Certification Authority

of Tourist Guides

certification authority

of tourist guides

Azerbaijan Tourism Board has established the Certification Authority of Tourist Guides (CATG) in order to implement a unified certification process for tourist guides in the Republic of Azerbaijan. CATG's activity in this direction fulfils the requirements of the National Accreditation System and meets the requirements of the ISO/IEC 17024 – 2012 standard.

Requirements to apply for certification:

  • At least 2 (two) years of work experience as a tourist guide
  • Higher education degree

Required knowledge and skills:

  • Physical conditions for long periods of walking and standing, and modulated voice to be clearly heard by guests
  • Time management and organizational skills
  • Good verbal expression and presentation skills
  • Ability to comply with the safety norms established within the tour
  • General knowledge and ability to communicate effectively with visitors from diverse backgrounds
  • Teamwork skills
  • Team management skills

Theoretical and practical knowledge of subjects:

  • History of Azerbaijan
  • Geography of Azerbaijan
  • Ethnography
  • Culture and art
  • Archaeology base knowledge
  • Basics of tourism
  • Technical vocational knowledge of the tourist guide
  • Theological knowledge
  • Economics of tourism
  • Tourism legislation
  • Psychology and body language
  • First aid
  • Map reading and direction finding

Topics and sources

Tourist destinations:

Baku and Absheron Peninsula territory

evaluation process

Dear Guides,

The certification process includes the evaluation of the guide's theoretical and practical knowledge and the issuing of a tourist guide badge (certificate).

TGCA sends the date, address, and other required information about the exam to the candidate. Thus, the candidate evaluation process begins.

The assessment process consists of 2 stages.

1st stage: Verbal evaluation - This stage is conducted in the form of a verbal interview by 3 members of the Evaluation Commission. The candidate first takes a verbal exam to check the foreign language (guides with a foreign language other than English and Russian). This competition is held for 20 minutes and the expert mainly checks whether the candidate's speaking level in a foreign language is sufficient. The knowledge of foreign languages is evaluated by 2 members of the Evaluation Commission from among the guides who speak English and Russian, based on their knowledge of the relevant language (English / Russian) in that language (knowledge of guiding terminology, etc.) and in Azerbaijani. Then the candidate chooses 1 of the tickets prepared based on literature sources and topics presented to him in advance (The candidate has the opportunity to change the ticket once, which means that 1 point is deducted from his total score). Each ticket consists of 5 open questions and the candidate is given 30 minutes for preparation. Each question is evaluated with 1-5 points. A candidate who has scored at least 17 points is considered to have successfully completed the first stage of the assessment.

2nd stage: Practical assessment - In this stage, guided by 1 expert of the Evaluation Commission, the candidate's guiding technique is checked on a bus/walk tour or indoor tour (museum, gallery, etc.). The candidate is given 15 minutes for the walking tour, 10 minutes for the bus tour, or 15 minutes for the indoor tour. The evaluation is evaluated by the member of the Commission leading the tour with 1-5 points. A candidate who has scored at least 48 points is considered to have successfully completed the II assessment stage.

A tourist guide badge (certificate) is presented by the tourism guide certification body of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board to the candidate who successfully passes both stages.

GOOD LUCK...

application form

frequently asked questions

600 AZN including VAT
If the certification is successfully evaluated, it will be issued within 14 working days.
For 3 years.
You will be notified by e-mail or phone within 7 working days.
Processing of the certificate application is within 5 working days.
If you have 2 years of experience as a tourist guide, you can apply.

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