How to become a guide in Israel. Advanced training course for licensed guides from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism on the topic. In what language will the final exam be held?

Even in ancient times, the sages were once asked: “What does a person value most in the world? »
The answer came immediately: “More than anything in the world, a person values life, money and freedom. »
Then they asked the sages a second question: “Why did you name three things at the same time instead of one?”
And the sages answered: “As long as a person lives, he is trying to earn more money to have freedom, because such is the essence of man.”

Now we are in the 21st century, but nothing has changed since the dawn of civilization. Man still values life, money and freedom. So it was, so it is and so it will always be.

A huge number of people around the world, to the extent possible, satisfy their desire to gain a sense of freedom through travel. For this purpose, methods, methods and means are used that amaze the imagination in quantity and variety.
It was thanks to man's desire for freedom that a gigantic industry called tourism was born and developed. Israel did not lag behind in this matter.

Israel occupies one of the leading places in the world in tourism turnover. Inbound tourism is booming. Offers in the domestic tourism market in Israel continue to be in high demand. Outbound tourism is only growing every year and, even according to the most conservative forecasts of foreign analysts, will grow no matter what. This is not surprising. When the country is unsettled, many Israeli citizens strive to leave and take a break from all their worries and worries. When it’s good in the country – especially if there is work, which means there is money – then citizens go simply to relax and gain new experiences, so that when they return, they can earn money again for their next trip. As stated earlier, outbound tourism in Israel has always flourished, no matter what, and will continue to do so.

According to experts, the share of Russian-speaking Israelis in the tourism sector is also growing steadily. The Olim gradually settle down, master Hebrew, find good jobs and begin to realize their genetically inherent desire for freedom. There is nothing to say about the native Israelis at all. Israelis are probably the most well-traveled people in the world.

But everything is not as simple as it seems at first glance. On the path of any person yearning for freedom, there are many not entirely pleasant and not always clear things in the form of state borders, laws and regulations governing travel abroad.

The traveler is faced with organizational hassles, a huge number of customs regulations, ignorance of the area where he is heading, and many other obstacles that poison the sweet feeling of freedom and take away the precious time allotted for travel.

Therefore, any person planning a trip abroad is ready to pay a professional agent who, in a short time, will prepare all the necessary documents in accordance with the current regulations and save the future traveler from all the unpleasant moments associated with the trip.
Such professional travel agents today are very, very in demand in Israel and abroad, since without this type of service no travel is simply possible. It is for this reason that the NEWMAN CENTER has been training professional travel agents at its base for many years.

STRUCTURE, DURATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE

The travel agent course is structured as follows:

Classes are held once a week for 4 academic hours, in the evening on weekdays, and there is also a course that is held only on Fridays.
Each person who signs up for a travel agent course receives discounts on Hebrew or English courses of different levels. Classes in the language of your choice are held on other days and times, but the entire educational process is carried out here, with us, at Derech Ha'Agana 34 in Tel Aviv.

During the travel agent course, students study in detail the entire “kitchen” of arranging foreign travel.
Incoming, outgoing and domestic tourism and all related specific documents from the field of regulatory legislation are studied.
Popular tourist routes and destinations are studied, as well as the characteristics of the countries of the world that provide these routes.

In the travel agent course, students study in detail, in all aspects, the main types of tourism services in the field of aviation service, railway service (railway service is highly developed in European countries) and sea tourism service, as well as all the necessary elements from the field of customs rules in relation to all the above types of services.
Hotel service is studied (within the framework necessary for a professional travel agent), rental of means of transport at a distance, as well as many other very important and necessary things, without which it is impossible to become a real specialist in the field of tourism.

As part of practical classes, 2 computer programs are studied.

The first program is “GILBOA”.
This is a specialized database processing program designed specifically for travel agencies (like Hashavshevet for accountants). All travel agencies today use this program, which greatly facilitates the complex work of a specialist in arranging foreign and domestic travel.

