Overview of Module 7

Welcome to Module 7 on Ethical and Legal Issues in Tour Guiding.

You will agree with me that in every profession, a professional is guided by a code of conduct or ethics. The professional is also expected to meet certain legal requirements in his profession. Let us take the Law and medicine professions as examples. A Law or medicine professional has to strictly adhere to a code of ethics or failure to do so will make the professional to be dismissed from the profession.

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  Tour guide at work, Swaziland National Museum

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  Tour guide with trainee tour guides, King Sobhuza Memorial Park

Similarly in tour guiding, as a Tour Guide, you have a code of ethics which will guide you and ensure that you contribute to mutual understanding and respect between people and societies.

This module is meant for self-study. It comprises two units. Each Unit starts with an introduction, followed by outcomes. You are advised to refer to the outcomes as a checklist after working through the Unit, to cross check whether or not you have been successful in grasping the knowledge and acquiring the skills in the Unit. Throughout each Unit, there are Self-assessment activities to promote active learning. The activities are designed in such a way that they range from those which require mere recall of facts to those that are more challenging and require problem solving skills and critical reflection on legal and ethical issues in Tour Guiding.

In Unit 1 you will look at legal issues relating to tour guiding. You will be able to answer the question: What are the legal requirements expected from a Tour Guide. Indeed tour guiding is just like any other business. You have to meet some legal requirements for you to be allowed to operate as a Tour Guide.

In Unit 2 you will be introduced to ethical issues specific to tour guiding. You must have felt bad about an experience and you may have thought that someone has done something unethical. What does ethical mean, then, in a tour guiding situation? You will get an opportunity to explore the broad area of ethics in tour guiding. I am sure that you will find the Units intellectually stimulating.