Tourist guide
Tour guides (also tour guides , city guides or tourist guides or the also common Anglicism Guide ; in parts of Germany also explaining the cityscape ) are local and knowledgeable people who receive, look after and accompany domestic and foreigners. They convey - in the local language or the required foreign language - in-depth knowledge of geography, history, art history as well as cultural, economic, social facts and relationships.
The tour guide must be distinguished from the tour guide , who arrives with the group and looks after them throughout the trip.
History and tasks
The tour guide profession emerged with the advent of tourism . The professional title existed in the Vatican State as early as the 17th century. The term Cicerone (probably derived from the eloquence of a Cicero for a guide to the historical sites of the Mediterranean) spread to Western Europe.
Today, the task of tour guides is to accompany commented city tours, city tours , city walks, museum and castle tours, excursions, study trips and the like. Groups of people from the circle of tourists , city travelers , day trippers , vacationers , museum and exhibition visitors, etc., are usually accompanied and guided, but sometimes also by conference participants or other interested parties and, in particular, with special tours, often by locals and people from the near or further region.
In many of the EU countries, guests are accompanied by a state-certified tour guide who not only presents art, history, monuments, landscape and nature in museums, galleries and archaeological excavation sites, but also introduces the guests to local customs and culinary habits and represents the country.
American tourists with a guide in Morocco (1965)
Guided Tourists in St. Peter's Square in Rome (2013)
City tour in Moscow (2008)
City guides in Lüneburg (2010)
City tour in Berlin ( Topography of Terror , Berlin Wall ) (2007)
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Legal bases
In Germany , the profession of tourist guide is not regulated by law, nor does it have a uniform and precise job description and is therefore often confused with the profession of tour guide . Anyone can carry out this activity; a business registration is required for people who earn (part of) their livelihood with this activity . German tourist offices that employ tourist guides usually hold training courses for the activity of guides in areas or places developed for tourism. In order to create a uniform, European standard for the training of guest and tourist guides, there has been a training system for guest / tourist guides according to DIN EN 15565 of the European Committee for Standardization CEN since 2008 , which provides a high-quality basis for the curricula of training providers in this Should represent area. However, this standard for training says nothing about whether recognition by cities, regions or the state as a whole is required for the exercise of the profession.
In Austria , France , Greece , Italy , Portugal , England and Spain , Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus , the profession of tourist guide is regulated by law. It may only be exercised after a qualified training and successfully passed state exams.
These proficiency tests are taken in Austria before a commission in the Chamber of Commerce. The prerequisite for this is the completion of a course at the BFI or the WIFI (duration between three and four semesters). If the exam is passed, the title “State-certified tourist guide” is awarded.
In France, the state examination can be taken after two years of technical college education at the Préfecture de l'Île-de-France (for regionally active at least bilingual tourist guides), or after two additional semesters at a university (for nationally active tourist guides at least trilingual). Foreign candidates with corresponding equivalence will be admitted as free candidates to the examinations held in at least all European and many other languages. The diploma allows you to work as an independent or employed "state-certified tourist guide".
The licensing regulations for tourist guides concern the freedom to provide services , which is anchored in the EC Treaty . In several supreme court decisions of different member states and the European Court of Justice it was decided that a restriction is only lawful insofar as the admission regulation does not discriminate against EU citizens . In the opinion of the European Court of Justice, the problem is that requirements for proof of qualification cannot be applied for by every tourist guide in the EU without discrimination. Some countries require official confirmation of the activity, for example Italy ; Meanwhile, the Italian Supreme Court ruled in a landmark ruling of May 18, 2006 (No. 1175/06) that tour guides who are EU citizens and who come from other EU countries together with their group travel in and out of the public area Guided tours that are part of the program are allowed to conduct. In Austria, too, this activity must be reported in writing, it may only be carried out on a case-by-case basis and temporarily, and is bound to a certificate of competence in the home country.
