Читать книгу Start & Run a Tour Guiding Business - Barbara Braidwood Susan Boyce & Richard Cropp - Страница 24

In early 1996, the Canadian tour industry ratified a set of voluntary national standards. Long-term professionals in the industry established minimum proficiency levels in all areas of tour guiding and tour directing. The standards are divided into three sections:

(a) Core skills

(b) Tour director

(c) Tour guide

Maureen Wright of the Pacific Rim Institute of Tourism (PRIT) in Vancouver, British Columbia, one of many people who worked on setting the standards, believes they will be invaluable for self-regulation within the industry, could become key components for training and educational purposes, and will provide a solid basis for job descriptions. Copies of the standards are available from PRIT for CDN$25 each or CDN$75 for all three sections. Write to:

Pacific Rim Institute of Tourism

Box 12101

930 - 555 W. Hastings Street

Vancouver, BC V6B 4N6

Tel: (604) 682-8000

Fax: (604) 688-2554

PRIT also began a testing/certification program in 1996 which will recognize qualified guides. The test involves a written exam (15 percent Canadian knowledge, 25 percent provincial knowledge, 65 percent local knowledge) and an on-site assessment by an independent evaluator who goes on tour with the applicant. This pilot project could ultimately be used to certify local guides in all major centers across the country.

Montreal and Quebec City are, at present, the only cities in Canada with formal regulations for tour professionals. Both cities require local tour guides to be licensed, and impose fines for violation.