Information About Professional Guiding in the Netherlands

[Admin]

The purpose of this thread is to help educate anyone looking to hire a guide about the local guiding profession.

We have asked professional guide members at this destination to reply to this post and answer one or more of the following questions, or to add anything else related to this topic.

Are Guides Licensed at this destination?
If the answer is yes:
What is the purpose of the license?
What does the license allow one to do?
How does one get a license?
What type of tests and qualifications are required to be licensed?
How can someone verify if a guide is licensed?
Anything else about licensing at this destination you would like to add.

Are there any certifications for guides at this destination?
If the answer is yes, who sponsors the certifications?
What does it require to be certiied?
How can someone verify if a guide is certified?
Anything else about guide certification.

Are there any local guide organizations at this destination?
If the answer is yes, What are these organizations and what do they do?

What type of training do most guides have?
What should people look for when hiring a guide?

What are some good questions to ask when hiring a guide?

How does one go about becoming a guide?

[Lin Treadgold]

Tour guiding in The Netherlands does not require the guide to be registered with a tourism authority. The Dutch authorities are very flexible and open on such issues and all that is required, for the tour guide, is that the person is registered with the KVK (Chamber of Commerce) to ensure good business practice and to let them know the person is self employed. The KVK will, however, check that the guide has proper insurance, a professional business plan in place and good knowledge of their specialist subject through any previous experience.

The tourist information office in The Netherlands is known as the WWW (vay vay vay) and local volunteer guides can be contacted through the Tourist Offices for short tours around Amsterdam, Alkmaar, Haarlem and other interesting cities. Hiring a professional tour guide for those little out of the way places unknown to tourists is by far the most exciting way to see a little country like Holland. We can take care of you from the moment you arrive in Holland until you leave. Did you know, for example, that The Netherlands are only about a quarter of the size of England? (not including Scotland and Wales). A small country with a great attitude and loads of interesting places to visit. Contact your Netherlands guide for further information.