Services
Various special tours have been developed due to the changing demands of travelers on the experience of a trip.
Alternative movement guides
In many places, alternative tours are offered, in which not only classic sights are shown, but places of everyday life and the world of work as well as explosive or problematic topics are taken into account.
These tours can also take into account ideas of gentle tourism .
Scenic walks
Another type of guided tour are so-called “theater walks” or “scenic”, that is guided tours combined with drama, in which the guide slips into a role and leads the guests to certain places where other actors may come to life from the events of earlier times to let.
So-called “ghost walks” are very similar to this, in which haunted stories, sagas and legends are in the foreground. Originally more at home in the Anglo-Saxon area, there have been city tours of this kind since the 1990s in Cologne, Freiburg, Regensburg or Stuttgart and Esslingen, among others. "Ghost walks" are now being held in many German cities.
Themed tours
The guided tour is based on a certain topic, for example “The city in the Middle Ages” or “The city and its famous citizen XY” or “Underground corridors and rooms” etc.
Geocaching - GPS scavenger hunt
Geocaching is a recreational activity invented in 2000. Some cities offer geocaching tours to tourists. The tourists receive a GPS device and move from station to station on foot or by public transport.
Further tours
- Architecture tours
- trips
- Exhibition tours
- Castle tours
- Bus tours
- Monument tours
- Adventure tours
- Event tours
- Rock guides
- Guided tours of excavations
- Mountain hikes
- Horror tour
- Historical tours
- Cathedral tours
- Monastery tour
- Kieztouren
- Costume tours
- Culinary tour
- Cultural tours
- Art tours
- Shore excursions, excursions
- Museum tours
- Bike tours
- Drama tours
- Castle tours
- Segway tours
- walks
- City tours
- City tours
- day trips
- Themed tours
- Wine tours
Guided tours for disabled people
In the course of general social endeavors and developments to improve the integration of disabled people through to inclusion , special tours are now offered in many countries for the groups of people affected in the sense of participation . Their own emancipation efforts and the growing self-confidence of people with “ handicaps ” - with social and / or physical disadvantages due to disabilities - also play a role here.
The so-called barrier - free group tours include tours in easy language and in sign language , as well as tours for wheelchair users , the deaf , the blind and the visually impaired . Such barrier-free city tours or trips, etc. can now be found in some EU countries - especially in capitals and larger cities, but sometimes also in smaller tourist locations as well as in leisure areas and theme parks. Special tour programs are often designed according to individual wishes for groups of this kind. In general, reservations are usually required.
Guided tours for people with restricted mobility, mobility impaired and wheelchair users
City tours etc. for guests with restricted mobility, the mobility impaired and wheelchair users are often part of the standard of tourism offers today, for example in Bremen , Cologne or Weimar in Germany . The prerequisites for this are smooth routes or barrier-free tour options, and specially trained tour guides are usually used. In addition to special tours such as bike tours or tram tours, etc., many “normal” tours are in principle suitable for people with reduced mobility, mobility impaired people and wheelchair users, but require selected routes and are more time-consuming.
In order to enable people with restricted mobility to take part in often longer city tours, individual wheelchairs can often be borrowed in major tourist locations and from the tourist information offices of larger cities - usually inexpensive or free of charge, and mostly against a deposit.
Guided tours for the deaf and hearing impaired
City tours as well as museum and exhibition tours etc. in sign language are aimed specifically at the deaf and those severely hard of hearing who communicate in sign language or in the sign language that is usually dominant in the respective country . The hearing impaired who communicate in spoken language are usually unable to take advantage of these offers due to a lack of sign language skills. In various countries, sign language tours are usually only found in a few cities, as they require the use of tour guides with knowledge of sign language. Accompanying translations of "normal" spoken language tours in sign language by sign language interpreters are rarely found.