The second program is “AMADEUS”.
With its help, a travel agent enters the terminals of international airlines and can purchase, book or cancel air tickets without leaving the office.
Also, using this program, it is possible to change the status of passengers, retrieve all the necessary and up-to-date information on schedules, flight groups and flight bonuses, and information on cargo clearance conditions.
In addition, this program allows you to perform many other important and necessary functions, without which quick travel processing is unthinkable.
By the way, only persons who have undergone comprehensive theoretical and practical training under the AMADEUS program are allowed to work with terminals in travel agencies. After all, one wrong button press - and instead of 2 tickets to New York, 200 can be ordered. 198 tickets, of course, can be canceled, but this will be wasted money, time and nerves. That is why there is such a strict approach to allowing administrative employees to work with terminals.

Of course, it is very difficult, in the space of a small article, to tell in detail about everything that you will learn within 7 months within our walls. Or about the exciting prospects that open up for you in terms of personal, low-cost travel.
Therefore, let me just sincerely wish you successful studies, successful employment and all the very best.

Course program

(120 hours)

Types of tourism:
Outcall
Entry
Interior

GILBOA (Tourist Office Program)
AMADEUS (booking and ticketing software)
AMADEUS VISTA (scheduled flights)

— Login/exit from the program
— Availability of seats for the flight
— Basic commands, flipping, types of commands
— Direct affiliation
— Reservation of seats for the flight
— Waiting list
— Straight segment
— Flight schedule
— Flight information
— PNR – passenger’s personal reservation (PNR elements)
— Frequent flyer
— Selecting a seat on board the aircraft
— Salons and classes on board the aircraft
— Carriage of luggage and animals, hand luggage
— Order search
— Change in order
— Changing passenger data
— Change in route
— Calling up order parts on the screen
— Flipping
— Order division
— Copying an order
— Order cancellation
— Computer mail
— Coding, decoding
— Prices
— Standard, special prices
— Prices gross, net
— Price search
— Rules for prices
— Determining the route within the price
— Issuing tickets
— Electronic ticket
— Paper ticket
— PNR assessment, search for the optimal price
— Automatic ticket issuance
— Issuing a ticket using a ticket code (semi-automatic)
— Ticket details
— Determining and checking the price in PNR
— Price selection
— Fixing the price
— Mandatory elements for issuing tickets
— Ticket status
- Adult
— Youth
— Student
— Pension
— Children's
— Baby
— Print command
— PREPAID — ticket for those flying from abroad
— Ticket printer
— Ticket cancellation
— Ticket cancellation (VOID)
— Ticket refund (PERFUND)
— Change in ticket
— Ticket fines

GILBOA WINDOWS-OFFICE PROGRAM

— Airlines: regular, charter
— Wholesalers
— Travel agency
— General sales agent
— IATA - International Air Transport Association
— Codes
— Phonetic transcription
— SHAAL – Israel Travel Agents Trade Union
- DOCKET - client folder on the computer
— Working with “dockets”
— VOUCHER - payment obligation (gross, net)
— Settlements with suppliers
— Settlements with clients
— Client card
— Balance (receipt, invoice)
— Discounts
— Refund to the client
— Types of payment (cash, credit cards, checks, money transfers)
— Working with currency

Travel services

— Flights: regular, charter
— Straight without landing and with landing
— Transit (with transfer)
— Docking and non-docking (overnight)
— Minimum required between flights
— Flight operated by another airline (CODESHARING)
— HOTELS (F.I.T.) — hotels, reservations
— Medical insurance
— Loss and search of luggage, compensation
— Visas, passport control, customs
— Car rental
— Package deals: flight + hotel, flight + car, flight + hotel + car
— Civil marriages
— Summer schools
— Sanatorium-resort treatment — SPA
— Ski packages
— Organized tours
— Transfer (transportation)
— Entrance tickets
— Trains
- Cruises
— Sea transportation (ferries)

Arie Parnis, a tour guide in Israel, leading individual tours and
group excursions around Israel in Russian,
showing Israel through “Jewish eyes.”

I was born in Moscow and came to Israel in 1989 at the age of 15.
He served as a paratrooper - parachutist. Education – degree
Master's in Israeli History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Certified tour guide of the Ministry of Tourism, and presenter
guide to the City of David in Jerusalem in Russian.
Married, father of three children, live in the Tkoa settlement
on the edge of the Judean Desert, near Jerusalem.

