Tracy Lam can recount the history of St Paul's ruins, Macau's colonial landmark, in Putonghua, Cantonese, English and a little Japanese. When she completed a tour guide course last year, she thought she would shine in the profession.
But Ms Lam was disillusioned. Although her monthly salary of 7,000 patacas is above average, she finds aspects of her job frustrating.
'I take my groups to a massive jewellery and porcelain warehouse in the morning,' she said. 'In the afternoon, a wholesaler of fake brand-name apparel is on the itinerary. The history of Macau is not the main focus at all.'
Ms Lam is one of Macau's 858 licensed tour guides. But only a third choose to work in the profession, according to Macau's Institute for Tourism Studies. Tour operators complain of a dire shortage, but the sector cannot agree on a solution.
'We need at least a few hundred more [guides] of high quality,' said a committee member of the Macau Tour Operator Association.
He said one problem was how few licensed guides continue in the profession, adding: 'If students taking tour guide courses do not want to be tour guides, then why did they take the class?'