ArmInfo.he Armenian Association of Professional Tourist Guides (AAPTG) came up with a proposal to develop a law in the tourism industry that would provide for the licensing of guides wishing to work in Armenia. This proposal was voiced during a press conference on November 29 by an expert in the field of tourism, writer, journalist Ruben Pashinyan.
"There is no need to invent anything, there is no need to reinvent the wheel, there are proven systems all over the world," the expert emphasized, noting that it is necessary to put a coordinate system in the form of a law that will regulate this activity. At the same time, Pashinyan noted that licensing should not be carried out by a state body, and a public organization, such as the Armenian Association of Professional Tourist Guides or the Armenian Guides Guild , can act as such a body. Ruben Pashinyan stressed that such organizations can also take on the responsibility of transferring their knowledge, skills, data, and then carry out selection and licensing. "As it is done in all normal countries," he said.
The expert noted that there are a large number of random people today in the tourism sector of Armenia, who appeared not only in connection with the relocation of citizens from the Russian Federation and Iran. Pashinyan explained that today, figuratively speaking, after an hour and a half of their stay in Armenia, many people believe that they can work as guides, or even train guides. "We see completely random people who pass on random information to the guests, who in turn get an untrue image of Armenia."
However, the dissatisfaction of Russian-speaking Armenian tour guides in this regard is increasing. According to Pashinyan, they are left without work, their Russian colleagues who moved to Armenia are actively working instead. "There is a similar problem in other areas, and the snowball will grow. Therefore, if it is possible to prevent this strife, it is necessary to bring this area into a normal legal course. For the sake of the country's peace and well-being, the issue must be resolved once and for all," he stressed.
In turn, Zaruhi Orbelyan, vice-president of AAPTG said that this proposal is already being discussed with the Armenian Tourism Committee, and joint work is being carried out. "This is not a new topic, we have long raised the issue of including the relevant paragraph in the new law on tourism. It's just our concern and our demand to be able to apply these regulations, and for this we need assistance in the field of control," she said.
At the same time, the guide noticed that the proposed proposal does not aim to deprive the immigrants of work, but only requires regulatory mechanisms.
Orbelyan also stressed that the Tourism Committee is a body that has no leverage. "They established a body, but did not give any authority for this body to work," said the vice-president of the Association. In this regard, she noted that tourism in Armenia is not just leisure, business, but a strategic industry that needs to be treated accordingly. At the same time, Orbelyan noted that, in general, the tourism sector of Armenia needs the so-called filtering mechanisms, mentioning travel agencies in this context.
Honorary member of the AAPTG, journalist Ashot Levonyan stressed that a guide, regardless of nationality, shouldstill be a bearer of Armenian culture. According to him, for such work, it will not be possible to confine oneself to book knowledge in the field of the history of Armenia. "You can learn the year of the founding of a church, the years of the reign of this or that king, but communication with guests always covers a wider range of issues. Sometimes we have to talk about Armenian identity, politics and economics, our guests are interested in many questions. When communicating, the guide should be able to correctly represent the country and the people living in it with their aspirations, sometimes illusions: And this is a big responsibility>, he stressed.
It should be noted that the issue of licensing guides in Armenia has been under consideration for more than ten years. The tourism infrastructure is not keeping pace with the development of the tourist flow, which significantly limits the possibility of its modernization in accordance with international standards.
