Sharjah ups standards
Tour guides told they must get a license as the emirate looks to boost its tourism potential.
he Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) officially certified its first tour guides last month, as part of the emirate’s drive to boost tourism and improve standards in the industry.
Just twelve tour guides – working for Arabian Adventures, Orient Tours, Al Khalediah Tourism and the Sharjah National Travel Agency - received their official licenses in a ceremony attended by Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmad Al Qassimi, chairman of SCTDA.
The guides were the first to complete the ‘Advanced Tour Guiding Course’, rolled out last year in conjunction with Skyline University in Sharjah, but the plan is that by next year it will be mandatory for all tour guides working in Sharjah to have an official tour guiding license.
Al Qassimi told Arabian Travel News that the programme has been developed to ensure that tourists to Sharjah receive the right information about the emirate.
“It’s easy for companies to just take people around and talk about Sharjah even if they don’t know about it,” he said. “But we don’t want everyone to sell Sharjah the way they see it and the way they want to. We want them to understand the culture, and to know what they’re talking about at least.”
Much of the course is focused on teaching guides about the culture and history of Sharjah.
“It’s so they can talk about museums, they can talk about the different cultural and heritage areas within Sharjah, but at the same time they need to know what they are talking about,” said Al Qassimi. “They need to know not only what this museum has inside it, but why it is here and why it is part of the identity of Sharjah, so it’s a broad programme.”
Sharjah received 1.4 million tourists last year, and has a target to increase this figure by 10 percent in 2010 by promoting itself as cultural and heritage destination.
“We have our own unique points,” explained Al Qassimi, “We have 18 museums, and we have real heritage areas. We are the more authentic Arabian experience - that’s what we try to provide tourists with instead of them coming see something they can see everywhere else in the world.
We always say that Sharjah is unique like a treasure - you have to come and discover it for yourself.”
Al Qassimi added that the biggest challenge for the future would be to increase the awareness of Sharjah as a tourist destination.
“I think the main challenge is trying to reach everyone, and trying to make people understand what Sharjah is. We have been participating in several exhibitions and going to different places to promote Sharjah, talking with our different offices aboard – that’s our first step and I think we are doing very well. We just came from ITB in Berlin and we won the ‘best exhibitor’ award in our category. So step by step we are trying to reach more people.”
HOW TO SELL SHARJAH
Sharjah has been voted Cultural Capital of the Arab World by UNESCO. It features a number of different museums including: the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, the Sharjah Aquarium and the Sharjah Desert Park. The Sharjah Heritage Area features traditional houses converted into museums and the oldest souq in Sharjah: Al Souq Al Arsah.
Another popular souk is the Central Souq (also called Blue Souq). One of the top attractions in Sharjah is Al Qasba, with year round events and activities, it is a great place to mingle with the local population.
Sharjah also boasts some beautiful natural scenery with its two lagoons Al Khan and Al Khaleed and the surrounding corniche, plus its authentic fishing villages on the East coast set against a stunning mountain backdrop. A trip to Dibba Al Hisn, Khor Fakkan and Kalba presents visitors with unspoiled beaches and scenic drives along the coast.
What the tour guides said:
Divyesh, Orient Tours
How did you find the course?
This course helped us to see a lot more of Sharjah which we had not been doing as a part of the excursions we run at the moment. This has opened the way for us to explore these places. We have seen some archeological sites which we could not personally go to ourselves because they are still under study and being excavated, so it has left a curiosity in us that there’s more to explore than what we see now that will be ready in the future.
What’s the potential for Sharjah as a tourism destination?
Sharjah has got a lot of potential for guests who are looking for a place with rich culture and heritage. Guests get to see the Islamic architecture, the government buildings, and the beautiful landscaping. In Sharjah there’s a rich heritage to explore.
Mirella El Munawar, Arabian Adventures
How useful did you find the tour guides course?
The course was useful and very informative. We do a lot of tours into Sharjah, and we learnt a lot of things we normally don’t get to know about so in that sense it was essential to our knowledge. It’s an accreditation - it puts up the value of us being professional tour guides. We could have done the tours anyway we wanted to do it but the licenses give a more professional look to the job.
Does Sharjah have potential as a destination?
Sharjah absolutely has potential. They are heading in the right direction, they have the sun, the sea, the desert and all that but then there’s the culture. They are heading in the direction of developing the emirate as a cultural destination more than a fun destination.
Partha Sawardekar, Arabian Adventures
What’s the benefit of this course to developing tourism?
It brings in some standardisation which is highly required in this industry, given the scope of the country, the large area and that tour guides working here are spread out everywhere. Everyone does it their own way so this course is good because it’s standard information that is given out to us and then we in turn can pass this on to the tourists.
What’s the reaction of your tour groups when you bring them to Sharjah?
Tourists are pleasantly surprised. It’s not a well known destination. It’s a kind of hidden gem, and when it’s revealed to them they are happy to see it. What had been lacking here for a long time was the infrastructure to receive tourists but now that’s been developed. Part of the course is to see what’s being planned by the tourism authority and it looks really good.