18.04.2017

Информационное письмо от FEG

FEG Euroletter - April 2017
Message from FEG Ex.Co. President
Dear colleagues,
It is my pleasure once again to communicate with
you through this 2017 spring issue of the FEG
Euroletter at the beginning of a new tourism season
for us all.
It’s an undeniable fact that we experience many
changes in Europe lately. Brexit is already on its
way with a future uncertain for the UK citizens
inside their own country or abroad. EU Commission
President Jean-Claude Juncker recently presented
the White Paper, outlining 5 possible scenarios on
the future of Europe, from which people and
governments are called to choose how they want
the EU to evolve from now on. Immigrants and
refugees are flowing to their new European homes
while the EU Commission envisages the realisation
of the long-planned Single Market, open to all.
Terrorist attacks will not stop. Today it’s London, St.
Petersburg and Stockholm, tomorrow it will be
elsewhere. No place can be considered safe
anymore, but people will not stop travelling. One
thing is certain: this is not the Europe people have
dreamt about and wanted to live in when the Treaty
of Rome was signed exactly 60 years ago. We hear
complaints in our everyday work, we read it in the
newspapers, citizens’ comments on social media, at
our FEG AGMs or from our national associations
every time we meet. So, something must be done
about it.
We, the FEG Ex.Co., TCG and delegates are trying
the best we can to help our membership cope with
the challenges we all face, by sharing best practice
with our associations, sending info to members
about all current issues concerning our profession,
networking among members, promoting standards
of quality and training and attending as many
important meetings as we can on your behalf.
As you know, unity is powerful, so we must stay
close together to face the obstacles. This is where
our guiding profession and our warm welcome
comes in, where each one of us has to be strong
and calm to deal with all situations as real tourism
professionals and as our destination ambassadors.
Your FEG Ex.Co. and FEG Training Consultancy
Group (TCG) have been very busy this past winter.
We met on the 25th & 26th February in Porto and
discussed all the issues concerning us lately since
our last Ex.Co. Brno meeting in November 2016.
Thanks to the FEG treasurer Paulo Cosme and all
Porto colleagues and sponsors for their warm
hospitality and support!

The FEG Training Consultancy Group met in
Strathmiglo, Scotland on the 13th & 14th March to
further develop the FEG training material and to
discuss new training ideas for us all, so please see
details in the relevant paragraph down below
drafted by our new FEG TCG Convener, Iris Barry,
whom we thank for offering her home to the FEG
training team for this meeting!
Our colleagues of the Approved Tourist Guides of
Ireland have also been working hard for two years
to prepare a memorable programme for us this
November with lots of guided tours, networking,
training options and of course, Irish fun! So read our
news on the 19th European Tourist Guide Meeting
& AGM here below.


We are all glad to see our membership growing
each year and I’m personally grateful to work with
such a great and productive team in FEG, so I’d like
to publicly thank once again the current FEG Ex.Co.
members Norma Clarkson, Paulo Cosme and
Guido Lion, our two deputy Ex.Co. members Lisa
Zeiler and Themis Halvantzi-Stringer, our
secretary Jane Pursell-Briggs and our excellent
Training Consultancy Group till recently lead by
Convener Viola Lewis and trainers Iris Barry,
Richard Skinner and Mary Kemp Clarke, all of
them hard-working and giving much of their
personal time for the FEG training causes.
Without exaggeration, I think we have a dream team
here, dear colleagues, working to raise the image of
the qualified tourist guide in Europe!
I wish you all a good season and looking forward to
meeting you in Dublin, Ireland!
Efi Kalampoukidou
FEG Ex. Co. President

Free Tours ASA - Markland ruling in the UK
The most recent and important news concerning our
profession was published some days ago in the
media, after the systematic work and persistence of
our UK member, the British Guild of Tourist
Guides, who watch their members losing jobs for
years in various UK cities by the so-called «Free
Tours». As you may recall, FEG has been fighting
to attract the EU, media and the whole tourism
industry’s attention to this matter since our first FEG
Round Table was held in 2009 in Brussels.
This time the UK-based Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA) acknowledged that they have
received many complaints from visitors-consumers
about the so-called "free tours" during which the
persons guiding them asked for tips at the end of
the tours, despite them being advertised as
“free”. The complainants felt overly pressurised into
making such a payment. ASA has given the
companies or individuals involved two months’ time
to stop using phrases like «Free Tours» if they are
not totally free, to state clearly in their ads that a tip
shall be asked by the «guide» after the tour, and to
indicate at the same time that the money from tips is
not solely kept by the «guide».
This is a great opportunity for us in FEG and
associations to spread the news and to take
advantage of it, in order to press once again the EU,
MEPs, our relevant national authorities, as well as
our tourism partners - the legal and authorised tour
operators who also lose work from the so-called
«Free Tours» across the world.
FEG has drafted and sent a press release in cooperation
with the WFTGA to media around the
globe asking all our member- associations of both
Federations to spread the news. So we ask you to
share with us and on social media any relevant
article on this issue you find to maximise the impact
now that it’s still fresh news.

