 |   |  |  | Ask The Expert
Aladdin Khalifa, executive board member of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations, on finding the best guide | |
|  |  |  |  |
Q: Should we say a tour guide or tourist guide? A: The term tourist guide is more appropriate in that it refers to the person who guides visitors in the language of their choice while interpreting the cultural and natural heritage of an area.  | | | Q & A |
|
Q: Is it better to attempt a self-guided tour or arrange a tour with a licensed guide? A: Arranging a tour with a professional tourist guide gives travelers a chance to see things others won’t get to see, while providing insight on the local customs and traditions. Q: What are the advantages of hiring a tourist guide? A: Most people join a tour to learn more about an area in terms of history, geography, architecture and everyday life; see as much as possible in a short time; be introduced to an area by someone with detailed information and personal experience; enjoy being taken care of avoid getting lost and meet new people. Q: How do you find a tourist guide in a new country? A: The easiest way is to go through a travel agency, but sometimes travelers prefer to ... hire a guide directly by searching the internet. In most cases, you hear about a guide from travelers who have enjoyed similar trips. Q: How can you tell the difference between a licensed tourist guide and a self-proclaimed one? A: Illegal guides are easily identified by their lack of confidence, poor historical and local knowledge, poor language and communication skills and unprofessional attitude towards visitors. Q: Do guides specialize in certain kinds of sites? A: Guides in Egypt can generally guide anywhere since we have solid knowledge of its rich history. In some countries, guides are strictly classified into driver guides, site guides or museum guides. Q: Should travelers expect tourist guides to have historical background on the sites or only expect to be shown around? A: The historical background of any site is what makes it interesting. Guiding is not lecturing; when the historical background is ... in a form of a story, it brings life to the monuments and raises the appreciation of its historical value. Q: What is the WFTGA? A: The World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations [is] an international network ... representing well over 88,000 tourist guides from 55 countries. It is committed to developing international training and improving the quality of guiding through education, establishing contact with tourist guide associations throughout the world and promoting a universal code of ethics and skills. Khalifa has 14 years of experience as a tourist guide and travel advisor. Contact him through www.ask-aladdin.com. To find a WFTGA representative in your area, see www.wftga.org. tt Is there a topic you want addressed in Ask The Expert? Send your request to editor@traveltodayarabia.com. | 
