Who Is Not a Guide?

People who communicate with tourists in front of the museum and approach them on the pretext of informing about the museum, but whose main goal is either to improve their foreign language or to take tourists to a nearby store, introduce themselves as "guides".

 

Young friends who transfer a local group to a resort or hotel also introduce themselves as "guides".

 

Who tours abroad in a travel agency, a person who works in continuous operation, one day tour abroad, maybe accompanies the group for a trip to the side when "Guide" in and of itself insert a card written "guide" introduces you as.

 

People who come to Turkey as an employee of a foreign tour operator and provide information to foreigners at the hotel on behalf of their agent, perhaps even without a work permit, also call themselves "guides".

 

Who is the guide?

None of what we listed above is a guide. Unfortunately, the image of professional tourist guides is darkening due to incorrect practices and misrepresentations.

 

The real guides are professional tourist guides approved by the Ministry of Tourism.

 

A guide is a person who has a document issued by the Ministry of Tourism that will best introduce Turkey to domestic and foreign tourists, help them during their trips, and provide accurate information.

 

Within the borders of the Republic of Turkey: "Persons who have not been given a guidance certificate by the Ministry cannot provide Tourist Guidance. According to the general provisions on those who did it, prosecution is opened by the prosecutor's offices. Administrative actions are taken by the Ministry on organizations under the supervision of the Ministry that employ undocumented tourist guides." (Ministry of Tourism - Regulation on Professional Tourist Guidance, Article 38)

 

Travel Agencies will employ at least one interpreter guide with an interpreter-guide certificate issued by the Ministry of Tourism for the tours they will organize. (Law No. 1618 on the Association of Travel Agencies and Travel Agents 10. Substance)

 

How was tourist guidance born? 

The first guides of the world to written sources were Egyptian priests, and the civilization that most loved to travel in ancient times was the Romans. M.He. 7. XIII. The Olympic games, which began in the XIII century, also became the beginning of organized travel. The historian and geographer Herodotus, who was born and raised in Anatolia, is one of the first translator guides who learned and transmitted the traditions and customs of the places he visited, and in this aspect he can be considered a pioneer of cultural tourism.

 

Due to the increase in trade, the expansion of road networks and the increase in reliability, the Anatolian coast also receives serious shares from tourism. In Troy, an important tourist center, tourists can travel accompanied by guides who read chapters from the Iliad, study and do not lose sight of the details. But in general, guidance is not yet a job for which a person can earn a living, the guides' narratives are based not on facts, but on rumors, hearsay information, so their reliability is limited.

 

The Middle Ages are the scene of large-scale mass displacements of the Crusades. Most of those who go on a trip to the holy cities are looking for adventure. In such travel organizations, it is possible to see all the elements of the tour of our time, such as transportation, accommodation, food and drink, border crossing services, security, guidance, entrance fees, even in principle forms. 17. traveling at the turn of the century is a way of life in which those who still want to gain status, the privileged and the rich can participate. Because it requires being able to cover the extraordinary costs of the trip and go through it without working for a long time (sometimes several years).

 

In order for tourism and tourist guidance to have a content similar to today's, it is necessary to wait for the Industrial Revolution, which completely changed the production structure and led to major disruptions in the lives of the masses.

 

The 1-day train trip organized by Thomas Cook in England in 1851 is considered the beginning of modern tourism movements. Almost 150 years after the first trip, tourism today includes masses who can change places in such a wide area that previous generations could not even imagine going, tour professionals who plan every frame of the trip, tourist guides whose in-service training is continuous compared to other professional groups.

 

The history, present and professional law of the guidance profession

Ottoman"19. tourist guidance, which began to be seen at the end of the XIX century, was important both for the promotion of the country and for national security. Decree No. 190, issued on October 29, 1890, became the first example of efforts to institutionalize this profession.

 

18. the Ottoman Empire, which began to lose its military and then economic power from the beginning of the XIX century, began to fall under Western influence. With the promulgation of the Tanzimat Edict in 1839, which opened a great horizon for the Ottoman State and brought legal and financial guarantees to everyone, relations with Europe in the fields of fine arts, education and trade on the one hand, and on the other hand, the number of foreigners coming to Istanbul or living in the capital has constantly increased. Travel in Europe the emergence of dizzying developments in the field of Belgian origin, Thomas Cook and Wagons-Lits company merger, June 5, 1883, Paris-Istanbul train services under the name Orient-Express launching in Beyoğlu, with developments such as foreign businessmen and traders investing and, in general, began to gather. The unification of the Ottoman Empire with the western powers against Russia in the Crimean War caused interest and love for Istanbul, the city of legends in Europe, and the first prototype tourists began to be seen with this motif. This mobility led to the emergence of guides as a professional group in Istanbul after a while.

 

The first documents on "guidance" are contained in Decree No. 190, issued on October 29, 1890. The task of implementing this regulation, which binds the guidelines to certain rules, has been assigned to municipalities by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In order to discipline those who are currently working as an interpreter guidance or those who have started a profession, the appropriate Turkish and foreign language proficiency has been determined by the exam, provided that good faith is observed in the performance of the profession. Unfortunately, although the Ottoman Government put this decree into effect, it was not very interested in its implementation.

 

Republican period and guidance

Two years after the establishment of the Government of the Republic of Turkey, strict rules were established by Decree No. 2730 dated November 8, 1925 "On the Interpretation and Orientation of Ecnebi Passengers". This decree, which collects the necessary principles for those who will enter the profession of translator-guidance in 11 articles, has increased the importance of education in the guidance profession. Despite the publication of the decree, since there were no official organizations related to tourist activities in those years, as a result of the examination, it remained on paper to determine whether the interpreting guides had the necessary information.

 

the economic crisis in the world in 1928 brought tourism activities to a standstill in Turkey as well. The majority of interpreting guides were at the point of leaving the profession. However, it is interesting that while certified guides could not find work at that time, it was announced to the public through the press that a guidance course would be opened by the Istanbul Economic Directorate in December 1928. The importance of this course announcement in the newspapers was that it covered temporary interpreters and newcomers to the profession, and detailed the requirement for trainees to pass the exam. The number of guides who have graduated from the course who have been given the right to take the exam for the first time is 50. in 1935, tourism branches were established in municipalities and another guidance course was opened. This time, 53 people graduated from the course. in the 1940s, II. Due to the impact of World War II, tourism almost stopped, and most of the guides had to leave the profession.

 

in the 1950s, Turkey began to attach importance to modern tourism. in 1950, a report entitled "Media guidance prepared by the General Directorate of Tourism and the Tourist Translator of Guidance emphasizing the importance of the tourism sector" was presented to the board at the "second Tourism Advisory Board" looking at the consulting profession. It is seen that an important study was carried out by the TMTF (National Demand Federation of Turkey) in 1951 to adapt the guidance to the conditions of the day. the trainees, consisting of 129 university youth, had successfully completed this course and started their profession. 128 students graduated from two separate courses opened with the support of various student associations between 1955 and 1960 and conducted by the Istanbul Municipality and the Istanbul Provincial Press and Publication Directorate and received the right to decembers guidance in various languages.