Essential Requirements
How to become a member of Private Guides of Europe?
To be a member of the Private Guides of Europe network there are two essential requirements: passion and dedication.
We strive for the highest quality, so the prospect must consistently achieve a 5-star rating. To determine that we make sure the reviews in various places (Google, TripAdvisor and other platforms) are excellent.
But quality does not only consist of reviews, we also expect excellent customer-service and speed of communication. Reading the reviews as well as how the prospect responds to them, we get a first idea with the manner and the personal touch she has. This dedication to excellence and a job done well will also be reflected in the behaviour within the network.
The first group of members (read the blog How it all started to learn more) have created a relationship based on a solid ground of collaboration and respect; openness and fellowship; where listening and trying to understand the other opinion is essential. Therefore this is one essential requirement we expect in all PGE members. We behave like this with each other and we behave that way towards travellers.
The exchange of experience and knowledge is the basis of our work as guides and travel experts in our countries, so any potential PGE member will show a dedication to this. We are all experts in our countries, ambassadors of our cultures and keen communicators who love to share knowledge and passion. Local culture, traditions, where to find the hidden places and how best to explore their country it is expected in every PGE member. Each one of us is always ready to help you design an unforgettable holiday in Europe. We are specialized in creating tailored made experiences to match every interest.
We believe tourism is a key to discovering new places and we know the power of tourism is huge. So we do not want to promote massive group tours as we are striving for the highest quality. We aim to balance local community life and travel experiences. Small and private will easily have a better impact in local business and will ensure for the traveller a deeper travelling experience.
About our values:
To preserve is to take care and to take care is to love; we love the places we live so much that we have chosen professions in which we can share our passion for our countries’ history, culture and traditions. We accept the sustainable tourism definition provided by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation: Sustainable tourism “…takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addresses the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities”.
When we travel, we seek to expand our world, to learn that we are many on this planet, to absorb the sublime nature, to be touched by the beauty of art, to savour the tastes of various cuisines, to feel the air in different corners of the world. As the tourism industry had grown exponentially, we think that in some aspects it had lost touch with these above points.
It is in part our responsibility to make tourism an activity that supports the local economy, helps to preserve the environment and local cultures, and maintains the well-being of local communities. As tour guides and operators, we are only a tiny part of this giant sector but there are a number of positions we can take and actions we can do in order to help design a path for the future of our sector, to be more culturally involved, ecologically minded, and responsible for the future of our planet.
As members of PGE, we promise to respect and take care of nature, honour the local cultures, support local businesses and economy, whenever and wherever we conduct business.
PGE, 2020
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