The City of Montreal will look into the proliferation of false, uncertified tourist guides who offer guided tours to visitors in the streets of the metropolis.
“I was questioned very recently by the association of tourist guides on the fact that there was an issue in Montreal on this subject, and I am meeting with them next Monday,” said the head of economic development at the executive committee, Luc Rabouin, Monday evening during the municipal council meeting.
“We are going to discuss the actions that we can put in place for the next summer season and in the longer term. »
La Presse revealed in a report published on Sunday that many guides who do not have the required training offer their services to tourists who want to discover Montreal. This deficient training means that false information is transmitted to visitors, or that guides cannot answer questions.
Rabouin noted that legitimate agencies struggled to recruit certified guides, due to labor shortages. The Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ), responsible for providing training to future guides, is also short of recruits and has not been able to train a new cohort this year, he said.
He specifies that neither the City nor Tourisme Montréal have received complaints about incompetent guides. “But the quality of the experience offered to tourists is important, especially as visitors are now back,” he said.