tours by local guides

Once again Wonderful... I gather you are probably a "licensed tour guide" hence the reason why you constantly badmouth about the "free tours" in these forums. That's extremely unprofessional on your side. Readers should know that those "free tours" are a LEGAL business here in Europe, and you can find them in most big cities, namely Barcelona but also Paris, London, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, etc. Most of them operate legally established businesses that pay taxes like everyone else. So providing the whole picture should allow each person to decide which service to hire.

For those that are not aware, in some markets here in Europe, there are two sorts of tour guiding businesses:

A.) Individuals who have normally (not necessarily) studied a university degree on Tourism, Arts or History, and that afterward have applied for a license from the local government to exercise as "official tour guides". The latter comprises a tough exam that, if approved, entitles the person to appear in the City Hall's guides as "official tour guide" and that, when accompanying tourists, he/she can enter the premises of PUBLIC museums/attractions serving as a guide.

B.) Individuals with knowledge and passion for the city, its history and its social fabric that decide to set up business offering tours to clients both local and foreign. Since they're not labelled as "official tour guides" by the City Hall, they cannot accompany clients (tourists) inside PUBLIC museums /attractions while serving as such. With private museums and attractions the water is a bit murky to this respect as it's up to the management of the private site.

While apparently tour guides from A.) should appear to be the ones more trustful and knowledgeable, the fact is that there are plenty of companies around (in Barcelona ie. www.runnerbeantours.com, www.discoverwalks.com, www.newbarcelona-tours.com or even Viator!) as well as many sole proprietor individuals from B.) that offer excellent services and "the proof is in (eating) the pudding", one has only to see the reviews in pages like TripAdvisor and other forums. This is not to say that most A.) guides don't offer an excellent service of course and no one is belittling the effort made by those that have invested so many years learning and preparing themselves. But this falls far from excluding the rest just because they are an "annoying competition". Fortunately, we enjoy a free market economy and providing one doesn't fall foul of the rules and laws, one is entitled to spearhead new approaches and new business models to existing practices. I don't work in the tourism industry but, as a business consultant, I feel very strongly against these unfair practices that some "regulated" professions try to exert over the rest of the market. It's totally unfair to belittle these services just because they happen to be competing with the regulated tour guides, moreover noting, as I mentioned earlier, that they DO adhere to all the legal requirements (company registration, taxes, etc.)

Having said that, as in any industry, there are also cowboys out there... I've myself, while walking by the Old Town, I have come across many times with "charlatans" touring groups of tourists (note: I have no idea whether they were official guides or not... I didn't bother to check whether they had an official pin or not a in their lapel!), so it's always advisable to search for reviews on any particular service, be from regulated official guides be from entrepreneurs, before deciding to hire them. But again, competing means finding one's strenghts, one's uniqueness and present it as an advantage... badmouthing or belittling the competition is never a good way to go.

At the end of the day, a tour guide should be like a Medieval story-teller, he/she must be knowledgeable, charming and enticing... and that's not (solely) measured by a pin on a lapel!

Who to hire?... that's entirely your choice... but have the full picture before deciding!