THE
LICENSE
Italian law states that all tourist guides must have a license
issued by the Provincia di Roma (Local Tourist Board). The license
has three functions:
1. To guarantee the Guide's cultural preparation and linguistic
ability: in order to obtain this permit, a guide has to take
an exam that covers history of art, archaeology, geography and
natural environment, tourist legislation and foreign languages.
2. To ensure tourist safety: a licensed guide is listed
in the official register held by the Provincia di Roma: therefore recognized by all authorities
in the tourist field. Random police checks have found that some
tourists are easy prey to individuals, from English speaking countries,
who sell themselves as "guides", but do not have the
necessary requisites: they improvise history and even demand extra
fees for a "native English speaking guide"!
3. To promote Sustainable Tourism: a licensed guide respects
the profession's deontological regulations, emphasizes the character
of the locale, promotes and protects the value of the City's heritage,
both cultural and intangible, and maintains a high level of tourist
satisfaction which, in turn, ensures a meaningful experience.
A NEW PHENOMENON: ILLEGAL TOURISM EXPLOITATION
Recently, due to the fast growth of tourism, many people have
come to Italy and work illegally, especially through internet,
since this media is difficult to control. These illegal organizations
badly damage one of Italy's principle economic resources, evading
taxes and harming both the unaware tourist and the international
image of our country.
We want to warn all tourists and travel agents against this new
and dishonest way of exploiting our country, and how it disregards
all principles of Sustainable Tourism.
Most of those people working without the required license are
not Italians but foreigners, as they can easily get in contact
with tourists from their own country. They praise themselves as
"experts" or "docents", holding prestigious
degrees, and claim they are able to give interesting and innovative
tours because of their "great passion" for Italy.
We warmly welcome and appreciate
foreigners who declare their love for our country, as some of
our licensed colleagues are from the UK and USA and are now happily
settled in Rome. But we are adamantly against those "experts"
who do not undergo the examination required, disregarding the
law of the country they say they love. All over the world people
working without the required permits are unlawfully practising
a profession and, if they are foreigners, they are also illegal
immigrants. The license granted by the local authority is required
in many countries.
(e.g. see the Washington DC application requirement:
http://www.asisvcs.com/indhome.asp?CPCat=TG09STATEREG
http://www.asisvcs.com/publications/pdf/690901.pdf
