The new guide academy in Lithuania will change the attitude towards this profession: a guide can earn a much higher salary than the national average

M. Auksutytė, project and travel manager and guide who has gained experience in international tourism companies, is convinced that the pandemic period is the best time to prepare for new tourist flows and the work of guides that meet today’s needs, reported the middle.

“Even before the pandemic, the number of tourist nights in Lithuania grew by around 10 percent. – Out of all the EU countries, we rank second after Slovakia in terms of growth. And these days, it is no longer enough for tourists to take a dry stroll through the city center with a guide. Travelers want direct communication, empathy, get away from tourist attractions, do what the locals do, taste traditional dishes, and be a good guide for all of that. Unfortunately, only a very small number of guides in Lithuania – new and in operation for a long time – can offer such experiences ”, M. Auksutytė mentioned the need for a modern guide school in Lithuania.

Formation of obsolete guides

The first standards for guide preparation in Lithuania were developed and approved by the state in 1993. Since then, the guidelines for guide schools have only been minimally modified a few times. Skaidra Kulakauskienė, the first president of the guide union, admits that at the beginning of the Independence there was a completely different context in the field of tourism, there were units for travelers and the guides had enough basic knowledge and knowledge of history.

“In today’s guide schools, too much importance is given to theory and methodology, but there is a lack of practical classes where future guides would face situations. There is not enough space in guide preparation guidelines for individual guide branches, such as animators or topic guides. Today’s guides lack the psychological foundation of group management, the knowledge of how to communicate with a guide hiring agency or tour operator ”, says S. Kulakauskienė, one of the most experienced guides in Lithuania, who has been organizing receptive tourism for more than 20 years.

Oksana Šidlauskienė, long-term director of the Baltic, Central Europe and Central Asia regional division of the American tourism company Grand Circle Coorporation, also emphasizes that one of the biggest challenges in organizing travel for foreign tourists in Lithuania and the Baltic is the lack of good local guides.

“The main problem of many guides is the lack of flexibility. A frequent guide knows the history and his prepared program, but tourists these days also want to know the personal history of the guide and memorize his name and expect a smile. We have often heard stories that guides are proud to tell about their liberation from the Soviet Union, but when travelers were asked how people live in Lithuania today, tour guides were upset and very reluctant to deviate from their prepared historical topics ”, Says O. Šidlauskienė.

There have been attempts by an American travel company to prepare local guides and according to a short, modern schedule, but for many guides, changing habits in a day or two is not easy. Therefore, according to O. Šidlauskienė, the new modern guide school is a very welcome initiative in the Lithuanian, Baltic or even pan-European tourism market.

“Modern guides need to have many more social skills, a desire not only to tell historical facts, but to introduce travelers to current life, guides must also learn to accept constructive criticism, change and improve every year,” said the expert. in international tourism.

You will listen to the needs of modern guides and travelers.

Knowledge needs new guides and will try to fill the new school with guides. The creators of the academy – professionals in their fields – hope to interest future guides and existing guides who want to improve their qualifications, not with training, what to say specifically, but how to do it in an attractive way.

“In addition to traditional lectures on the historical, architectural and tourist market, we will pay much more attention to training on how to create an engaging and boring story from individual historical facts and how to tell it to travelers in a fun and interactive way. We will pay close attention to group dynamics, psychology, practical tasks. We will learn to creatively look at the activities of the guides, to prepare non-standard excursions. We will practice a lot to get a modern, well-paid guiding profession, not just a guiding certificate. We want to create a community of professional guides around the academy, who communicate and share knowledge even after the training ”, says M.Auksutytė.

Travel academy courses are also planned at the academy, as this area is different from the guiding profession; it especially requires practical knowledge to work with the group over a longer period of time. Guides in thematic and niche areas, professional development courses and planned social projects will also be prepared.

“We will also focus on finding a high paying job or creating a profitable job. A sincere and professional guide today can earn a much higher salary than the national average – you just need to know what a traveler expects from a travel guide today. ”Adds M. Auksutytė, director of the new guide academy in Lithuania.

About guide courses

The theoretical lectures of the guiding courses at GuideLines Academy will be held remotely online, but the academy students will meet for different practical tasks. The duration of the course is half a year. Training is scheduled to start in October-November.