Until the age of 13, I grew up in an ordinary Soviet family. Yard and school, chess and sambo. Yes, there was matzah for Passover and other manifestations of Jewish cuisine. There was a 5th column in the class magazine, which manifested itself in school fights. However, being Jewish did not occupy a central place in my life.

All this changed when we as a family began to study Hebrew and attend our first Torah classes. Then the circumcision union, in an underground apartment with the curtains closed. At the age of 14, he began teaching Hebrew at a Sunday school for children of refuseniks. Zionist activity in the USSR was still prohibited, but people were no longer imprisoned for it.

The natural continuation of this process was aliyah to Israel. Be in your place, live with your people and deal with your problems. This country has become a real homeland for me.

After finishing school, I studied in Israeli Zionist yeshivas for 8 years. Served in the airborne troops. He completed his first degree in Torah teaching and his second degree in Jewish history.

Guide to Israel

I became connected with excursions in Israel almost immediately. My class teacher was a professional guide, and one of the school clubs was “Excursions around Jerusalem”. Then, I took all our relatives from abroad to these same places. After school, we began hiking around the country, in small groups, with a backpack on our backs.

In 2000, the hobby turned into a profession. After completing a Jerusalem tour guide course, I began leading tours from Yad ben Zvi and the City of David, the leading Israeli tourism organizations in Jerusalem. He gained extensive experience working as a guide with school and army groups, with Israeli families and with new repatriates from the CIS countries. In 2006, he graduated with honors from the school of guides from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, at the Lander Institute. For me this is not only a job, but also a calling.

Over time, I began to feel more and more the shortcomings of Russian-language tourism in Israel. In contrast to the wide cultural range of group tours in Hebrew and English, the Russian-speaking street mainly offers only Christian themes. Jewish tourism, with a few exceptions, is practically non-existent.

The consumer market also affects suppliers. Most Russian-speaking guides in Israel are well versed in Christianity, but have only a superficial understanding of Jewish culture. Therefore, most individual excursions in Israel in Russian have the same Christian connotation.

Many Russian-speaking Israelis and tourists from abroad who are interested in the history of the Jewish people and want to experience Israel from the inside often find it difficult to find whom to turn to. It is to these people that my excursions and the activities of this site are addressed.

I offer you private and group tours of Jerusalem (I especially love), individual tours throughout Israel (including Judea and Samaria), private .

I will be glad to show you our country!

The course lasts 2 years and is a serious academic preparation. The entrance exam is written and oral, that is, you need to write a short story BY HAND on any topic, and then an oral interview.

The condition for admission is, of course, knowledge of the language necessary to understand the entire volume of knowledge. The exam is quite difficult, but at the initial stage, almost everyone who applies and pays is accepted. The course costs approximately $6,000. Includes 2 days of classroom instruction and 80 field trips. To enter, it is enough to have a secondary education, that is, to graduate from a general secondary school. Holders of a second degree (i.e. a full higher degree, like me) have no advantage. I don’t know about foreigners, but I’ll try to find out.

Classes - 2 days a week for 5 hours in class and a full day excursion - up to 12 hours or more. There are 80 excursions in total. Classes are controlled very strictly; in 2 years you are allowed to miss 4 excursions. After each - a report. I scribbled half of it (in the full sense of the word) in Hebrew, then they allowed me to take it in Russian. There are internal exams on all topics - they are compiled by the professor who taught the course, and, as a rule, they are not repeated - you can't write them off. There are also about 20 of them (from prehistory to the present). We had a very strong group, only 1 out of 30 dropped out during the study, as a rule, 3-4 people give up early. The money is not returned only if you leave almost in the second week.

A license is issued for the right to work in any museum, only in some there are restrictions, for example, in a memorial dedicated to the Holocaust, I will not be able to lead a tour for schoolchildren or soldiers. They have their own guides.

As a rule, guides are not particularly keen to conduct the excursion themselves; this is time for a break (I know from myself).

The license is renewed every 2 years; you must take part in some additional seminar. I’ll find out how much it costs. Attendance is required, a list of seminars is provided, and payment is also required.

