The professional association of Tourist Guides in Romania

10 Things To Know About ProGuide - The professional association of Tourist Guides in ROMANIA

1. What year was the ProGuide Association established, and where is the headquarters?

Our association was established in 2019, with headquarters at: 5 Crinului, jud. Bihor, postal code: 410078, Romania.


Old City centre, Brasov © Manuel Munteanu

2. What is the primary mission/goal of the ProGuide Association?

First and foremost we are very much concerned about the status of the profession in our country and in Europe along with good training for Romanian TG's. Tourist Guiding is a partly regulated profession in Romania. We look forward to having a liberal profession, this is one of our goals.

We have already initiated cooperation with Destination Management Organisations all over Romania. We intend to continue to get involved in activities regarding the promotion and representation of guiding in our country.

ProGuide is a member of the European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (FEG) and World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations ( WFTGA)

ProGuide is also cooperating with neighbouring countries guides´ associations.

3. What is the process to become a qualified tourist guide in Romania.

In order to become a Local Qualified Tourist Guide in Romania, candidates have to attend a 7 month course. At the end of course, there is a written exam. Successful candidates are examined in practical aspects of guiding by the official commission.

The candidates can then continue with a further 2 months training in order to become a National Tourist Guide in Romania.

The training is organised upon request though usually takes place once a year in autumn.

4. Once qualified, how do tourist guides in Romania maintain their qualification? Also, is there an official badge that qualified tourist guides in Romania wear?

The status is that Tourist Guides in Romania, once qualified they need no further exams. The official badge is issued by the Ministry of Economy, the ministry responsible for tourism currently.

The badge below if is the most up-to-date version.





There are other older but still valid versions too such as:



5. How many qualified tourist guides are members of the association ProGuide and tell us about their diverse backgrounds?

There are approximately 700 active tourist guides in Romania at the moment. The ProGuide membership is about half of that and growing. Today our association counts 321 qualified tourist guides as members.

It is difficult to have exact statistics. In a ProGuide recent surveywe found that: 63% of our members have Tourist guiding as their main profession, 32% count guiding as a second occupation and 5% are retired from other professions and using guiding as a second profession.

Our guides have varied backgrounds and as mentioned 32% of them are also occupied in another profession. This diversity enables them to offer not only mainstream but also highly specialized tours.

Our members speak a variety of languages including English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Turkish, Hebrew, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Dutch to name just a few.

6. What are some of the professional development classes offered to members of the association ProGuide?

Our tourist guides have access to FEG & WFTGA development training: Culinary tourist guide, T-Guide and much more. In 2020 ProGuide members participated in a continuous professional development (CPD) workshop on the subject of “Public Speaking”.

ProGuide is a new tourist guide association and we are still finding our feet. As ProGuide continues to grow and gather momentum we intend to develop several CPD programmes for our members.


Cycling at Balea Lake © Manuel Munteanu

7. What are some of the top reasons for using a qualified tourist guide in Romania?

Qualified Tourist Guides are local people, who live and work in Romania. As a result, they have in-depth knowledge of the heritage and customs of the country. Being local means they have up-to-date information on everyday life and can confidently explain the characteristics of the country to visitors in the language of their choice.

Guiding without a license is illegal in Romania and there are financial penalties for doing so.

8. What are some of the popular places to visit in Romania?

Romania has impressive history and heritage to offer to visitors. For those interested in art and religious tourism the painted monasteries in Bucovina and the Saxon churches of Transylvania are unique. A visit to Maramures region is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; visitors say it’s like walking into a fairy tale. For lovers of history and gothic stories, the Peles castle and the Bran castle, the infamous castle of Count Dracula, are breath-taking.


Visit to Bran Castle © Adrian Trasca

Romania has not only heritage and architecture on offer. The landscape is extremely varied with numerous fast flowing rivers, canyons, lakes and mountain ranges to explore. The Danube Delta and the spectacular Transfăgărăsan road are only two of the must-see landscapes.

Culinary tours are a great way to experience local life. Romanian cuisine is a mixture of its multi-layered history and with each region come different aromas and tastes.

ProGuide tourist guides have the knowledge and expertise to make tailor-made suggestions to visitors, to get the best out of the visit.

Take your time and be patient: YOU HAVE A LOT TO SEE, TASTE EXPERIENCE AND ENJOY.

9. What are some general tips you would give to potential visitors planning a vacation to Romania?

Romania is a secure, original, exquisite and authentic country offering excellent value for money.

Take enough time to explore. Romania is a big country; each region has its own sense of place and traditions to experience.

Hiring one of our certified tourist guides will help make your memories unforgettable.

10. Where can potential visitors to Romania find out more information about the ProGuide association and also find a qualified tourist guide?

For a full list of guides go to www.pro-guide.eu.

You can also communicate with us and our members via Facebook. The Facebook page @ProGuide Romania is an interface for messages and guiding requests. I

If you do not have a Facebook page, please send us an e-mail at: info@pro-guide.eu or proguide.romania@gmail.com.

Parts of our website are still under construction.