Get Ready to Enjoy Paradise in January
by Pete Mc Call
Make plans now to discover the tropical Indonesian island of Bali in mid-January
for the 13th
International World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) Convention.
This warm invitation to Guild members was extended by WFTGA Executive Board
Member Aladdin Khalifa of Egypt at an informative convention briefing July 14 at
the Cascade Cafe, National Gallery of Art.
Introduced by Maricar Donato, Khalifa inspired a number of Guild members to join
as many as 200 tourist guides from around the world at Bali’s Discovery Kartika
Plaza Hotel, Jan. 11-16, 2009, to explore the hot convention theme, “Ecotourism
and the Tourist Guide's Role,” and enjoy the tropical paradise’s many cultural
attractions. He explained that Guild members, who automatically belong to the
108,000-member WFTGA, can attend all convention events at the five-star resort
for less than $900–if they register before Oct. 1, 2008. (Airfare is
additional.) Pre- and post-convention tours will be offered to destinations
such as Singapore, Macao and other Indonesian islands.
The Bali conference will feature plenary sessions, workshops and training
sessions presented by 25 lecturers to help tourist guides understand their role
in the fast-growing eco-tourism movement. In his keynote address, professor Sam
Ham of the U.S. will discuss “Eco-Tourism in Fragile Areas–The Tourist Guide's
Role.”
The convention aims to provide a forum for participants to exchange views and
information about ways to improve professionalism as tour guides and deal with
mutual issues worldwide. How can we evolve as tour guides unless we meet and
share ideas with other guides, explained Khalifa at the recent Guild briefing.
Khalifa, a prominent Egyptologist and tour director, told more than a dozen DC
tourist guides not only about the Bali convention but about WFTGA’s mission:
• to reinforce tourist guide associations’ professional ties;
• to represent tourist guides internationally;
• to enhance the profession’s image worldwide;
• to promote a universal code of ethics and skills;
• to raise the profession’s standards;
• to develop international training and education; and
• to exchange information between the 45-member nations.
Vice President visits USA - Aladdin Khalifia visited The Guild of Professional Tour Guides of Washington DC on Monday July 14th. Aladdin spoke about the Federation as well as his site inspection to Bali, Indonesia. Photo Caption: Aladdin Khalifa WFTGA Vice president; Maricar Donato WFTGA Trainer; Shirley Timashev President of Guild of Professional Tour Guides of Washington DC
A followup meeting on Bali and the conference is scheduled for
August 26 at the Embassy of Indonesia. Please contact Maricar Donato,
202-421-51160; Mcdonato@aol.com
To register for the convention, log on the WFTGA website
www.wftga.org
