Curbing illegal tour guides
15 September 2008
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has launched a pilot project aimed at curbing illegal tour guides, through focussing on increased registration of guides, education and site inspections of businesses that conduct guided tours.
The pilot project, which was launched in Pretoria last week, is a partnership between the national department, the Gauteng Tourism Authority and the City of Tshwane (greater Pretoria).
According to a statement released by the department last week, the pilot will initially focus on the Gauteng province, before being expanded to the rest of the country.
"Tourist guides constitute a vital link between the tourists and our country's attraction sites," said Environmental Affairs and Tourism deputy director-general Sindiswa Nhlumayo at the launch. "In so doing, tourist guides serve as ambassadors of the tourism sector."
Illegal guides
In South Africa, tourist guiding activities are regulated by the Tourism Second Amendment Act, No.70 of 2000. According to the Act, any person who wishes to be involved in the tourist guiding activity must be registered.
According to the GTA, illegal tourist guides hamper positive growth in the tourism industry and rob the country of the chance to make a positive impact on tourists, through providing inaccurate information and sub-standard services.
"Illegal guiding also takes a form of tour operators who venture into guiding without proper training and qualification in this specific area, thus depriving properly qualified and registered tourist guides of opportunities to earn income from their trade," said GTA acting chief executive Pule Malefane.
Since most tourists were likely to have read or heard about South Africa before visiting, it was vital that accurate information was disseminated to them on arrival, with the tourist guide usually being the person that the tourist will have most contact with in a country.
This meant that tourist guides needed to be well-trained and knowledgeable about their country in order to send those tourists home with a good impression of the country.
Training and registration
Nhlumayo said that the development of tour guides faced challenges in the areas relating to quality, standardisation and coherence in training.
In order to address these challenges, the department has been working together with the Standards Generating Body, the South African Qualifications Authority, the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Education and Training Authority (Theta), higher education institutions involved in the training of tourist guides, and the Association of Private Providers of Education, Training and Development.
As part of its preparations for hosting the 2010 Fifa World Cup, the department has trained tour guides to speak French, German, Mandarin and Spanish, while the training of guides in Portuguese will start soon.
In addition, 108 guides from across the country will be trained in advanced customer care, communication in English and as per the ambassador programme for host cities.
"With the growth of the industry, it has become apparent that some tour guides are practicing illegally, as they are not registered with the GTA," said GTA registrar Mpho Moeti.
"Through positive means such as education, consultative workshops and site inspections, the GTA aims to increase compliance of tourist guides with the relevant legislation that governs the industry."
Tourist guides can apply for registration from their provincial registrar for tourist guides at a cost of R240, with the official permit having to be renewed every two years.
For more details, contact office of the National Registrar of Tourist Guides at 086 111 2468.
SAinfo reporter
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