Service standardization - tourist guide training
Requirements for the provision of professional tourist guide training and
qualification programmes are now specified in DIN EN 15565.
Tourist Guides represent the cities, regions and countries which they are
qualified to present. It depends on how they perform whether the visitors in
their charge feel welcome, want to stay longer or decide to come back. They thus
contribute considerably to the way a tourist destination is perceived. Tourist
Guides are able to help travellers understand the culture of the region visited
and the way of life of its inhabitants. They have a particular role on the one
hand in promoting the cultural and natural heritage whilst on the other hand in
helping to ensure its sustainability by making visitors aware of its importance
and vulnerability.
The new European Standard DIN EN 15565 supports European Union efforts to
facilitate free movement in the exchange of services within its member states
but also emphasises the importance of area-specific tourist guides for the
provision of high-quality tourism services. This will be achieved by a common
standard for the qualification of tourist guides in all European countries.
The standard provides requirements and recommendations on subjects such as
skills (e.g. presenting the area, site, city, region country,
guiding groups or individual visitors, interpreting for visitors the cultural
and natural heritage as well as the environment; helping visitors to experience
and understand what they are viewing and/or visiting; using appropriate
language, presenting appropriate information in a comprehensive and
communicative way);
Theoretical knowledge (e.g. history and culture, legal and
political system, religions and philosophical movements, history of art and
architecture, geography and geology, professional ethics);
presentation techniques (e.g. voice projection, diction, microphone use,
breathing techniques, eye contact, stance, body language, posture, personal
appearance and behaviour, style and vocabulary);
communication techniques (e.g. interpersonal skills, selection,
structuring and linking of information, handling and use of questions, stress
management, time management;
group management (e.g. positioning of guide and group, impartial approach and
politeness, group dynamics, conflict management);
practical training;
qualification of trainers,
which a tourist guide training scheme should comprise, as well as requirements
for minimum numbers of training units (hours).
DIN EN 15565 allows countries, regions and cities to decide the level, extent
and main areas of their training programmes, providing these programmes meet
these minimum standards and requirements for tourist guide training which is a
prerequisite for a tourist guide quality service in all member countries.
Contact
NA Gebrauchstauglichkeit und Dienstleistungen im DIN
Dr. Holger Mühlbauer
Burggrafenstr. 6
10787 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 2601-2809
Fax: +49 30 2601-42809
