RIYADH — A total of 971 tourist guides, including 822 men and 149 women, have so far been accredited and licensed in various regions of the Kingdom, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, the ministry sources emphasized that the ministry conducts continuous monitoring of tour guides to ensure the quality and regularity of the services provided by them. The inspectors have detected several violations of the tourism law and punitive measures have been taken against the violators. The sources emphasized that whoever engages in any tourism activity before obtaining the license will be penalized with a fine of not exceeding SR100,000. The profession of a tour guide is one of the most promising activities for those who wish to enter this field, both in terms of employment as well as investment, in accordance with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and the general strategy for the development of national tourism, especially while taking into account of the fact that there is a need for more tourist guides to cover the targeted number of 100 million tourists. Regarding the system and mechanism for the charges of services levied by a male and female tourist guide, the ministry clarified that there is no unified mechanism for pricing the services provided by tourist guides. Each tour guide would determine the service fee in accordance with his or her experience and years of practicing the activity and specialization in the tourist sites or paths apart from his proficiency in foreign languages. All these give the tour guide an advantage in determining the price of the service, in addition to the market factors, which have also a role in regulating the prices. The sources said that the ministry is working on re-evaluating and reviewing the activity according to market variables, as the activity has been developed in line with the needs of the market and the general strategy for developing national tourism. New standards have been adopted to cover this aspect so that the license can only be obtained after acquiring proficiency in at least one foreign language. The sources explained that it is always the responsibility of the tourist guide to make the tourism trip a success and to present a positive image of his homeland in front of the tourists. The guide is supposed to be the main source of information that the tourists can obtain about the civilizational, historical, and cultural heritage, customs, traditions, and social life of the inhabitants in the designated tourist sites to where he or she takes the tourists to make a visit. Official tourism agencies in each country issue decisions and regulations that organize the tourism guide profession and specify the conditions and specifications that must be met by a tourist guide. The agencies also specify the duties, obligations, and rights of tour guides. The ministry affirmed that the tour guide profession is of utmost importance as it is one of the important tourist activities in which professionals accompany tourists, visitors, and foreign delegations to cities, regions, monuments, as well as to historical and archaeological sites and facilities, providing the guests them with necessary information about the places of the visit. The ministry called on those who practice this profession to obtain a license from the Ministry of Tourism to ensure the quality of service.
