국외여행인솔자 자격제도의 개선방안

Travel industry is an integration of human services of tourism professionals and tangible tour resources. Qualified travel workers can determine the quality of travel benefits by providing direct personal services. Moreover, they are responsible for travel administration and guidance. Article 13 of the Tourism Promotion Act regulates overseas tour conductors. The conductors, as the chief agent, provides various services from guidance to management of itinerary in order to ensure safety and convenience. However, one faces difficulties in employment and training of these conductors as the regulation pertaining to guidance is a non-mandatory law, leaving the task to the travel agency’s discretion. Thus, it is necessary to establish standards for rights and obligations of tour guides so as to ensure proper professional education and protect legal interests of travel consumers. In addition, it is essential to restructure certification exam to make sure that tour conductors have expertise and practical knowledge, and revise the existing system into a compulsory provision. This research focuses on the problem of international conductors and its improvement measures. In specific, it dives deep into the necessity of an amendment regarding training of overseas tour conductors through stable job security and legal responsibilities.