At the same time, guided tours in sign language are increasingly offered and in demand, which on the one hand can be traced back to the stronger promotion of sign language and its recognition as a fully-fledged, independent language and on the other hand it can be seen in connection with the increased awareness of the deaf culture . In this context, guided tours in sign language are often carried out by people who are themselves deaf or hearing impaired and who have usually been officially trained as ( sign language) tour guides. In Germany there are such special guided tours, for example in Augsburg , Berlin or Trier . The tours are mostly conducted in German Sign Language (DGS) and partly in International Sign Language ( International Sign , IS) or with spoken language accompanying signs (LBG). In addition, guided tours in sign language with spoken language accompaniment are sometimes offered, which are suitable for joint groups of deaf or hearing impaired and hearing people.
There is no uniform designation for sign language tour guides and city guides; the range from sign language guides (or sign language guide ) over deaf guide or deaf-city guide to sign language guide , deaf guide or Deaf Guide .
Guided tours for the blind and visually impaired
During city tours for the blind and visually impaired, “reaching” is particularly important: the tour guides usually work with selected tactile images and models in addition to their oral explanations . By touching models, tactile plans, shapes and ornaments, the information heard can be literally “grasped” by the blind and visually impaired. According to various concepts, which have often been developed in cooperation with associations for the blind and other institutions such as the pastoral care of the disabled , the tour guides are sensitized to the world of the blind during appropriate training courses, sometimes with so-called dark glasses. In addition, some special routes are selected with the participation of local blind and visually impaired people.
Special city tours etc. for blind and visually impaired people are offered in Germany, for example in Braunschweig , Freiburg im Breisgau and Tübingen .
See also
Web links
- Definitions for: guest / tourist guide, tour guide, travel companion ( Memento of November 13, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Judgments of February 26, 1991, Commission v France, Case C-154/89, ECR 1991, pp. I-659 (paras. 16-19); Commission / Italy, Case C-180/89, ECR 1991, pp. I-709 (paras. 19-22) and Commission / Greece, Case C-198/89, ECR 1991, pp. I-727 (Paras 20-23). In the same sense, the judgment of March 22, 1994, Commission v Spain, Case C-375/92, ECR 1994, p. I-923; see also: Evelyne Tichadou: The protection of tourists in the case law of the European Court of Justice , Section 2b: "The interests of tourists and the justification of a restriction on the free movement of services" ( online ).
- ↑ See: Hans-Jörg Heims: Please wait outside. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of April 1, 2010 ( online ; accessed July 30, 2017).
- ↑ Bremen for people with disabilities. In: bremen-tourismus.de. Retrieved July 30, 2017 .
- ↑ KölnTourismus - city tours for wheelchair users. In: koelntourismus.de. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017 ; accessed on July 30, 2017 .
- ^ Weimar City of Culture - Barrier-free city tour. In: weimar.de. Retrieved July 30, 2017 .
- ↑ Augsburg Tourismsus - 2000 years of history in 3 hours in sign language. In: augsburg-tourismus.de. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017 ; accessed on July 30, 2017 .
- ^ Berlin for the deaf and hearing impaired. In: visitberlin.de. Retrieved July 30, 2017 .
- ↑ Tourist Information Trier - city tour for the deaf. In: trier-info.de. Retrieved July 30, 2017 .
- ↑ See for example: Touch - Feel - Hear - Understand. In: cms.bistum-trier.de. Diocese of Trier , February 3, 2003, accessed on July 30, 2017 (press release).
- ↑ Braunschweig to touch - a city tour for blind and visually impaired people. In: braunschweig.de. Retrieved July 30, 2017 .
- ↑ (wad): How city tours for the blind are carried out in Freiburg. In: badische-zeitung.de. Badische Zeitung , September 19, 2015, accessed on July 30, 2017 .
- ↑ Tübingen “record” - a tour for the visually impaired. In: tuebingen-info.de. Tübingen tourist office, archived from the original on July 30, 2017 ; accessed on July 30, 2017 .