Dept advertises for tourist guides,forgets to mention requirements

It only mentions that the applicant should be proficient in five foreign languages,including French,Spanish and English. He must also be knowledgeable about the city.

To top it all,the advertisement mentions that applicants should apply at the above mentioned address — but no address is

mentioned anywhere in the published advertisement.

“We do not think there is any need to mention the age limit. Of course,we will prefer those who have a good knowledge base about the city,” said Amandeep Kaur,Director of Department of Tourism. Regarding educational qualifications,she did not have any specific answer.

When asked about address being not mentioned,she said: “I will check it up.”

Interestingly,the administration has no plans to employ these guides. “They will be available on call. They will be paid by the tourists who hire them. The UT Administration will only fix their rate on a day-to-day basis,” said Amandeep. Asked if there is any mechanism by which the department can ensure a fair deal between the guide and tourist,she added: “We will work it out.”

The department has a past record of failing to sustain initiatives such as tourism police,tourist cards,cycle tourism,bed and breakfast scheme and others,launched with much fanfare a few years ago.

The drive to hire new guides is being revived after a gap of three years,as there is no trace of any guide who was hired at that time. In fact,the department does not have a database which contains details about the ones who were trained by the Institute of Hotel Management.

Despite several initiatives,the city seems to fail to come up to the mark as far as facilities for tourists are concerned.

A visit to different spots in the city reveal the bitter realities that tourists have to face.

According to Cecilia from England,if she had a guide at her disposal,she could have planned her week long trip better.

“Instead,I wasted my time locating the places to visit,” she complained. Cecilia is not alone. Most tourists rue the fact that in the absence of tourist guides,they are unable to visit all important places.