DEDAT Categories

Guide Categories and Specialisation

South Africa has many opportunities for tourists to experience a diverse filed of attractions and this requires various areas of specialisation:

There are 3 categories of tourist guides

Those guides accredited to work at a particular site. A site is a limited geographical area such as a game farm, museum of a defined region such as Cape Point, The Castle of Goodhope or Robben Island.

Those accredited to work in a region. In most cases a region coincides with the political boundaries ofthe various provinces. It can also be biome. The biome as a region is very common for Nature Guides. A biome is an area such as the Savannah or the Cape Floral Kingdom (Fynbos)

Those accredited to work nationally. Only National guides have no restriction on their movements. They can work across and anywhere is South Africa.

Within these categories there are further areas of guide specialisation

• Adventure guides
• Trail guides may carry a rifle and take tourist in an area where there are potentially dangerous animals
• Specialist interest such as birds, wine, culture, nature

It must be noted that not all these specialist guides can register their specialisations with the Registrar of Tour Guides. In the cases where this cannot be done, these guides need to register as general Nature and Culture Guides. It is a legal requirement that all guides must be registered with the Department of Economic Affairs and Tourism (DEAT)