site.btaTourist Guides Need Rules for Implementation of Tourism Act

NW 12:32:31 05-12-2014
SN1232NW.104
104 ECONOMY - TOURISM - GUIDES - RULES

Tourist Guides Need
Rules for Implementation
of Tourism Act


Veliko Turnovo, North Central Bulgaria, December 5 (BTA) -
Tourism expert Valeri Gochev said earlier this week that tourist
guides are the face of Bulgarian tourism, so it is unacceptable
for poorly trained guides to present Bulgaria's cultural and
historical landmarks to visitors.

Gochev, who heads the Varna-based Bulgarian Tourist Guides
Union, told BTA that the lack of rules for implementation of the
Tourism Act presents a problem, because the profession of
tourist guides and travel agents needs regulating. The rules
should pay special attention to tourist guides as a separate
segment, he said.

This requires setting up a register at the Ministry of Tourism
encompassing all tourist guides licensed to practise the
profession, said Nikolai Mindov, President of the Bulgarian
Tourist Guides Association. Education, language skills and the
degree of training are all important, Mindov said.

Gochev insisted that a tourism inspectorate should be
established to perform these functions.

Sonya Petrova, a doyen of the tourist guiding profession in
Veliko Turnovo, said that there are around 20 professional
tourist guides in the history-rich town who speak multiple
foreign languages, and every year they take exams with
professors from the history and linguistics departments of
Veliko Turnovo University. The community keeps in touch with
archaeologists at the Regional Museum of History and the local
chapter of the National Institute of Archaeology, so they can
stay updated on the latest discoveries and exploration projects
in the area.

There are over 800 tourist guides in Bulgaria who are members of
professional organizations and possess the necessary skills,
Mindov said. They are confronted with unfair competition from
operators of free tours which are becoming increasingly popular
in some larger cities. Mindov said the organized professionals
are opposed to the practice of free tours, because they are led
by amateurs.

But the view was not shared by Tsvetomir Boyadjiev, Director of
the Municipal Travel Agency in Veliko Turnovo. According to him,
it is only natural to provide a service which is in demand.
Free tours are not prohibited by the law, Boyadjiev noted.

He suggested that a legal amendment could be introduced to
require municipal authorities to license free-tour guides, or to
finance free tours in order to advertise the cultural and
historical heritage in the respective areas. Boyadjiev noted
that more and more tourists use mobile device applications which
make conventional tourist guides redundant.

Despite their divergent views on free tours, professionals are
convinced that the Tourism Act should be accompanied by rules
for its implementation in order to better regulate their
business. VI/VE


/СН/