Ο καθηγητής αρχαίας ελληνικής ιστορίας στο Πανεπιστήμιο της North Carolina, USA, κ. W.J. McCoy, αναρωτιέται -μεταξύ άλλων- σε επιστολή του εάν θα διαχωρίζονται με κάποιον τρόπο οι αδειοδοτούμενοι ξεναγοί με το νέο σύστημα από τους παλιούς και εάν θα φέρουν διαφορετική σήμανση αδείας.
Για πολλοστή φορά, το traveldailynews.gr γίνεται αποδέκτης παραπόνων και διαμαρτυριών από το εξωτερικό, σχετικά με τις αλλαγές στο σύστημα αδειοδότησης των ξεναγών στην Ελλάδα. Αυτή τη φορά, ο καθηγητής W.J. McCoy από το Πανεπιστήμιο της North Carolina, USA, απέστειλε επιστολή (προς κάθε υπεύθυνο, όπως αναφέρει ο ίδιος), τονίζοντας ότι “θυσιάζεται η ποιότητα και η ακεραιότητα του επιτυχούς συστήματος αξιολόγησης/αδειοδότησης των ξεναγών”.
Παραθέτουμε αυτούσια την επιστολή:
To whom it may concern:
As a professor of ancient Greek history at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 40+ years, I was the recipient of an annual license (from 1981-2010) by the Greek Ministries of Culture and Tourism to teach a university-credited, 4-6 week summer program in Greece that entailed visits to 50+ archaeological sites and museums, both mainland and island (with different agendas each year). Despite this license and my USA education and teaching credentials (degrees from Cornell, Brown and Yale Universities; a UNC-CH professorship in history and adjunct professorships in Latin and Greek and the Curriculum of Peace, War and Defense, specializing in ancient Greek military), I quickly came to realize the enormous value of hiring professional ‘Greek’ guides, who buoyed my program to new heights and embellished the overall learning experience both for my students and me.I can also say the same for the many well-traveled adults who continue to accompany me to Greece in separate two-week excursions. All the Greek guides with whom I’ve had the pleasure to associate were trained the ‘old-fashioned’, ‘two and a half year’ way with the result that they were able to bring to the table a keener and more seasoned awareness of history, archaeology, and culture. This, together with an intense love of country, a zest to keep current with archaeological excavations and excavators, an intimacy with local landscapes, and an ability to communicate with strangers in the ‘language of strangers’, is a combination Greece should be proud of and eager to protect!
The following web article of 26 February 2014 has recently come to my attention.
In blunt terms it states that the traditional, comprehensive training program for Greek guides has been abandoned in favor of a fast track substitute that changes “sows’ ears into silk purses” within a two month time frame and that any citizen of a European Union country holding a university degree in archaeology and history can become a Greek tour guide almost overnight by paying ‘crash course’ expenses and passing an examination (in Greek). This is an absolute travesty. I personally know many professional archaeologists and historians of national and international reputation (some of whom have worked closely with me on Greek soil) who could not and would not lead a group of tourists around the corner. To presuppose that recent university graduates, especially those who are not Greeks, can effectively manage the challenges of Greek tourism in a responsible, effective, and efficient fashion in the wake of such meteoric and artificial training is a pipe-dream. And then to confer upon these tyros a license of lifetime validity makes mockery of a justifiable system of annual renewal and at the same time devaluates the corps of veteran guides who were legitimately obligated to work long and hard in the classroom and accompanying field trips. Indeed, it is a sad and unforgivable commentary whereby you have victimized and in effect cast off the very people who have helped to sustain the Greek tourism industry through the years.
This is not the first time I have reacted to this situation. In December 2012, I wrote a letter to the government in Athens when the issue first raised its ugly head. I was upset then; I am appalled now. Not only have you sacrificed the quality and the integrity of the once-standard and successful guide qualification system, but you have sold your country to ‘outsiders’ and in the process jeopardized the very essence and probity of ‘Greeks talking about Greece to non-Greeks’ to say nothing of the potential employment of hundreds of extraordinarily capable native professionals. You pride yourself that tourism is the only industry that has sustained the recent buffeting of economic austerity, yet you have now sold this product to outside interests and greedy travel agencies who care nothing for its quality or integrity.
Since this seems to be the grim reality of the present and future, how does one avoid these ‘fast track’ pseudo-guides? Will there be a master list distinguishing them from the veterans of the old system? Will they wear different license identifications? Or will the overwhelming numbers of Greek tourists be inadvertently subject to their inadequacies owing to the whims and machinations of in-country and out-of-country travel agencies whose bottom line will continue to be ‘profit margin’? Whatever, it is a no-win situation for Greece. You have created your own monster and in the end will pay a horrible price for your short-sightedness, for all too many tourists, including Americans, will leave your country misinformed, cheated, dissatisfied, and unlikely to return or even recommend Greece as a vacation destination.
You have time to right a grievous wrong and reconsider a self-destructive path. The legislators and policy-makers of Greece should be made of sterner and more patriotic stuff.
Yours sincerely,
W.J. McCoy
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Η Βίκυ είναι συνιδρυτής της Travel Media Applications και υπεύθυνη για την αρχισυνταξία των TravelDailyNews Greece & Cyprus και TravelDailyNews International.
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