In recent years, as inbound tourism in Sichuan continues to heat up, a shortage of tour guides proficient in minor languages, such as Vietnamese, Thai, and Malay, has become a pressing challenge for the province's key tourist destinations. Now, a solution to this dilemma has been found!

At the recent "Relaxed Sichuan, Explore Tianfu" 2025 Sichuan Province 100 travel agencies into Nanchong (northeast Sichuan) event, the Intelligent Tourism Facilities and Equipment Exhibition made its debut. The exhibition invites domestic technology companies to participate and promote smart tour guide service systems. It focuses on building an innovative "Artificial Intelligence + Cultural and Tourism Services" application framework and actively creating a smart tour guide service platform, aiming to effectively address the structural imbalance in the availability of tour guides proficient in minor languages for inbound tourism.

Wang Zhaoxue, President of the Sichuan Province Travel Agency Association, reported that since the start of the year, under the coordination of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Sichuan Province, the Association has actively organized travel agency enterprises to collaborate with intelligent technology companies, matching needs and conducting joint research, leading to the successful development of multiple types of smart devices, such as simultaneous interpretation earphones for minor languages, primarily used in the reception services for foreign inbound tourists. These initiatives have yielded initial positive outcomes.

At the Keyinda booth within the Intelligent Tourism Facilities and Equipment Exhibition, 143 translation and simultaneous interpretation devices are meticulously arranged, drawing a significant number of travel agents to engage and experiment with these innovative tools. Zhu Zhengcong, General Manager of Keyinda, informed the reporter that their translation device incorporates AI technology and other technical means to offer multi-language and real-time translation services. Through connection via Bluetooth, the wireless interpreter device enables real-time translation of the content being narrated and simultaneously transmits it to the headphones of overseas tourists. "The translation device boasts significant advantages such as comprehensive language coverage, lightweight and portable design, and relatively low operational costs. It is available for sale or rental and has become a regular feature at major international conferences and important events, effectively addressing the shortage of tour guide talent in minor languages," Zhu added.

A relevant leading official from the Department of Culture and Tourism of Sichuan Province stated that Sichuan attaches great importance to the shortage of tour guides proficient in minor languages for the inbound tourism market and is actively implementing a two-pronged approach to resolve this issue. On the one hand, Sichuan Province emphasizes talent cultivation by guiding the Sichuan Province Travel Agency Association to issue a recruitment call for tour guides in minor languages, collaborating with pertinent universities to accelerate the talent selection and training process, and establishing a Minor Language Tour Guide Talent Pool. These efforts are designed to meet the heightened demand for such specialized guides during the peak tourism season. On the other hand, the province focuses on the research and development of technical equipment. This initiative connects travel agency enterprises with tech firms to foster thorough communication and collaboration and co-develop simultaneous interpretation headphones for minor languages, specifically tailored for tourist group explanations, in a bid to facilitate seamless communication between Chinese tour guides (interpreters) and foreign tourists, eliminating language barriers.