A number of travel guides in South Africa held a celebration recently to mark international tourist guides day.
The registered guides from Gauteng province joined in with the worldwide tourism industry to celebrate the occasion on Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg, Business Day reports.
Guides are particularly important in countries such as South Africa, where visitors may not be sure of their way around or how to find out about safaris or other excursions.
Cawe Mahlati, chief executive of the Gauteng Tourism Authority, said the value of travel guides is a result of the training they go through.
'Becoming a registered tourist guide is not easy,' she said.
'Guides are required to be well versed on a range of subjects and issues such as history and heritage; basic demographics about different parts of the province; business and development initiatives, current affairs and socio-political issues; arts and culture; iconic sites; and people and events unique to the province.'
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