European Tourism Manifesto
On the 12th of January 2017 Norma Clarkson, the
FEG member of the Manifesto Steering Group on
skills and qualifications, attended a General
Assembly in Brussels called to approve some
additions and refinements to the European Tourism
Manifesto partnership to take account of the views
of organisations which have newly signed up to the
Manifesto document. The number of these
European tourism stakeholders has now risen to a
total of 40.
The Manifesto Steering Group met again on the 15th
of March to look at proposals for a Working
Programme to implement the Tourism Manifesto
aims. At this meeting in Brussels Lisa Zeiler,
Deputy Executive Officer of FEG, presented the TGUIDE
course and certification as a joint proposal
by FEG and ENAT (European Network for
Accessible Tourism). It is likely the T-GUIDE course
and idea will be adopted as a “flagship project” by
the Manifesto Alliance, which should increase the
chances of it attracting EU funding as well as raising
FEG’s profile in the EU and worldwide.
Photo: Austrian tourist guide Sigrid Rahm, certified as TGUIDE
by FEG & ENAT, guiding people with learning
difficulties

Other EU matters
On 10 January 2017 the European Commission
published what it considers «an ambitious and
balanced package of measures that will make it
easier for companies and professionals to provide
services to a potential customer base of 500 million
people in the EU. The measures in question include:
A new European Services e-Card, a proportionality
assessment of national rules on professional
services, guidance for national reforms on
regulations of professions and an Improved
notification of draft national laws on services».
All issues are of the highest importance for the
tourism sector. FEG is co-operating with CEPLIS -
the permanent Brussels-based lobbying body for
many professions in Europe, of which FEG is a
member, in analysing this package and identifying
potential actions to defend the interests of our
profession. FEG has appointed our Executive
Officer Guido Lion to follow this issue of high
importance for us.
• The FEG Spanish delegate Juan Ignacio
Vasquez Lacunza represented us at the EU &
UNTWO high level Conference on «Connecting
Europe through Innovation» held on the 24th of
March in Madrid.

