This study explores the mechanisms underlying the occupational stigma perception (OSP) of tour guides and the role of interpersonal deviance (ID) toward tourists based on affective event theory. It collects questionnaire data from 348 Chinese frontline tour guides and uses PROCESS Macro in SPSS to test the moderated mediation model. Results show that OSP had a significantly positive effect on ID. Job embeddedness (JE) partially mediated the relationship between OSP and ID. Job tenure (JT) played a negative moderating role between OSP and JE. Furthermore, the mediating role of JE between OSP and ID diminished as the guides' JT increased.