Tourist guides are ambassadors for the cities, regions, and countries they show to visiting tourists. Their performance is key to whether the visitors in their charge feel welcome, want to stay longer, and decide to come back. They thus make a major contribution to the way a tourist destination is perceived.
Tourist guides help travellers to understand a region’s culture as well as the way of life of the people who live there. They play a particular role not only in promoting their local cultural and natural heritage, but also in helping to ensure its sustainability, making visitors aware of both its importance and its vulnerability.
Given the significance of the profession, it is crucial to have an association that represents the professional interests of tourist guides with policy makers at both a national and a European level. The German National Tourist Guide Association (Bundesverband der Gästeführer Deutschland, BVGD) is the umbrella organization for the local and regional tourist guides’ associations in Germany. It was founded in 1994 in Cologne and represents more than 250 cities and regions with about 7,500 tourist guides, who conduct tours in German, English, and many other languages. The BVGD is a member of the European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (FEG) and the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA).
If you have any questions, please contact our office.