#SMED 11
An initiative of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA), International Tourist Guide Day is annually commemorated on the 21st February.
As a contribution towards International Tourist Guide Day, I had the honour of hosting 17 young travel and tourism students from Prestige Academy
In addition to engaging with them on the rich and untold history of Cape Town Station, the other focal point of discussion centered on the importance of being an accredited tourist guide - . ‘I am a legal tourist guide ‘
One of the many challenges the tourism industry faces, is the significant number of tour guides operating illegally without a Tourist Guide badge and Tourist Guide ID cards. These ‘fly by night’ tour operators are out there, ready to make a quick buck or two from unsuspecting tourists. The knock-on effect of a bad tourist experience is that the image of the tourism industry gets tarnished resulting in a possible drop of tourists visiting Cape Town
To eliminate illegal guiding, domestic and international tourists are continually encouraged to only utilise registered tour guides as they are suitably qualified and from a professional point of view, are trained to act in the best interest of their client/s.
Following complaints from members of the public, tourists and registered Tourist Guides, the Western Cape Tourism Minister, Alan Winde, last week joined inspectors from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism to conduct an illegal Tourist Guide inspection.
Looking forward, I am excited about conducting future tours with students and will continue to support the Department of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism by continually creating awareness around the issue of illegal guiding.
Follow MEC Winde at: www.twitter.com/alanwinde
Travel and Tourism Students, Prestige Academy
Tourists are often the victims of a number of scams by people who only think of themselves. This is disgusting and just plain lazy on their part. Why not do it the legal route?
ReplyDeletethat could be argued- how much red tape does our government put around being a tour guide? This might be the only way that members of the public can make some money.
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