Tour guides: have you completed your training? It's needed both for new applications and renewals.

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The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) advises all Tour Guides, renewing and first-time applicants, that to become eligible to be licensed as a Tour Guide, you are required to complete both a General Core and Professional Core tour guide training. This has been a standing requirement since 2019, when the Professional Core was launched by the BTB. All new and incoming tour guides, must ensure they have completed both modules prior to seeking a license with the BTB. All currently licensed tour guides are reminded that if they have not previously completed the professional core module, that they are also required to complete this prior to renewal of their licenses. With regard to the latter, the BTB will be releasing in the coming weeks, a schedule of professional core courses that will be made available for currently licensed tour guides to satisfy this requirement.

For any further information or clarification, kindly contact us at 227-2420 ext. 245 and 292 or at [email protected]

B.T.B. Relaxes Completion of Training for Tour Operators

FECTAB President David Almendarez who is of a similar view, suggested instead that tour operators be trained on how to improve their online presence in the international marketplace.

David Almendarez, FECTAB

“Mr. Evan, head of B.T.B., I will reach out to you before the end of the day and we wah come to a compromise where you will not penalize us fi noh tek no kinda simple course. Tek wahn course about the introduction to tourism. Somebody bruk and need wahn lee money, noh worry ah got yoh back, we wahn do wah lee training and dehn haffi tek it. How much ih wahn cost? Who wahn pay for it? Even if dehn mek it free, di B.T.B. wahn pay for it. Da wahn system, da wahn crooked system. Yoh want ah tell unu, I wahn give unu solutions. Teach we bout how fi compete pan di international market. Teach di same way how Via Tour di contact dehn customers, teach we fi hook up with dehn kinda web providers, teach we fi build wahn website.”

Following FECTAB’s press conference this morning, B.T.B. provided an update to all tour guides informing, that the Belize Tourism Board advises current tour guides that will be seeking renewal of their licenses in July 2022, that you will not be affected due to non-completion of the professional core tour guide training module. However, as stated in the previous Notice to All Tour Guides, issued on May eleventh, 2022, the Belize Tourism Board, in an effort to make this training module more accessible to tour guides, will be arranging courses in 2022 for those tour guides that have not yet completed this module.

Channel 5

The attention of all tour guides (renewing and first-time applicants) is called to this update in reference to the previous notice issued on May 11th, 2022, regarding General Core and Professional Core training. For further information, kindly contact us at 227-2420 ext. 245 and 292 or at [email protected]

The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) advises current tour guides that will be seeking renewal of their license in July 2022, that you will not be affected due to non-completion of the professional core tour guide training module. However, as stated in the previous Notice to All Tour Guides, issued on May 11th, 2022, the Belize Tourism Board, in an effort to make this training module more accessible to tour guides, will be arranging courses in 2022 for those tour guides that have yet not completed this module. As a result, we encourage all interested current tour guides to take advantage of these courses when made available. All new and incoming tour guides are required to complete both the general and professional core modules in order to be eligible for a tour guide license. The BTB remains committed to improving the standards of our tourism product and services.

For further questions kindly contact [email protected] or 227-2420 ext. 245 and 292.