Why You Should Use An Official Tour Guide?
Who is “official guide” ?
Official tourist guidance (in other words licenced or authorized / professional guiding) is a profession guaranteed under the specific laws of each country. Execution of this profession is possible only if the person has the licence granted by the official authorities, according to certain criterias.
What is the advantages of using an official guide?
- An official guide gives you the correct and detailed information regarding the history, arts, culture, gastronomy. By this way they help to soften the conflicts between the cultures.
- In most of the countries, only the official guides are allowed to explain in the museums, monuments and archeological sites.
- Especially during pick periods you will face long ticket lines to enter museums. An authorized tour guide will save your time by buying the entrance tickets with priority.
- A complicated history will be clear to understand since a licenced guide can explain it in different perception forms.
- The professional guides are aware of the tourist traps and up to date information to warn you.
How you will know if a guide has a licence?
Every official guide in the world carry a special “Identity Card” issued by official authorities and the card must be visible during working.
If your guide do not have a licence?
Some countries may not have a specific law for official guiding but in most of the countries guiding without licence is illegal. At this point you must know the difference between “official guiding” and “tour leading, hosting and local guiding”. To make it more clear let us to explain it in a more clear way;
- Local Guiding; this is a general term. A local guide may have a licence or not. Those who do not have a licence may not have permission to explain in the museums and archaeological sites. In some destinations we also collobrate with local guides if an official guide is not exist for specific languages.
- Tour Leading; tour leaders are the head of a travelling group. Those who do not have a licence may not have permission to explain in the museums and archaeological sites.
What are the criterias to be an official guide?
Authorized / official tour guides can fulfill their professions only after meeting certain criteria and education. But different countries may have different criterias. Just to give an impression here are the phases to be a licenced guide in Turkey, one of the leading tourism destinations of the world.
- 2 to 4 years of graduate education on the field of “tourist guiding”.
- Being successfull in the language exam by the Ministry Of Culture And Tourism.
- Attendance of 30 days application trip in different regions of Turkey.
- Being successfull in the exam at the end of the trip.
Here are some of the lessons given in the “Tourist Guiding Departments” at universities in Turkey;
- Archaeology
- Anatolian Civilizations
- Mythology
- History Of Arts
- History Of Religions
- Traditional Architecture
- Turkish Arts & History
- Cultural Heritage Of Turkey
- Anatolian Folklore
- Tourism Geography
- International Destinations
- Basics Of Guiding
- Tourism Legistlation
- Tourism & Travel Agencies