Bond Street. Owner David Basrawy says commissions are paid long after the client and guide have left, including through EastSong. “I’m sure the more savvy tourists are probably aware of it but it’s not something anyone in our business around Europe would publicise,” he says.
奢侈品百货店House of Hanover距旅游大巴停靠点近在咫尺（在摄政王街与邦德街之间），它说自己的销售几乎完全依靠中国与韩国导游带的旅游团。店主大卫?巴斯拉维(David Basrawy)说，回扣通常是在游客与导游离店后很长时间通过EastSong支付。“我确信精明的游客可能都心知肚明，但欧洲零售业界对此不愿大张其鼓。”他说。
The growth in independent travel among the Chinese — without tour guides — makes some question the longevity of targeting tour guides to channel spending.
中国游客越来越多的自由行（无导游带队）使得专门通过支付导游回扣来实现销售的做法能否持久存疑。
“The benefits for marketers of working with tour operators to steer spending is necessarily diminishing,” says Domenica di Lieto, chief executive of Chinese digital marketing company Emerging Communications.
“商家与旅行社合作引导游客消费的收益必定会递减。”中国数字营销公司Emerging Communications总经理Domenica di Lieto说。
But until this trend becomes overwhelming and groups dry up, tour guides and luxury brands will continue to commit to commissions.
但是，只要上述趋势不占主导以及游客团队仍不断前来购物，导游与奢侈品牌会继续将回扣做法进行到底。