In fact, a tour guide in Israel must know all the history, culture, all the main tourist places (Judaica, Christianity, Islam), animals, plants, geology, geomorphology, main feeding and snacking places, toilets, etc. Therefore, in theory, I can give a tour anywhere, but as a rule, guides choose an area or specialization.
I can go to any tourist place for free. Plus a discount in restaurants. Theater and cinema - for a fee.

As for the tour police, I don’t know yet whether they are catching them or not; I also don’t know yet. In our group there were two guys who led excursions for several years, in my opinion, one of them was caught and REQUIRED to get a license, because there was a story of a tourist being injured and our guy did not have mandatory insurance. In my opinion, something there was connected with a large fine in court.

As a rule, guides work for a company, the salary is at least 220 dollars a day. There is no hourly payment.

My friend works both for a company (on a bus) and privately - from an agent directly. He has a minivan for 7 people, he charges from 500 to 700 dollars a day. He is a member of the guides’ union, has benefits for parking, and the entire social package. He pays taxes regularly.
I think that you can work privately “with friends”, but you will have to pay for all paid places and for yourself too. And again, all responsibility is on you, if anything happens.

The Arabs are dumping now - they are ready to take 2 or even 3 times less for work, but this is an English-speaking market. It is not controlled in any way, (as far as I know) Arabs who have completed the Israeli government course have the same right to work as the Israelis .

But in Palestinian territory, for example in Bethlehem, I, as an Israeli guide, cannot work in Hebrew (English), but I can work in Russian))).

The final exam is very difficult, 2 parts, written, and if you pass after 2 months, an oral one. So you won’t be fooled, and if you try to sneak it in, you can lose your license for good. In any case, I am not aware of such cases, maybe there have been in history.

Guides-interpreters abroad (in alphabetical order of countries)

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A tour guide license from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism is an official document confirming that a specialist has the necessary knowledge and has the right to provide excursion services in a particular country. A state-issued license is issued by an educational institution specializing in training guides.

Why does a tourist need to know whether the guide is licensed?

Israel is the Promised Land, which people from many countries of the world, Christians, Muslims, Jews, representatives of other religious movements, and simply tourists who want to see the whole world with their own eyes, strive to see. That is why tourism in Israel is a thriving business, run not only by professionals, but also by amateurs.

Having a license is a guarantee that a person will be dealing with a qualified guide, and not with a freelancer who has independently learned a certain excursion route.

How the best guides in Israel are trained

The future guide undergoes a training course that lasts 2-3 years. Students are taught by professors of history, archeology and other sciences, as well as tour guides with impressive work experience. The course includes:

Theoretical knowledge concerning the geography, history, religion and culture of Israel;
Studying history on site, in Jerusalem alone, students receive 30-40 days of practical walking lessons!
Practical implementation of acquired knowledge in the form of examination excursions;
Legal and financial aspects of conducting excursion activities;
Features of planning and organizing travel routes around the country or a specific city;
Psychological nuances of working with tourists, learning the ability to present information competently, engagingly and interestingly;
Intensifying the desire to independently improve their skills, deepen knowledge and improve the quality of excursions.
An exam for knowledge of the language in which the future guide plans to conduct excursions.

A tour guide license is issued for a year. Each tour guide must be accredited at the beginning of the year in order to receive a work permit the following year.

Graduates of such courses can work in travel agencies or conduct private practice. A personal guide is a specialist who organizes personal excursions along an individually designed route. It is private guides that are popular in Israel today, as they have brought local tourism to a new qualitative level. And this can be easily explained by the peculiarities of working with them.

Advantages of ordering a personal licensed guide:

Fascinating accompaniment of tourists, opening up new horizons and information;
Conducting individual excursions in small groups;
Providing reliable historical, cultural and geographical information;
Use of modern tools and techniques for planning and optimizing routes;
The ability to find an approach to each tourist, translate his expectations from the excursion into reality and make it interesting;
Providing additional services: transfer, shopping support, selection of restaurants, organization of evening entertainment, etc.

The best guides in Israel are tour guides who have the appropriate license. Choose them, and you will be sure that you will receive a range of qualified travel services!