Tourist guide competition, the Regional Administrative Court upholds an association's appeal. But the ministry goes ahead

The already long road to the first national competition for tourist guides is getting bumpy: the Lazio Regional Administrative Court has upheld an association's appeal against the decree law that implemented the reform and the consequent announcement, setting a hearing on the merits for 14 October. But the Ministry of Tourism is going ahead: the examination procedures for the qualification of new tourist guides are going ahead and the tests - as was already planned - could be held by the end of July. The call for applications to take part in the qualification examination had closed with just under 30 thousand applications, a number significantly higher than predicted on the eve of the exam.

The National Tourist Guide Association had filed an appeal against the Ministry of Tourism's decree (number 88 of 26 June 2024) implementing the new Discipline of the Tourist Guide Profession (the law had been approved in December 2023). It had done the same when the ministry led by Daniela Santanchè had presented the announcement.

Three objections were raised: the absence of a compulsory specialisation in the territory within which the guide declares that he or she wishes to mainly carry out his or her activity; the absence of a representative of the guides during the conduct of the examinations; a required level of knowledge of the foreign language (B2) deemed too low to guarantee an adequate service to the user.

The Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (order no. 2623 of 15 May 2025) accepted the association's petitions and set the hearing to hear the appeal for 14 October. The ministry must 'refrain from taking any action that might prejudice Angt's claims before this hearing, i.e. authorising new guides on the basis of the contested notice,' stresses president Anna Bigai.

The Ministry of Tourism thinks otherwise and makes it known that the administrative judges' decision has no effect on the enforceability of the competition for tourist guides. So the procedures go ahead.