A review claims Ireland has too few tour guides, but some insiders counter that there are in fact too many, a lot of them ill-qualified and badly paid, writes Alanna Gallagher
A REVIEW OF Ireland's coach-tour sector published this week claiming there is a shortage of coach-tour guides has sparked major debate within the industry. The review, commissioned by the Irish Tour Operators Association, says that 90 per cent of tour operators experienced difficulties recruiting qualified tour guides in 2007, especially where specific foreign languages were sought.
As a result, the report claims, there has been a growing use of inadequately qualified and inexperienced guides, which in turn has had a negative impact on the quality of the tour experience for tourists. It estimates that there is a peak season requirement for between 1,000 and 1,320 tour guides in Ireland.
Tour guides are very unhappy with the conclusions drawn in the report and several contacted Go - which reproduced part of the report last week before its official publication by the Minister for Tourism Martin Cullen on Tuesday - to voice their unhappiness. They claim there is another side that the report does not reflect.
The Association of Approved Tour Guides (AATG), which has a membership of about 200, says there are too many tour guides in Ireland, rather than the shortage claimed in the report. Most are self-employed and contracted to incoming tour operators during the coach tourism season from May to September. It says that earning a living full-time as a tour guide is very hard. There are currently no regulations governing the tour-guide sector in Ireland. Anyone can go to one of the main four tour-guide agencies and get a job if they fill basic criteria. These agencies provide in-house training, which the AATG says is not up to par.
Meanwhile, Fáilte Ireland provides two guide-training courses. One is a National Tour Programme, a four-month course costing €1,700, which gives a detailed grounding covering history, geography and describing Ireland in a socio-economic sense.
Aidan Pender, director of policy and industry development at Fáilte Ireland, says that this course is probably too advanced for the needs of many of the tourists visiting Ireland, so this year it has introduced a new foundation course, which is run over five weekend sessions. This course is free and gives broad training, covering areas such as the customer experience and managing people.
Ilona Madden, a spokeswoman for the AATG, says it must not be forgotten that the business is seasonal, with demand highest between May and September. She says the sector should be regulated with approved training courses and mandatory fee-structuring.
At the moment, there are no set-down minimum pay rates for tour guides. The AATG recommends a daily rate of €190 a day for a national guide with a language. Most AATG members say they find it difficult to get this rate and are paid in the region of €130 per day by tour operators.
Agencies also provide guides to tour operators and pay them in the region of €100 per day per trainee guide, according to Beatrice Healy of Beatrice's Translations and Tour Guiding Services.
Madden says there is huge concern about the quality of the coach-tour visitor experience as a result of unqualified guides.
"These guides are undermining our professionalism and our years of experience," says Madden. "Not to mention the fact that some are being paid as little as €60 per day versus an average €130 per day accorded to AATG guides on national tours."
Madden says she knows of one untrained guide who asked an AATG member: "What is the IRA? Is it a brand?" Another actively encouraged clients to pick flowers on the Burren, a protected habitat.
"They can't schedule properly. They just don't know their job," said one AATG guide.
Madden argues that, as coach tourism is a growth sector, it is more important than ever to have qualified guides, as it is the frontline staff who engage with visitors and who are directly responsible for colouring their experience of Ireland.
Jane Magnier, president of the Irish Tour Operators and group travel director of Abbey Tours, hires guides directly and through agencies.
Wages vary depending on language and the type of group they are being employed to guide, she says. "European language guides get more incentive tours and corporate work, which can pay more, upwards of €130 per day. We hire guides as we need them. I don't believe the industry needs regulation but guides need to be properly trained."
The review published this week said that in 2007 there was such a shortage of guides with foreign languages that overseas tour operators were going to pull Ireland from their brochures.