State has not enough foreign language guides

KOCHI: At a time when the state government has been taking efforts to attract more foreign tourists, the state does not have enough  foreign language tourist guides to keep the tourists happy.For a population of 6,60,000 tourists who visit the state, Kerala can boast of only 34 foreign language tourist guides. In terms of tourist guide to tourist ratio, this accounts to almost 1:20,000. These 34 foreign tourist language guides have been approved by the Union Ministry of Tourism. Krishnan Aithal, a French-speaking tourist guide, said that many foreigners who come to Kerala hardly communicate in English. “When they are left to tour along with local guides who do not speak their language, the tourists feel disappointed. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that guides satisfy the tourists through proper communication,” he said.“A guide is everything - a father, mother, helper, friend and a doctor. You can be all this, only if you know the language of the tourist,” Johnson K, a German-speaking guide from Kochi, said.However, the state tourism officials say that there are many foreign language tourist guides in the state. But Johnson who was a guide under the government said that most of these guides are given licences by the government  even though they do not have the skills.“The problem arises during peak seasons. For example, when a ship carrying tourists comes and berths at Kochi, tour operators rush to find foreign language tourist guides,” Tourist Guides Association president P Asoka said. During peak seasons, there is no other option for tourist agencies but to seek the help of the foreign language tourist guides from other states. The Tourist Guide Federation of India has sought the intervention of the government to encourage more people to take up the job. “The government should take steps to give us certain benefits, such as retainer fees to provide us with a security when we are out of work. The main reason people do not opt for the job is because they are not given any job security,” Asoka said.Also, the Central Government conducts exams seasonally, but people themselves do not realise the importance of such jobs in our country.Presently, Tamil Nadu is faring well in the field in South India, with at least 80  foreign language tourist guides. There is a dearth in Bangalore and Andhra, but even Kerala needs more guides.”