Tour guides enrich the experience of our visitors and customers and play an important role in show-casing what New Zealand has to offer. Tour guides in New Zealand can now have their skills formally recognised with a national qualification designed with industry by ATTTO.
People who sign up have an online learning option that provides a collaborative learning environment where trainees can connect via chat rooms, wiki pages and forums.
The National Certificate in Tourism (Tour Guiding) Level 4 and the National Certificate in Tourism (Tour Guiding) Level 4 Extended Tour Guiding Optional Strand are for tour guides – either those working in tourism attractions or those who undertake extended excursions. These qualifications equip tour guides with a national qualification and are intended to help raise the over-all standards of visitor and customer experience from this important profession.
The online package is ideal for tour guides who are often on the road or busy guiding. It is designed to accommodate multiple learning styles and be interesting to complete.
"The flexibility of online learning is one of its greatest benefits. The courses are specifically created to allows students to complete work at their own pace and convenience, fitting in study time around their work commitments," says ATTTO Business Development Advisor Belinda Jorgensen. "Of course they still need to complete within course duration," adds Belinda.
The National Certificate in Tourism (Tour Guiding) Level 4
People awarded this qualification are able to provide a range of services such as visitor experience, group management, and tour leadership. They will be able to provide services such as interpretation while on a tour, attend to administrative tasks both before and after a tour, and manage the health and safety of a tour group.
The elective section recognises that tour guides work in a wide range of tourism businesses and allows learners to select standards that closely reflect the situation and needs of their workplace.
The National Certificate in Tourism (Tour Guiding) Level 4 Extended Tour Guiding Optional Strand
An optional strand in Extended Tour Guiding is available for those wishing to specialise in guiding tourists on trips lasting more than one day. Candidates awarded with the strand are able to demonstrate knowledge of teamwork and leadership skills, conduct arrival and departure transfers for visitors, and apply tour group leadership skills and group leadership skills relevant to extended tour guiding.