As anticipation builds for the WFTGA 2026 Convention, the spotlight falls not only on the event itself, but on the vital preparation that takes place beforehand. For professional tourist guides, training is more than a necessity — it’s the bedrock of excellence, ensuring that each guide is ready to deliver outstanding experiences to visitors from around the globe.

For a WFTGA Convention tourist guides find themselves in the unique position of being guided by their peers. This collaborative approach fosters an environment where everyone can compare notes, share best practices, and learn from one another’s experiences.

A bespoke training programme started over a year ago and recently culminated in practical on-site, in-person guiding skills training as a dress rehearsal for the study and city tours forming part of the convention.

Already during the inspection visit by the WFTGA President and WFTGA Head of Training in January 2025, a number of Fukuoka Host Committee Members participated in a 2-hour taster session of the WFTGA Communication Seminar to raise awareness of core guiding skills training. 

The Kyushu Association of Interpreters, Translators and Guide-Interpreters (K-iTG) is renowned for their knowledge and language training. Under the leadership of Mizu Mizutani (K-iTG Chairperson) and Kaoru (Kay) Shibata (Head of Human Resources) our colleagues stepped up their area-specific knowledge training as platform for guides to deepen their understanding of the host city and region and their stories from Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples over Volcanos, Hot Springs and Mythology to Porcelain and Japanese Food Culture.

K-iTG asked WFTGA to help with conversation sessions which reflect the diverse ways in which English is spoken within the WFTGA family. Starting as conversation sessions in August, we soon realised there was appetite for more. Heidi Klintemoeller-Hansen and her team began to include guiding skills like describing, explaining terms, KISS in starting and ending tours as well as handling visitors’ questions and other day-to-day skills needed by tourist guides. 

In mid-October, as the planned experiences took shape, the K-iTG tours team, in collaboration with WFTGA, held a taster session on Experience Design. This session focused particularly on the walking tours offered during the Convention, with the aim of creating engaging experiences tailored to the specific needs of the event.

The convention will also feature study tours throughout the Kyushu Region and is complemented by a range of pre- and post-convention programmes. Guiding on a moving vehicle requires guides to have a specific skill set, which was outlined by WFTGA Trainer Kapi Panou in two online sessions earlier this month. These saw record attendances, demonstrating the high level of interest and commitment among guides to ensuring every aspect of the convention meets the highest standards.

This week WFTGA Trainers Viola Lewis and Sarah Janning-Picker facilitated 3 days of practical, on-site training in form of a walk-through of the convention city and study tours featuring the Tochoji Temple, Hakata Machiya Folk Museum and Kushida Shrine. This training emphasised the importance of caring for visitors, ensuring their safety and comfort throughout their experience, something that cannot truly be mastered through online learning. Instead, these skills are honed through personal coaching and direct interaction combined with self-reflection and peer evaluation, allowing guides to continuously improve and refine their approach in a supportive environment – the essence of WFTGA Training. 

The dedication and commitment of our colleagues in Fukuoka is truly remarkable. They regularly joined our online sessions in the evenings, after long days of work, and always greet the trainer team with broad, infectious smiles and leave with enthusiastic waves and ‘arigatos’.

At the heart of the convention’s preparation is the belief that learning is a two-way street. By guiding—and being guided by—fellow professionals, tourist guides are not only honing their craft but building a community rooted in mutual support and shared passion. This spirit of collaboration ensures that, when the convention opens its doors on 09 February, every guide is equipped not just with knowledge, but with the skills, confidence and insight that comes from learning and practising together.

Viola Lewis, WFTGA Head of Training (2019 to 2026)