Online Tourist Guide Training Courses
Phase One
Tourist Guide Institute has been accredited by Cathsseta as a National Service Provider to offer courses to train tourist guides. (Cathsseta Accreditation Number: 613/P/000010/2004) The course coordinators and assessors are Scott and Julie Womack with Yvette van Zyl as Cathsseta accredited moderator.
Tourist Guide Institute offers online tourist guide training courses:
Online weekday practicals
Online theory for 7 weeks followed by 5 days of weekday practicals, 1 practical on a Saturday morning and one weekday exam day.
Culture Site Guide: LEVEL 4 (SAQA ID: Tg/CultSiteGd/4/0031) (Western Cape Province Regional Guide)
To qualify for this certificate, competence in the prescribed unit standards must be achieved and embedded knowledge of the various areas must be demonstrated. Certification will entitle you to guide in the following geographical areas:
Phase One:
a. The Cape Metropole
b. The Winelands
c. The Overberg
d. West Coast
e.The Breede River Valley
Phase Two:
f. The Garden Route
g. The Little Karoo and Great Karoo
h. Olifants River Valley
i. Port Elizabeth and environs
j. Namaqualand
After the eight week course and the FIRST written examination, you will qualify as a Culture Site Guide and will be able to guide in the first five sub-regions as set out above. To be able to guide throughout the Western Cape Province you have to write the SECOND examination – knowledge of visiting sites only. If this exam is done within a month of doing the course, the exam cost is included in the initial course cost with just R250 extra for the manual. If this phase is done at a later stage, the study material is available from our office at a cost of R850 (The examination cost is included).
Course Fee for 2024:
R7,600.00 to be paid in full up front prior to starting.
Course Content:
The course comprises two Modules:
Module 1: Online theory in the form of written course material and videos
- Introduction and Course Outline
- Unit Standards and Outcomes Based Education
- Planning an itinerary
- How to do research
- Guiding techniques: – Expectations of the Tourist Guide; Role of a Tourist Guide; Communication; Responsibilities; Meet and greet at the airport; Problem handling; Care of the customer, Coping in an Emergency; Code of Guiding Practice; Professionalism; Guiding people with special needs; Route Planning; Guide-lines for a successful tour; Code of Ethics as a tour guide
- Marketing yourself as a guide
- History of South Africa
- Geography of SA and Western Cape
- Demographics of South Africa (Population)
- Architecture of Cape Town
- Fauna and Flora of South Africa
- South Africa’s Cultural Heritage
- South Africa’s Government Institutions and Social Services
- Table Mountain National Park
- Cape Town City Tour
- Cape Peninsula Tour
- Cape Winelands Tour
- Full day intermediate wine course with a wine maker
- Overberg including whales
- West Coast
- Breede River Valley
Module 2: Practicals
Conducting a practical tour. Six tours are done under the guidance of experienced tourist guides.
Practical guiding sessions:
a. Historical Cape Town City Tour
b. Overberg Tour
c. 2 wine estates visited
d. 2 x Winelands Tour
e. Peninsula Tour
Sample Programme:
Theory – 7 weeks of online videos covering:
Registration and Induction, Guiding Techniques, History (including architecture), Communication Skills, Geography, Wine Course theory, Cultures of Cape Town, Table Mountain National Park, Drawing up Itineraries
PLUS
Online Weekday Practicals
Friday : City Tour
Saturday morning : Wine Course practical – visit 2 wine estates
Monday : Overberg Tour practice for students
Tuesday : Peninsula Tours as a formative assessment for students
Wednesday : Winelands Tour 1 as a summative assessment for students
Thursday : Winelands Tour 2 as a summative assessment for students
Friday : Exam day
PLUS
Wine Exam for Online Courses : this will follow the final exam and be done online within a month of completing the 8 week course.
Duration of practicals:
Day time practical tours starting at 08:30 till approximately 17:00
Wine Industry Course:
The intermediary certificate course on the wine industry is presented as part of the course syllabus.
Course Material:
A set of notes in two comprehensive manuals, covering all aspects of the course, will be available online as well as videos covering all the theory.
Parking:
Online weekday practicals : Century City My Citibus terminus at R20 per day. Exam day – Intaka Island, Century City – free parking
Registration:
- The completed registration form (p. 3-4 of Prospectus).
- A short CV containing information pertaining to your education and employment history.
- Proof of highest qualification
- A recently certified copy of your RSA I.D. OR
- A recently certified copy of Alternate ID (if applicable): Work Permit (TOURISM RELATED) / Passport / Refugee Status Document / ( Permanent) Residency Document etc.
- A PASSPORT Number is very important if you have an Alternate ID.
- A recently certified copy of your highest qualification
- If you speak a language other than ENGLISH and AFRIKAANS or the other 9 official languages of South Africa, you are required to hand in proof of fluency for the relevant language/s. A letter from an official body such as a university or embassy shall suffice.
For your convenience please deposit the required amount directly into the account of Tourist Guide Institute. See the bank account details on registration form.
If payment has been made via EFT or bank deposit then the deposit slip and completed registration form must be emailed to the office. See details on the Registration Form.
First Aid Training:
It is a prerequisite to obtain a basic First Aid Certificate to qualify for registration as a tourist guide.
It can be done through any accredited First Aid Training Institution e.g. St. Johns Ambulance; Frontline Emergency Care, Edumed or Dynamikos Training Network. The contact details are available under the First Aid page of this website.
Or download registration form here.
Phase Two
After qualifying to be registered as a local Cape Town and Environments tourist guide, the tourist guide can apply for the information on the below areas. These notes cover the five sites that make up the Western Cape Province tours.
- Garden Route
- Klein Karoo &Great Karoo
- Olifants River Valley
- Port Elizabeth and environs
- Namaqualand
If this exam is done within a month of doing the course, the exam cost is included in the initial course cost with just R250 for the manual. If this phase is done at a later stage, the study material is available from our office at a cost of R850 (The examination cost is included).
Phase Three
After registration guides can extend their area of operation by self-study of other provinces. Once the candidate is ready, the knowledge of the Site (province) is tested in an examination paper set by the Tourist Guide Institute. The Tourist Guide Institute has been accredited to evaluate tourist guides (for all areas) who want to qualify for additional areas.
Eastern Cape Province
Free State Province
Gauteng Province
Kwa Zulu Natal Province
Limpopo Province
Mpumalanga Province
Northern Cape Province
Western Cape Province (for those who trained as guides in other provinces)
Once a tourist guide feels that he/she is ready to be tested on an additional site/region/province an appointment is made with TGI for an online written exam. If successful TGI will issue him/her with a certificate for the new qualification. The cost for these exams are R600.00 per site/region/province.
Guiding nationally
To qualify as a ‘National Tourist Guide’, a candidate needs to have completed the 134+ credit, National Certificate: Tourism: Guiding. However, if you completed the 34 credit Skills Programme then you can still qualify for all provinces and guide nationally. A candidate has to (after completing Phase 2) also complete Phase 3 for all the regions/sites/provinces.