19th FEG European Tourist Guide Meeting &
AGM - Dublin, Republic of Ireland
The 19th FEG European Tourist Guide Meeting
main programme will take place from 21st – 26th
November 2017 in the beautiful capital of the
Republic of Ireland, Dublin’s Fair City, where, as the
song goes, “the girls are so pretty.” The many
charms of Dublin will be on offer from Guinness and
Irish music and folk dancing to St. Patrick’s
Cathedral and Trinity College Library. Other
highlights include visits to either Newgrange or
Loughcrew burial chamber built 5,300 years ago,
the magnificent 18th century country mansion and
grounds of Powerscourt and the beautiful
Glendalough Valley, Co. Wicklow.
Photo: Glendalough Valley, Ireland
A pre-tour from 18th - 21st November will take us
through the spectacular coastal scenery of the West
of Ireland and Connemara and will include such
diverse delights as a well preserved 12th century
anglo-norman castle and a Benedictine abbey, a
walking tour of Galway City and a visit to a restored
hill village in the Connemara wilderness.
A post-tour to Northern Ireland will take us to
Belfast to visit the Battle of the Boyne Centre
outside Drogheda, enjoy a panoramic tour of
Belfast, including Queens University, Stormont
Parliament and Estate, West Belfast Falls and
Shankhill Roads with their Murals and Peace Walls.
A visit to Titanic Belfast - the World’s largest Titanicthemed
visitor attraction - will be followed by a “pub
crawl” including the Victorian Crown Liquor Saloon,
without question Belfast’s most famous bar!
A wide-ranging programme of optional FEG CPD
training (Continuing Professional Development) for
qualified tourist guides has been arranged by our
FEG training team with new seminar topics to be
offered in Dublin.
In addition a Round Table discussion, on offer will
be:
• T-GUIDE - Guiding people with learning
difficulties
• Sustainable Tourism and Tourist Guides
• Cultural Awareness for Tourist Guides
International Tourist Guide Day 2017
On 21 February and on other dates in February the
qualified tourist guides and their associations
around the world celebrated once again the
International Tourist Guide Day 2017. This has been
a special day for tourist guides since 1985, when
our dear colleague, Titina Loizidou from Cyprus -
then WFTGA President - first had the idea of
celebrating a day for the promotion of our tourist
guide profession across the world.
Ever since, this day has grown into an important
event for all of us, tourist guides, our tourism
partners and friends and society in general, as
many people are expecting each year to see what
the guides will be offering next!
Some associations also do charity work by
collecting tips after the tour for a good cause
Attention! Tip collecting must be stated clearly in the
free tour promotion material to avoid any surprises!
More tourist guide associations and federations
have been joining FEG and the WFTGA and more
people around the globe have had the benefit of
meeting our professional tourist guides in their own
countries of qualification and attended their free
guided tours to be offered each year on the 21st
February.
FEG Membership
At the AGM in Brno, Czech Republic we had new
members sitting around the table. New Associate
Members which were unanimously ratified and
welcomed at the Brno AGM were:
• the Tallinn Guide Association, the first to apply in
2016
• the new Poland Tourist Guide Federation, whose
members are drawn from all over Poland and
whose seat is in Krakow.
• the Ukraine Tourist Guide Association
• the Albanian Tourist Guide Association – NATGA
In 2017 FEG a already received two more
applications for associate membership, by two
newly established tourist guide associations, which
were recently approved by the FEG Ex.Co.:
• the Slovenian Regional Tourist Guide Association
• the Hungarian Tourist Guide Association – MIe
We welcome them to the big European FEG family
and invite them in November to Dublin for their first
AGM.
FEG invited in Iran by the WFTGA
FEG accepted the invitation of the WFTGA and was
represented in the biannual World Tourist Guide
Convention in Tehran, Iran last January by its
President, Efi Kalampoukidou.
Many colleagues from Europe, who are also FEG
members attended a very successful event
organized by the WFTGA team and the Iranian
Tourist Guide Federation with the kind support of
many local and international sponsors. The event
reached a record of 350 participants and made a
great impression on the tourist guides, who enjoyed
the guided tours, workshops, lectures, as well as the
networking opportunities with colleagues from other
countries.
FEG President, Efi Kalampoukidou, presented FEG,
its aims, activities, training, goals for the next years
to all participants present on the day of the opening
ceremony.
One of the event highlights was the aerial photo
taken by a drone with all participants holding a
carton over their head and forming the word
PEACE AMBASSADORS, as seen in the photo
above.
We’d like to thank our WFTGA and Iran colleagues
for the invitation and the warm hospitality.
The next WFTGA Tourist Guide Convention was
voted by the AGM delegates in Iran to be held in
Tbilisi, Georgia in January 2019.
FEG promoting the tourist guides
• FEG Ex.Co. decided to participate in its first B2B
meeting organised over two days, 27th & 28th March
in Thessaloniki, Greece, which was convenient for
the President, Efi Kalampoukidou, to attend. She
met with tour operators and buyers of tourism
services for incoming and outgoing services, like
Greece, South Africa, Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia,
Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Turkey, Lebanon
and she promoted FEG’s work on behalf of tourist
guides, answering questions and giving
explainations about our job.
The B2B meeting was decided after FEG reported
some years ago that our participation in big tourism
fairs was not value for money, unless we have prearranged
business meetings with tourism
stakeholders. More B2B meetings will probably
follow in other countries for our promotion.
• The new FEG banner as seen in the photo below
was introduced in a vertical format at this B2B
meeting. It was also posted on the FEG Facebook
page as top banner. We thank CEFAPIT for sending
us this lovely picture and all associations for
sending in photos of tourist guides with their groups.
Please send more whenever you have high
resolution photos which you are allowed to use for
publication on FEG website, social media,
promotion material.
Photo: Efi Kalampoukidou, FEG Ex.Co. President at the
B2B tourism meeting in Thessaloniki, March 2017
• The new FEG YouTube Channel has been sent to
you and posted on the FEG website and Facebook
page as a new tool for FEG promotion, so we’ll
keep it updated with our new events. Find it on
YouTube under the name FEG European Qualified
Tourist Guides
• FEG was invited by the UNTWO together with the
WFTGA to the 1st International Western Silk Road
Workshop in Alexandroupolis, Greece on the 26th &
27th April. President Efi Kalampoukidou will be a
FEG speaker to promote our profession and to
propose ideas of tourist guides’ collaboration in this
new European project. Ivana Curuvija of behalf of
the WFTGA will also be an invited speaker at the
event. Our aim is to discuss the future development
of the Silk Road as CPD for tourist guides and
share the experience of the WFTGA Asian
countries’ tourist guide training carried out up till
now.



