International Tourist Guide Day celebrates the role of experienced Tour Guides on 21 February annually. In a year that has been devasted by a hard lockdown of Australia’s International Borders, our members give back to Aussies with free walking tours.
To celebrate International Tourist Guide Day, Tour Guides Australia, with support from the City of Melbourne, has launched a selection of free Melbourne walking tours hosted by PTGAA members. These tours will take place on Sunday 28 March 2021.
In Sydney, a free accessible walking tour for blind and low vision travelers was held on International Tourist Guide Day, hosted by James McFarlane, owner of accessible tour operator Cocky Guides a Tour Guides Australia member.
“Our members are excited to get out and about to share their knowledge with fellow Aussies. I invite the community to join one of our free tours or look for an accredited guide to see what you can discover in your own backyard.” said the President of Tour Guides Australia, Jim McInerney.
TOur Guides Australia is also a strong advocate for ongoing National government support to retain trained and skilled professional tour guides to meet demand once international border restrictions are relaxed.
“The Federal Government has done an amazing job to retain many skilled professionals in the industry so far. As COVID vaccines are distributed across the globe, a safe destination like Australia will be very popular for international visitors. Any move to shift our members from JobKeeper to JobSeeker at the end of March will see a mass exodus of experienced professional tour guides lost to other industries at the time we need them most. The turnkey approach the government has taken to date in order to reboot tourism will be lost.” said Jim.
To book a free walking tour in Melbourne on Sunday 28 March 2021 or find an accredited tour guide for your next Australian holiday, visit www.tga.org.au
