Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1283588
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 AUGUST 2020 Glenda Cooper is Senior Lecturer In Journalism, City University of London Maria Rosner is a council member Malta Union of Tourist Guides OPINION Maria Rosner Tourist guides need protecting from unlicensed 'walk-throughs' he mused, "does this go from 'CNN's Excellent Haiti Cover- age' to 'CNN's Excellent Haiti Adventure?'" But journalism that over-in- vests in emotion can equally fail to show the full picture – distance can be necessary in migration stories which have complex and overlapping nar- ratives. The Ethical Journalism Network's five-point plan on migration reporting is key. It warns against over-simplifi- cation, acting independently from narratives that stem from politics or emotion and ensur- ing migrant voices are heard. The IFRC's Code of Conduct for covering humanitarian dis- asters also states that disaster victims should be treated as "dignified human beings not hopeless objects". For even those with the best of intentions can end up mak- ing the situation worse. The 2017 documentary Another News Story directed by Orban Wallace about the Syrian ref- ugee crisis should be required watching for anyone wanting to cover asylum issues. Wal- lace turns the cameras on the hacks themselves, who often act honourably. But it's hard not to cringe when people stumble off a raft onto a Greek island only to have a camera shoved in their faces before be- ing offered food or water. Which brings us back to the coverage of small boats in the channel. Despite the pile-on on the individual journalists on Twitter, if you actually listen to what they say in their broad- casts, they are clear about the risks people are taking, and the perils those in the dinghies face. They also state that they have alerted coastguards to en- sure rescue is possible. But the choice to chase the dinghies live on air reduces the reporting to a spectacle, with the visuals overwhelming any carefully chosen words. It's not that the story shouldn't be cov- ered, or that those making the journey to the UK shouldn't be interviewed – but tone and feel are crucial. Otherwise, any complexity or examination of the politicians' rhetoric gets sunk in the rush for the first interview from an overcrowded boat. LIKE everyone who depends on the tourism industry in this time of COVID-19, tourist guides have been very serious- ly affected, and the majority of us have not worked since Feb- ruary. Fortunately, we were eligible for the government COVID support scheme, but for those of us with no other source of in- come, and rents or loans to pay, and children to pay for, it only goes so far. In any case, it can- not continue indefinitely. Very cautiously, a few guides have started to work again with small groups, as well as with one cruise ship which has recently returned. Guides are happy to cooperate and adhere strictly with the guidelines issued by the relevant authorities. Apart from the current ep- idemic, working as a tourist guide, while rewarding, is also extremely challenging. It is sea- sonal work. We are very busy from about March/April to July, less busy in August, busy again in September and October, tail- ing off in November. Many of us have very little work in the winter months. Most guides are self-employed, so we do not earn a fixed wage and need to make up for low earnings in winter by working extra hard in the busy months. We are em- ployed by different agencies, by the MTA, by foreign agen- cies looking for a private guide for their clients, by adding our name to online platforms, and so on. We are a group of highly trained individuals who have studied to earn the licence which gives us the right to work as tourist guides. In recent years, the only way to obtain the licence was by following a two- year full-time, or a three-year part-time course at the Institute of Tourism Studies. In common with a number of EU countries, tourist guiding is regulated in Malta, and therefore, strictly speaking, it is only guides who are in possession of the Maltese licence who are allowed to do so. Licensed guides can guide all over Malta and Gozo, including the so-called 'designated areas', which include: all museums, all places of worship, prehistoric sites, all fortifications, Calypso's Cave and Dwejra, and all walled cities. However, the current law al- lows so-called 'walk-throughs' permitting an unlicenced group leader to direct a group from the coach to a specific destina- tion, but without the right to 'guide' along the way. The distinction between 'walking-through' and 'guid- ing' is somewhat vague and not always easy to identify, and unsurprisingly, this has led to abuse. More recently, other new forms of 'guiding-in-all-but- name' have emerged: open- deck buses with recorded com- mentaries, tourist 'trains' with audio, Tuk-Tuks driving small groups of people all over Gozo, including the designated areas, with an unqualified individual "pointing out" the sites; taxis, with drivers contacted by ho- tel concierges, who drive cli- ents around the island showing them places of interest; tours by unqualified persons advertised on social media; so-called 'free' tours', where you are very po- litely asked if you might consid- er leaving a donation at the end of the experience. All these activities share two essential characteristics: they involve an element of guiding (to a greater or lesser extent de- pending on the type of activity), and they evade the requirement of employing licenced guides. Naturally, qualified guides are worried that their hard-earned right to provide a necessary and high-quality service is being steadily eroded. The legality of these activities is harder to pinpoint than might be imagined. The MUTG (Mal- ta Union of Tourist Guides), has had a number of meetings with the MTA to discuss details of the new draft Tourism Law, or at least that part of it which is concerned with updating regulations for tourist guides. In this ever-changing scenario, distinctions are necessary to delimit the range of situations where it is reasonable and cor- rect for a group of visitors to be "led" by anything less than a ful- ly qualified tourist guide. Even when illegalities are clear, they are difficult to en- force, especially as there are not enough enforcement officers to keep up with the different kinds of infringements falling under the remit of the MTA. Here too, discussions are taking place be- tween MTA and the MUTG to find a better way to keep track of illegal guiding. Tourist guides are often re- ferred to as the ambassadors of a country, as sometimes the only real contact a visitor has with a local, is with their tourist guide. The fully licensed tour- ist guide is not only trained to describe the history and culture of Malta and Gozo, but to do so in different languages, with pas- sion, enthusiasm and humour, and adapting to the different nationalities, ages and audienc- es who might be in their group. Links and connections are made with the countries rep- resented in a group, and sub- jects range from the origin and special character of our moth- er tongue, to our religion, our food, to our folklore and super- stitions, to our agriculture, our love of football, our festi and fireworks... in short, to what makes us Maltese. No audio guide, and no un- trained guide, whether Maltese or otherwise, could ever give the foreign visitor such a com- plete and well-rounded picture. Licensed tourist guides deliver a quality experience which will leave the visitor with a won- derful memory of a wonderful place, and hopefully with a de- sire to return. It is for this reason that we need to protect our tourist guides so they can carry on de- livering such a quality experi- ence. Voyeuristic? Kevin Carter's iconic famine photograph. Kevin Carter via Wikipedia