In 1989, at its 3rd Convention the WORLD FEDERATION OF TOURIST GUIDE ASSOCIATIONS decided in Cyprus that the 21st of February shall be instituted as the “INTERNATIONAL TOURIST GUIDE DAY”, commemorating the foundation of its own organization back in 1985 in Israel where the first international convention had taken place.
Since 1990 tourist guide colleagues from all over the world, from California to Australia, from Finland to South Africa celebrate “their day.” On this very special day tourist guides do not guide their international groups but dedicate themselves to the residents in their local community.
In 2005 the Vienna Tourist Guides explained to over 400 Vienna residents the collections of the Leopold Museum, the Sisi Museum in the Vienna Habsburg Palace and took 100 blind people and persons with impaired vision into the collections of Vienna’s Museum of Technology.
In 2006 the International Tourist Guide Day activities started already four days before February 21 with a special celebration honouring the director of the visiting program of Sch�nbrunn Palace, Mr. ROBERT TIDMARSH. „BOBBY“ as we guides call him, has always an open heart for us guides, instructs us about the fire prevention program and creates that friendly atmosphere in the most-visited sight of Vienna that is so essential for our work as tourist guides.
