Yucatan’s certified guides seek to regulate their occupation

“They damage the tourist image of the city, since their main interest is to sell some type of product to the visitors, so they do not worry about training and have reached the point of fabricating stories that do not correspond to the reality of the Historical sites in the city,” said the certified guide Jorge Frías Castillo.

To differentiate themselves and dignify this profession, the interviewee said that a group of 20 federal guides, among which he is included, formed a group that seeks, in addition to constant training, to coordinate with tourism schools and other organizations with which they can make synergy for tourism. They will be inducted on September 7.

This is the Certified Guides Cooperative of Yucatan, which lists all the legal and financial details to be presented to the media and organizations related to the activity, such as the Mexican Association of Hotels and the Canirac, among others.

Member Gerardo Bacelis commented that, as part of their interest in being better prepared, since February they have been meeting informally to exchange experiences and knowledge.

“The intention of our president, who is the anthropologist Francisco González Hernández, is that we are all in the same harmony and that it is the same information that is given to the tourist by any of the members, with the certainty that the subject has been researched and studied properly,” explained the interviewee.

Text and photo: Manuel Pool