Faiza Tehseen

Professionally trained tourist guides play a vital role in boosting a country’s tourism sector. A continuous training process is necessary to generate a great lot of tourist guides to make this sector productive in Pakistan. Discussing with WealthPK the need and importance of professionally trained and certified tourist guides, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Managing Director Aftab-ur-Rahman Rana said: “Trained tourist guides are an important part of good tourism practices. A professional tourist guide is expected to be well aware of the itinerary, accommodation arrangements, and transport availability and to make a tourist’s journey joyful and adventurous.”

He said there was a general lack of professional tourist guides in Pakistan. “To bridge this gap, the PTDC has launched the National Tour Guide Training Programme to train at least 1,000 tour guides in one year. Under this initiative, a series of tour guides training workshops will be conducted in all the provincial capitals in collaboration with the provincial tourism departments and the private sector. The first session of this programme was conducted in Islamabad from March 18 to 31.” He said the PTDC had launched this extensive training session in collaboration with the Department of Tourist Services, Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan, College of Tourism and Hotel Management, Pakistan Association of Tour Operators and Legend Hotels.

He said the training covered many aspects, including full knowledge of tourist destinations in Pakistan, communication skills, tour group management, tour guiding, hospitality, customer services, etc. “A batch of 24 trainees joined the session from different parts of the country. Services of both national and international trainers were hired to train the batch.” Aftabur Rehman said such training would not only make the youth more skillful but would also create more job opportunities in the country.

Abdur Rahman, who was part of the first-ever professional tourist guide batch of Pakistan, said: “It was a good initiative to start professional training sessions for tour guides. After getting training and a professional certificate as a tourist guide, I am confident that I can act as the country’s ambassador for foreign tourists. This training has enabled me to act as a proficient individual. The trainers provided us with extensive knowledge related to all tourist spots, hospitality and tackling emergencies. This training will help me earn a sustainable living for my family.”

Rozena, another freshly-trained tourist guide, told WealthPK: “This training has made a real difference in my life. Now, I am a professional tourist guide. All over the world women are playing an active role in the tourism sector. The initiative to train Pakistani women to be professional tourist guides has proved to be very productive. Professionally certified female tourist guides in Pakistan will obviously increase the flow of female foreign tourists to the country. This professional training for women will make them play a more productive role in the economic cycle.”

The tourist guide industry is a swiftly growing segment of the international tourism and travel market. Only in 2019, tour guide services were valued at $783.5 billion. With projections of further growth, the global tourist guide industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.1% by 2026. Currently, Europe holds the largest share in this market, but in the coming years, this sector is emerging at a good pace in Asia Pacific as well. Pakistan has a large population of young people who could make a significant contribution to the national economy if engaged in productive sectors such as tourism.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk