Standards Development

Scope

This document provides recommendations for the provision of professional tourist guide services to individuals and groups across a range of tourism contexts.

It gives guidance on:

• competencies, knowledge and skills of tourist guides;

• professional conduct and ethical behaviour;

• planning, organization and delivery of guiding services;

• communication and interpretation practices;

• safety and risk awareness;

• cultural, environmental and sustainability considerations;

• training and continuous professional development.

This document is applicable to:

• tourist guides working independently or on behalf of an organization;

• on-site, virtual and hybrid guiding services;

• guiding activities in cultural, natural, urban, rural and specialized tourism settings

• varying durations of guiding services, from several hours to multiple days.

This document does not provide requirements for:

• licensing or regulatory frameworks established by national or regional authorities;

• tour operator management or travel agency services, except where directly related to guiding;

• transport, accommodation or other tourism service provision.

Furthermore, this document does not apply to AI agent or audios guide or others excluding in-person tourist guide.

Purpose

The purpose of this standard is to establish a globally recognized framework for tourist guiding services by defining minimum competencies, quality, and safety requirements, and by creating a common international reference for the profession. Tourist guides play a critical role as ambassadors and facilitators of value-based heritage interpretation, contributing to a more peaceful and sustainable future, as highlighted by UNESCO. With hundreds of thousands of guides worldwide and tourism accounting for approximately 10% of global GDP and millions of visits annually, the impact of guiding services on visitor experience, cultural understanding, and destination sustainability is substantial. However, the sector currently faces significant challenges. There is no international definition of competencies, quality standards, or safety requirements, resulting in inconsistent service levels and uneven visitor experiences across countries. The absence of a global benchmark creates difficulties for tour operators in ensuring quality, while tourists face varying levels of service and potential safety risks. At the same time, guides often lack professional recognition, fair compensation, and clear differentiation from related professions such as tour managers. The situation is further complicated by fragmented regulation: tourist guiding is regulated in some countries but remains unregulated in others. This leads to differing definitions of the profession, major disparities in training duration and content, and challenges in maintaining consistent global standards. It also contributes to professional intrusion and unsustainable practices. Given the ongoing growth of tourism and the emergence of new guiding formats, there is an urgent need for global alignment and the establishment of minimum standards. An ISO standard provides the appropriate solution by enabling international consensus, establishing common terminology, defining a global quality benchmark, and fostering trust across borders. Importantly, this standard is developed by the sector, for the sector.