11/07/2024
✔️A tourist wants to escape life.
✔️A traveler wants to experience it.
❣️A Licenced Tourist Guide show them both, the way!
Certified tourist guides in Greece are calling on Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni to withdraw a tourism bill currently up for discussion, arguing that the terms threaten the profession are “catastrophic”.
The ministry’s proposed legislation aims to change the definition of the term “tourist guide” so that others offering such services without certification enter the market. The change, the associations claim, will deregulating the profession.
Under the new law, certified guides would see their role limited to specific sites such as monuments and museums, thus opening the door to “unqualified individuals from anywhere in the world”.
For decades, Greek tourist guides have provided comprehensive services, offering information about the nation’s cultural and natural heritage, modern life, history, traditions, and gastronomy. The current law (710/77), they say, is aligned with EU standards, ensuring that guides are well-trained and qualified. The new bill, however, threatens to ‘weaken’ these standards, potentially damaging the country’s reputation.
