After a gap of eight years, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is gearing up to conduct a guide training programme for guides from across the state. In the last training progamme conducted in 2005, 30 aspirants had participated of which 23 could clear the exams.

There are around 250 authorised tourist guides in the state, including 159 in Mumbai, 76 in Aurangabad (including 10 guides of the Archaeological Survey of India) and 10 in Pune.

Taking serious note of the small number of tourist guides in the state, MTDC headquarters in Mumbai has already begun work in the direction and the process for sketching out training modules has started.

MTDC director Jagdish Patil said, "There is a scarcity of professional and certified guides in the state. We are soon going to conduct a certificate course for guides for which the module is being prepared. The last time we conducted the training programme was around eight years back."

He also said although the MTDC is not the authority to conduct professional training for guides, it will nonetheless prepare a training module and conduct the training programme in accordance to the guidelines of India Tourism, a competent authority for conducting professional training for guides.

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