Biel Rosales of the Proguías Turísticos association of official tour guides in Mallorca is highlighting the proliferation of unlicensed tour guides, saying this is often condoned by tour operators and travel agencies. They contract unlicensed guides with the sole aim of saving costs. "It's simply cheaper for them."
Rosales points out that is not uncommon to find tour operators using unlicensed services at attractions such as the Caves of Drach. "It happens constantly." He argues that measures adopted by the authorities to fight unlicensed activity should focus on controlling these practices, particularly targeting tour operators and well-known agencies that readily employ unlicensed personnel. Among others, he mentions TUI.
The official tour guide licence certifies that the person in question meets all the legal requirements to carry out the activity, including knowledge of local heritage and fluency in Castellano and Catalan, as well as any foreign languages they use, a requirement that many unregulated guide services do not meet, Rosales says.
The Balearic Government had been due to approve its new committee for tackling unfair, unlicensed competition on Tuesday, but this was postponed for technical reasons. Approval is now due to be given some time this month.
The president of the Aviba travel agencies association, Pedro Fiol, denies that the use of unlicensed tour guides is a common practice, accepting that it is more of an occasional measure taken in times of need. "It's not something that is usually done. But companies may decide to do so, for specific circumstances, for example if they have the need for a Polish translator."
In general, he maintains, it isn't done, "because they know they risk a penalty, and nobody wants to take that risk".