Al Noman: Program To Meet Growing Needs Of Tourism Industry
SHARJAH - With the graduation of Sharjah's first professional Tourist Guide Training and Licensing Program 2011 on Thursday, the emirate has got a new batch of professional tourist guides. The course was conducted by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority in collation with Sharjah University from 12-23 June. The program is aimed at training tourist guides - both beginners and advanced -- and enhancing their professional skills according to international standards.
The professional tourist guides course included both theoretical and practical lessons, workshops about Sharjah's history and heritage and field trips to main tourist sites in and around the emirate. The tourist guides course this year also introduced new subjects such as the botanical profile of the emirate and the important etiquettes of dealing with visitors with special needs.
The trainees visited a number of museums and Sharjah Desert Park, besides archaeological sites like Al Buhais, Maliha, Muwaileh, Faya and various other tourist attractions. The trainees were also taken to the latest archeological excavations around Sharjah and briefed on the ambitious future projects such as the Heart of Sharjah and the Historic Village in Al Khan.
Commenting on the graduation of a new batch of tourist guides, SCTDA Director General Mohamed Ali Al Noman said, "We are keen to provide more professional tourist guides and required expertise to the industry to keep up with the increasing demand in this field. It is one of the most promising professions today because of the tremendous development the tourism sector in the emirate has been witnessing."
Al Noman pointed out that a tourist guide is the main source of information for tourists on the emirate's touristic features, heritage, culture, history and social customs and traditions. "So we were keen during this course to provide best environment for trainees by providing the theoretical and practical studies including fieldtrips and site visits under the guidance of seasoned professionals and eminent experts in the field," said Al Noman.
The tourist guide course introduced by the SCTDA has been a huge success, which is evident in the overwhelming response from tour operators and agencies as well as freelancers, emphasised the Director General. "This year we have lined up three courses that meet the market demand offering the opportunity to a greater number of aspiring tourist guides. So the first course this year included 18 participants taking the number of trainees to 55," said Al Noman.
The credit for the tremendous success of these courses goes to the cooperation between public and private departments providing complete support to the course organised in collaboration with Sharjah University, which has always contributed to the success and growth of ducational courses around the emirate." Al Noman concluded.
The training and licensing of tourist guides is part of the SCTDA strategy to achieve and maintain the highest standards in tourism sector in the emirate. The Authority has also provided application forms and details in English and Arabic about the program registration duration and dates of future courses on its website: http://www.sharjahtourism.ae/ar/about-sharjah/about-us/tourist-guide-course.
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© Press Release 2011