FEG Training News
• FEG Training Consultancy Group (TCG) met in
March and its converership was handed over by
Viola Lewis to Iris Barry for the next term.
FEG colleagues owe a lot to Viola for moving the
guide training forward and for her enormous
contribution up to the present time. Viola continues
to follow up the T-GUIDE portfolio as a member of
the T-GUIDE Committee created by FEG & ENAT.
Mary Kemp Clarke stepped down from the FEG
TCG, since she took over the role as elected
WFTGA Ex.Bo. Vice President, but she continues to
be an active FEG accredited trainer. We greatly
appreciate all the assistance Mary offered and is
still offering in the modernisation and success of the
FEG training.
• FEG Dark Seminar training in Kiev, Ukraine
In late March, at the invitation of the All-Ukraine
Tourist Guide Association, Iris Barry delivered on
behalf of FEG a half-day seminar on the topic of
Dark Tourism and facilitated two master classes on
practical aspects of guiding a specific Dark Tourism
walking tour in Kiev, capital city of Ukraine.
Dark tourism is broadly defined as visits to sites
associated with death and tragedy, where human
mortality and suffering are confronted. This theme
was selected by our Ukrainian colleagues as it is
particularly relevant to historical and recent events
in their country’s development. It is a topic that must
be addressed by tourist guides if they are to give a
genuine, balanced view of Ukraine to visitors. Thirty
qualified tourist guides, mainly from Kiev itself,
attended the seminar. After reviewing the nature of
Dark Tourism and academic studies related to this
world-wide phenomenon, Ukrainian and
international case studies were examined.
Challenges to tourist guides interpreting such sites
and events were identified. The FEG Code of
Guiding Practice was particularly relevant in
providing a clear ethical framework in such difficult
and sensitive contexts. The classroom-based
seminar was followed by a pair of small-group
master classes, each following the same trainerdesigned
walking tour route in the Maidan area of
central Kiev. The tour theme was the ‘Revolution
of Dignity’, the events of winter 2013-14. Tours on
this topic are in great demand from both foreign and
domestic visitors, and the master class participants
appreciated the practical advice on group
management and commentary construction.
Photo: Kiev tourist guides with FEG trainer Iris Barry
during the FEG Dark Tourism seminar in March, Ukraine
• FEG plans to develop and offer a new themed
CPD e-learning seminar for qualified tourist guides
on the Western Silk Road route in Europe, which is
a new UNTWO project. An e-learning training
platform will be developed with the valuable
assistance of our new FEG accredited trainer,
Radek Szafranowicz, known for his technology
skills.
• FEG has applied for three different EU-funded
projects since 2016, one being for Erasmus+
project as a partner and in two other projects as an
external collaborator. So far we have no news on
possible project approvals on any of them. If these
projects and their final products are developed, they
will all be good opportunities for colleagues in
several countries to be trained and develop new
skills on themed tours.





T-GUIDE certification by FEG & ENAT
Two more UK and five more Austrian colleagues
were recently certified as T-GUIDEs for guiding
people with learning difficulties. They had attended
the London and the Graz courses last year and
have successfully completed their tours and
assessment within this year. The first certified
Greek T-GUIDE is the FEG President, Efi
Kalampoukidou, as she has also completed her
assessment and tour. As mutually agreed, all
certified T-GUIDEs are promoted by FEG and
ENAT on our websites with their full contact details
as T-GUIDEs specialised for “Guiding People with
Learning Difficulties here:
http://www.feg-touristguides.com/tguidecertification.php
Photo: Austrian certified T-GUIDE Elke Bitzan guiding a
group with learning difficulties
Last time the T-GUIDE course was held was in
Prague, in November 2016, so more portfolios are
still to be submitted for assessment to the T-GUIDE
Committee by colleagues from Italy, Portugal and
the Czech Republic soon. The T-GUIDE
Committee term is renewed for one more year, so
they are Viola Lewis and Themis HalvantziStringer
for FEG and Ivor Ambrose for ENAT.
The T-GUIDE course is also planned to be
delivered to the Greek colleagues in Thessaloniki
and to the Scottish colleagues in Edinburgh next
autumn, with a second Austrian course to follow in
Vienna this time.
Like all FEG seminars, it is open only to qualified
tourist guides. The next planned T-GUIDE course in
English will be offered during the next FEG Meeting
on the 27th November 2017 in Dublin, Ireland.
FEG and its accredited trainers would be delighted
to offer in-house T-GUIDE courses or any other
seminar and course for you and your colleagues at
your location.
Further information can be obtained from FEG
Training Convener at training@feg-touristguides.org
FEG Ex.Co. wishes to all colleagues and to our
tourism partners across the world a good season for
2017.
«The ultimate weakness of violence is that it
is a descending spiral, begetting the very
thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of
diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through
violence you murder the hater, but you do
not murder hate. In fact, violence merely
increases hate...Returning violence for
violence multiples violence, adding deeper
darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only
light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate:
Only love can do that».
Dr. Martin Luther King
Euroletter is produced by FEG
Editor: Norma Clarkson,
Training Iris Barry