Frontline service staff in visitor hot spots must be taught how to smile, or so authorities in the province of Hubei in central China believe, hence their release of a 15-page list of standards on smiling this week in an attempt to improve service quality in the tourism industry.

The code on smiling is the result of more than four years of research and consultation with experts, according to the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, which will be responsible for the implementation in tourist destinations in the region.

It is the first set of regional standards tailor-made for service staff in scenic areas, put into effect by the Administration of Market Regulation in Hubei Province on Tuesday.

Speech, facial expression, tone of voice, body language and the look in the eyes all fall under the governance of the authorities, as listed out in the detailed document, which contains the requirements of the code that every staffer working in the scenic areas must comply with.

The various standards are carefully categorized in the regulators’ four-year endeavor. For example, they require service staff to look at the face or T-zone area of a tourist to demonstrate respect and kindness. When smiling, the staffer must present a natural and relaxed facial expression, the corners of the mouth slightly lifted upward with the teeth revealed with warmth and sincerity.

Standards on hand gestures are also stipulated, to govern the way staffers should show directions to tourists. Another category specifies a set of civilized language to be used in answering questions from visitors.

The code, with its requirements, would help staff working in scenic areas to become better equipped with the techniques necessary to improve tourism quality, the provincial department explained.

Chinese internet users are not amused. Smiles were precious and should emanate from the heart instead of being taught, some said. Others criticized the excessive collectivism in mainland China, where authorities were seeking to regulate every single aspect of life and causing people to lose their individual personalities.

Some internet users agreed with the implementation of the standards, however. They felt that the training would improve the skills of frontline staff when handling people and might reduce the number of complaints.

In Hong Kong, a travel operator said the city currently had no standardized code on mannerisms, but “it does not mean that there will not be such a code tomorrow.”

The Hubei smiling code was part of the marketing strategy of the local authorities to attract interest from outside, EGL Tours executive director Steve Huen said. He cited Japan as an example, saying that 20 years ago, the country also laid out requirements for tour guides working on tourist coaches, such as standards on how to hold the microphone and the standing posture to strike when introducing the passing scenery.

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