Continuing Professional Development
The objectives of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Scheme for Tourist Guides are:
- to encourage tourist guides to constantly absorb new knowledge and upgrade themselves, and
- to systematically maintain and upgrade tourist guides' professional knowledge, skills and ethics.
Tourist Guide Pass holders who renew their Pass for the second time or subsequent times.
When tourist guides renew their Pass for the first time, they only need to submit a renewal application form and will then be issued with a new Pass. For second-time or subsequent renewals , they must first fulfil the requirements of the CPD Scheme in order to meet the basic criteria for renewal of their Pass.
Tourist guides must fulfil the requirements set out below in Items A, B and C in order to be considered to have completed the CPD Scheme:
A. Consolidation and updating of knowledge Content: "Knowledge on Hong Kong" (information on scenic spots, basic facts about Hong Kong, relevant statistics, etc.)
Mode:
- The TIC will issue a new edition of "Knowledge on Hong Kong" each year for tourist guides' reference and self-study.
- The TIC will regularly organise quizzes on "Knowledge on Hong Kong" for tourist guides (a fee is needed).
- The quiz consists of fill-in-the-blank questions. The number of resits is unlimited.
Requirement: Tourist guides need to pass the quiz before applying for their Pass for the second time or subsequent times.
B. Professional ethics Content: Professional ethics, "Honest Travel", legal liability related to the work of tourist guides, etc.
Mode:
- Mainly specialised seminars or case-study workshops (each lasting for about 2.5 to 3 hours).
- Specified or regularly organised by the TIC.
- Tourist guides may freely choose suitable seminars or workshops to attend (fees are needed).
Requirement:
- Tourist guides need to attend one seminar or workshop lasting for 2.5 to 3 hours before applying for their Pass for the second time or subsequent times.
- The number of hours exceeding the requirement will not be carried over into the next CPD period (a CPD period refers to the three-year period when the Tourist Guide Pass is valid).
C. Self-selected courses Content:
- Upgrading of skills: Crisis management, communication skills, complaint handling, sales techniques, quality service and tour safety.
- Personal development: Emotional Intelligence, pressure relief, language acquisition, personal grooming, and other related courses.
- Please click here to view specific examples of the two kinds of self-selected courses.
Mode:
Tourist guides may freely choose relevant courses to take, but such courses must be related to tourism or tour-guiding*. They may contact the TIC Training Department on 2807-1199 to check whether a course is related to tourism and tour-guiding.
Requirement:
- Tourist guides need to submit the attendance certificates of the courses taken to show that they have spent no less than 12 hours on the relevant courses before applying for their Pass for the second time or subsequent times (examinations are not needed).
- Tourist guides may take several courses to accumulate the required number of hours, but the number of hours exceeding the requirement will not be carried over into the next CPD period (a CPD period refers to the three-year period when the Tourist Guide Pass is valid).
- For tourist guides whose Passes are valid between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2010, if they enrol on specified SUS courses** before 1 July 2007 and complete such courses on or after that date, their studying hours will still be counted as within the relevant CPD period.
| * | Ticketing courses, outbound tour escort courses, pre-service tourist guide courses and the Tour Guide Training Course (II) under the Tourism Industry Skills Upgrading Scheme (SUS) are excluded. |
| ** | Specified SUS courses include "Basics of Nature Appreciation", "Cultural Tourism: Heritage, Monuments and History of Hong Kong", "Customer Services and Effective Communication Skills for Travel Agencies", "Practical Putonghua for Tourist Guides and Tour Escorts", "Practical Putonghua for Operational Staff of Travel Agencies", "Practical English for Tourist Guides and Tour Escorts" and "Practical English for Operational Staff of Travel Agencies". |