ETOA Founded 1989

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ETOAFounded 1989

• Tour Operators
• Wholesalers
• Online Intermediaries

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ETOA members represent

• 3 million visitors
• 6bn inbound business to Europe a year

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Escorted tours declining market share

• In 1989 represented 80 of members turnover
• 2009 below 30 of turnover
• Growth is in the independent sector

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Different emphases

• Educational
• Leisure
• Specialist art tours
• Boat cruises
• Outdoor

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Locally-qualified guides

• Integral to tour operators product
• Used on over 250,000 occasions last year
• Offer expertise
• Local insights
• In-depth knowledge

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Complementary

• Tour guide provides continual thread on tour
• Locally-qualified guide provides the substance in
  each place
• Roles may overlap

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Natural state of affairs
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Not everywhere
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CEN Tourist Guide definition

• Tourist GuideA person who guides visitors in
  the language of their choice and interprets the
  cultural and natural heritage of an area for
  which the person normally possesses an
  area-specific qualification usually issued and/or
  recognised by the appropriate authority.

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• This is distinct from a tour manager defined by
  CEN as follows Tour Manager/Tour Director or
  Escort A person who manages an itinerary on
  behalf of the tour operator ensuring the
  programme is carried out as described in the tour
  operator's literature and sold to the
  traveller/consumer and who gives local practical
  information. Note Tour managers may or may not
  be tourist guides as well. They are not trained
  or licensed to work in specific areas unless they
  have the proper requirements or legal right,
  depending on the region.

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Imposition of monopolies
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Tour operators and tour guides

• Answerable to their customers
• Youre only ever as good as your last tour

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Locally-qualified guides acting under restrictive
practices can seem to be

• answerable only to the protocols of their
  qualifications

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Multiplicity of guiding
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Not an internal debate

• Customers notice
• Leads to absurd situations

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Tour guides attempting to gain qualifications can
find

• Their path restricted due to closed numbers
• Exams that are held on awkward dates
• Its easier (and safer) to work in any country
  but their own

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ETOA recommends

• Nurture and foster local guides
• Provide local qualifications as a mark of
  excellence
• (but not in a restrictive, overly complicated
  way)
• Promote, reward and champion the interests of
  local guides

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But dont

• Grant a monopoly and restrict access
• It betrays a lack of confidence in the service
  you offer
• And creates a downward spiral in quality as
  protection becomes the number one priority

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Croatia

• Recognises bespoke tourism
• Caters for many different types of tourist
• Has avoided the Costa del Sol effect
• Tourism accounts for 23.6 of GDP and 26.3 of
  employment (WTTC 2009)

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Continue to offer the customer one of Europes
great travel experiences
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