About

Sakartvelo’s Certified Guides Association represents a union of professional tourist guides, main aim of which is to strengthen highest standard of tourist guide service and protect the interests of customers in Sakartvelo (Georgia). The Association ensures professional improvement of all member guides and actively cooperates with governmental agencies and private companies for support of the tourist guide profession and its continuous advancement on the whole territory of Sakartvelo (Georgia).

Sakartvelo’s Certified Guides Association periodically annonces Qualification exam preparation trainings for its candidate members. 

The Association also conducts trainings on various important matters. The information on training of the Association will be periodically updated and placed on the website.

The Association webinars will be also placed on the website in the member area available only for the full members of the Association.

The association strives to support tourist guide profession by protecting the interest of the representatives of the profession as well as the interests of an employer or the client and in whole support and promote the responsible tourism in Sakartvelo (Georgia).

The foundation of the Association was a multi-year process that started in 2010 and finished in 2018. On 19 June 2018 the foundation ceremony was held in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral courtyard in ancient town of Mtskheta. This 8-year complex and sophisticated process included: formation of integrity and solidarity among the representatives of the profession, establishment of high standard and common vision, creation of certification system, and its further stage-by-stage development, partnership with businesses, state institutions and media.

February 21st is officially considered as an international tourist guide day (ITGD). Tourist guides have celebrated their first professional day in 1990. The date was selected by the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) as a day of its foundation in 1985. Representatives of the profession mark this day with special events and symbolic tours, and tourist guides worldwide give it a special significance. In Georgia the international tourist guide day is marked since 2010.

Symbols of the Association are formed by two key elements of Georgian culture and Georgian state – grape vine bunch and Georgian alphabet letters. The Association’s certified members proudly wear their SILVER BADGE, and alternatively are called SILVER BADGE GUIDES, marking the highest qualification in this profession within the country. The badge is made of silver has a form of clay jar called ‘dergi’ (ancestor of qvevri) – 8000-year-old clay vessel for winemaking, which has the burgundy-color logo of the association encrypted with cloisonne technology. As usual 21 of February, as the International Tourist Guide Day, is selected for special award ceremony when the silver badges are handed to certified member guides.

The Association considers international cooperation of significant importance. the Association founders have begun to study international experience even before its foundation, especially of the associations of developed economies, majority of which are members of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA). Partnership in this direction was considered as a top priority and very soon the Association became a full member of the WFTGA. The Association is also partnering with the European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (FEG) and is national member associations, especially of the United Kingdom, Sweden and Turkey.

The Association attaches great importance to cooperation with tourism sector associations at both national and regional levels. Together with 13 other founders, the Association is a founding member of the Georgian Tourism Industry Alliance and actively cooperates with its members today. The association attaches great importance to the cooperation with the associations of guides in the regions of Georgia and actively participates together with them in order to solve important issues for guides, to develop unified positions and to present them in discussions of governmental or business organizations. Tourist companies that actively cooperate with the association are simultaneously its sponsors and supporters.

The association represents members in dealings with government agencies. Among the priority issues during the Covid-19 pandemic, a high standard of health and safety in general was highlighted. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the association actively cooperated with state and private organizations, where work was actively carried out to equip guides accordingly and prepare them for conducting tours in terms of health care.

The association is actively involved in all key processes of discussion of issues related to the profession of tourist guide. The association’s participation in the process of developing the Georgian law on tourism is special. After the adoption of the law, the association continues to participate in the development of by-laws and regulations on guide certification issues. The association between state agencies actively communicates with: the National Tourism Administration of Georgia, museums, protected areas and botanical gardens. The association is also active in relations with local self-governments regarding issues of support for guides on relevant tourist routes.

The certification process within the associations takes place with respective assessment recommendation and advise by the Qualification Council appointed by the Executive Board of the Association. The Council consists of the Accredited trainers and accredited examiners. The Council is chaired by the chairperson of the council appointed by the Executive Board and administered by the executive secretary.

The Association actively partners with the national and local media. The leadership of the Association frequently appears on national television channels discussing various key problematic issues of tourist guides, tourism regulations and standards, tourism legislation and other. Besides the problems the association actively reviews together with media important events and matters for tourist guide profession.