Eligibility criteria to get into tour guiding

What is the eligibility criteria to get into tour guiding?

• A training course is conducted by the Government of India for tour guides and the guide is given a license upon certification.

• Tourist guide licenses are issued both at the state and central government level by the respective tourism departments after you take a test.

• Many of the states in India have made registration of tourist guides mandatory.

• Ministry of Tourism provides licenses to the Regional Level tourist guides and also organizes Regional Level Guide Training Programme (RLGTP).

• These programmes are conducted through the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM).

• The prerequisites for this course are:
- Fluency in English
- Graduates in any discipline from a recognized University OR three year degree holders in tourism/ Hospitality from a recognized University/ Institute OR Diploma in Archaeology.
- The minimum age for joining the course is 20 years.

• The candidates are admitted to the course on the basis of a written test comprising of :
- Knowledge of monuments/ tourism destinations around the area
- Questions on history
- General Knowledge
- Those who score at least a minimum of 50 percent marks in written test will be selected for the training programme.

• On completion of the training course, a written examination and a viva voce test would be held by Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism.

• After clearing both the tests, you will be issued a Tourist guide license by the Regional India tourism Office, Government of India which will be valid only for a period of 3 years.

• It is mandatory for licensed guides to attend the refresher course which is conducted by IITTM, initially once in three years and subsequently after every five years.