If
a tour leader is not recognized as a locally qualified specialist
guide in Italy, he or she risks arrest or a fine when escorting
groups in 2,500 specified areas of Florence, Rome, Sienna, Venice
and other destinations with historical sites.
But a professional
qualifications directive established by the European Commission has
forced Italy to re-evaluate its tour guide laws. In response, the
Italian Senate voted to change the existing guidelines.
On Oct. 20, the new
laws are expected to be finalized by regional governing bodies that
control the guiding laws in Italy, according to the European Tour
Operators Association.
"What's been happening in Italy
for many years is that locally qualified guides have been trying to
insist that they have a monopoly over leading groups around cities
and attractions," said Tom Jenkins, executive director of the
ETOA.
"This has caused
numerous difficulties with tour operators, in terms of the fact
that it's sometimes very difficult to comply with the law and that
the tour operators may have their own guides that clients have paid
to hear."
Nevertheless, while
the new laws are anticipated to ease restrictions for tour
operators in the European Union, companies based outside the E.U.
could continue to face challenges.
"[The tour guides]
may still have to be European at this point," said Jenkins, "and
that might cause difficulties."
The guide laws in
Italy have been an ongoing challenge for tour operators for years,
said Jenkins.
In some instances,
operators have had to explain an attraction's history to travelers
before entering the designated area. Another workaround is hiring a
qualified local guide who sits silently alongside the company's
tour leader.
It's expensive,
said Fred Berardo, president of Central Holidays.
"You're paying
double," he said. "We have our own qualified tour conductors that
can very well conduct the sightseeing."
Additionally,
Italian law has regulations on what local guides must be paid. A
guide from the outside could cost 15% less, Berardo
said.
Asked if he would
take advantage if the laws in Italy were relaxed later this month,
Berardo said, "For the immediate future, we would not change
anything. But we look forward to a possible resolution."
Italy is not the
only country with strict touring guidelines.
Spain, Portugal,
Austria and Greece have similar guidelines, but Italy has been
particularly vigilant with enforcement, according to the
ETOA.
New driving regs in the E.U.
Meanwhile, the ETOA
has tried to educate members about new driving regulations put in
place by the E.U., which will affect motorcoach touring.
A driver's daily
driving time is limited to nine hours but can be extended to 10
hours twice in a working week.
Following a driving
period of 4.5 hours, a driver must take an uninterrupted break of
not less than 45 minutes. The maximum driving time within a working
week is 56 hours.
"The way tour
operators have been working and hiring their bus companies had to
change," said Adam Buckmaster, European operations manager at the
ETOA.
Buckmaster said the
new regulations would require certain tour groups to travel with
two drivers working in tandem.
The same would be
true of tour managers if the E.U. decided to enforce a working-time
directive for them, as well.
"We're trying to
establish, in concrete terms, the fact that tour managers should
have the right to be freelance so they're not generally employees
of a tour operator," Buckmaster said. "If they were, they would be
subject to this working-time directive.
"At the moment, as
freelancers, tour managers can be on call 24/7 for the clients and
a group. But if they were employees of a company, they would be
restricted to a certain number of hours per day, and then you'd
have a situation where a tour operator might have to use two tour
managers for one group, which would completely change the way that
our members work."
To
contact reporter Michelle Baran, send e-mail to [email protected].