How To Get Thai Tour Guide Certification?

[misterme]

Have asked my gf and friends. Getting a multitude of gibberish for answers, which leads me to think that they are just guessing.

I know that only Thais can be 'tour guides' I've seen Thai's studying for the final test, so have an idea of the relative ease of it.

GF says she needs a 'Gor Sor Nor' 1st. Is this the case?

Any ideas who issues it? or who to call for info?

[cdnvic]

Tour guide is on the list of banned professions for foreigners I'm afraid.

Sorry

Restricted occupations

A Royal Decree in 1973 listed 39 occupations that were then closed to aliens. This list has

been amended on several occasions by subsequent Royal Decrees, the latest one in 1979. Prohibited occupations are:

• Labour

• Work in agriculture, animal breeding,

forestry, fishery or general farm

supervision

• Masonry, carpentry, or other

construction work

• Wood carving

• Driving motor vehicles or nonmotorised

carriers, except for piloting

international aircraft

• Shop attendant

• Auctioning

• Supervising, auditing or giving

services in accounting, except

occasional international auditing

• Gem cutting and polishing

• Hair cutting, hair dressing and

beautician work

• Hand weaving

• Mat weaving or making of wares from

reed, rattan, kenaf, straw or bamboo

pulp

• Manufacture of manual fibrous paper

• Manufacture of lacquerware

• Thai musical instrument production

• Manufacture of nielloware

• Goldsmith, silversmith and other

precious metal work

• Manufacture of bronzeware

• Thai doll making

• Manufacture of mattresses and padded

blankets

• Alms bowl making

• Manual silk product making

• Buddha image making

• Manufacture of knives

• Paper and cloth umbrella fabrication

• Shoemaking

• Hat making

• Brokerage or agency work, except in

international business

• Dressmaking

• Pottery or ceramics

• Manual cigarette rolling

• Legal or litigation service

• Clerical or secretarial work

• Manual silk reeling and weaving

• Thai character type-setting

• Hawking business

• Tourist guide or tour organising

agency

• Architectural work

• Civil engineering work

[misterme]

I know that only Thais can be 'tour guides'

Tour guide is on the list of banned professions for foreigners...

Sorry if you misread my post.

Looking for 'Tour Guide' certification for a Thai. Hoping to tap the pool of knowledge from the TV board.

thanks again

[bino]

Contact the Tourism Authority of Thailand. (TAT) They issue the tour guide certifications / permits.

[BambinA]

I've got some information about registration but it's in TH

You have to contact with "Bangkok Tourist Business and Guide register office"

http://www.jsoftbiz.com/tourist/registguidemain.asp

http://www.jsoftbiz.com/tourist/contentdet...=10201&id=9

Contact add.

http://www.jsoftbiz.com/tourist/contentdet...d=109&id=70

[cmsally]

The person needs to attend one of the TAT organised courses. Normally held in large centres such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen etc.

The course normally lasts a couple of months. If attended and you pass the exam, it will get you a certain kind of license such as local area only, whole of Thailand, Thailand + outbound to different countries. Need to check if its the appropriate one when you register.

What I am not sure of is if you need minimum educational qualifications to sign up for the course (could be where the Gor Sor Nor comes in - I think Gor Sor Nor is adult education ie to Matayom 3 or 6 ?? outside normal schooling)

There are also now degrees in tourism at some of the universities - whether you still have to attend a TAT course or whether that is all part and parcel, I am not sure.

Hope that helps.

Ask at the nearest TAT for details of next courses and minimum requirements to sign up.

[misterme]

Thanks for the quick replies. I'm hoping to make it out to TAT after the holiday to check on it.

[donna]

from what i understand, if you do the university course, the TAT course is encompassed in this, so there is no need to sit a separate examination.

some courses can be done in a matter of 2 months or so part time, and this should get a limited licence - in the south it gets you a pink card, which allows you to do 6 southern provinces. if you are looking for the silver card, allowing her to guide all over thailand for western tourists, she will need to do a course of about 2-3 months full time.

bear in mind that until the card is actually received and is hanging around her neck, she is not allowed to guide. cards take about 2 months to arrive.

[Bruce1]

Its approved by TAT and operated by various educational estabs., including my uni, for tourism students. Takes our students a semester to do.

[phosamton]

My understanding is a BA minimum is required to be a licensed guide. I teach English for one of the BKK university continuing ed tour guide licensing courses and it lasts for somewhere around 3 months, and something like 9-12 hours per week (depending on the particular course). The English classes are only a small portion of the overall program. The students learn about all aspects of the culture and history. It is quite intensive. My understanding is that students who earn a ba in tourism can also get the license, and it may be possible to obtain as a tourism minor...but not too sure about that. Oh yeah, the continuing ed course runs just under 30,000 baht, and I believe that is the standard across the city.

[donna]

i think that the BA minimum is not exactly true phosamtom. many ppl i know have got theirs and they definitely dont have a BA. this has been in the past two years. unless the rules have suddenly changed, of course.

[Farma]

My niece trained as a tour guide a couple of years ago. She needed a license to act as a tour guide. I’m not sure on the education level prior to starting the course but she was a college graduate. She had to complete an exam prior to being admitted on the course.

Her training took a couple of months at a dedicated tour guide college near Bangkok and included a comprehensive exam for the license at the end of the course. I believe the tour guide licenses are divided into 4 geographic areas and she can only guide in the area her license was issued for.

[Heng]

GF says she needs a 'Gor Sor Nor' 1st. Is this the case?

This likely means she hasn't finished high school (or Matayom 6). Like a lot of places in the world, one needs to have that high school 'wuth' to apply for just about any mainstream job here, and naturally to continue one's education past Mor 6 as well. Gor Sor Nor would be the high school equivalent. After that, those who don't have time or funds to attend a university usually do "Suksa pu yai" or "study for adults" on weekends at any number of tech. schools or commercial colleges.

Edited April 12, 2007 by Heng

[phosamton]

i think that the BA minimum is not exactly true phosamtom. many ppl i know have got theirs and they definitely dont have a BA. this has been in the past two years. unless the rules have suddenly changed, of course.

I would guess you're right on that if you know people who don't have BA's. I probably made a false assumption that a university degree would be a minimum.