Regulations on Excursion Activities in Lviv

1. General Provisions

1.1. The purpose of these Regulations is to ensure provision of quality tourist guiding services for tourist groups and tourists travelling individually with guides/interpreters, guides, and other tourist guiding specialists in the city of Lviv. The Regulations aim to protect the interests of the state and the rights of the consumers of excursion activities as well as to ensure quality and safety of services provided to tourists in our city.

1.2. These Regulations set out the organizational, qualification, and technological requirements as well as supervision functions related to the organization of excursion services in the city of Lviv.

1.3. These Regulations apply to legal and natural persons, residents and non-residents of Ukraine acting as tourist guiding specialists, with the exception of employees of places of visit whose activities are related to provision of excursions services, and citizens acting as consumers of such services.

1.4. Definition of terms used in these Regulations and applicable in the city of Lviv:

Excursion Activities – activities carried out by entrepreneurs – legal and natural persons acting as tourist guiding specialists who have obtained an appropriate permit from Lviv Regional State Administration.
Excursion – a walk (drive) accompanied by a guide or a guide/interpreter along a pr-planned route with the aim of familiarizing oneself with important places of interest in the city.
Guide – a specialist who possesses information on the locality, places of interest, their history, and prominent people, and conducts the excursion.
Guide/interpreter – a specialist who possesses information on the locality, places of interest, their history, and prominent people, speaks the language of the foreign tourists (or language commonly understandable to the excursionists), and conducts the excursion.
Excursionist – a person taking part in a pedestrian or automobile excursion accompanied by a guide.
Excursion route – a pre-planned route through places of interest taken by the excursion group and accompanied by a guide’s narration.
Guide’s portfolio – a conventional name designating a collection of visual materials (photographs, reproductions of paintings, copies of documents, maps etc.) used by the guide in the course of the excursion.
Badge – a lapel badge (ID card) with a photograph worn by a guide (guide/interpreter) and valid in the city of Lviv.

2. Requirements to Excursion Activities

2.1. Excursion services in Lviv may be provided by persons who have obtained an appropriate permit from the Accreditation Commission for Issuance of Permits for Provision of Tourist Guiding Services of Lviv Regional State Administration and a state registration certificate for entrepreneurs – legal and natural persons acting as tourist guiding specialists (or natural persons who have signed an agreement with a tour operator).

2.2. Excursion services at museums, institutions and organizations may be provided by persons servicing the places of visit and holding appropriate positions. The latter may provide excursion services only at such places of visit.

2.3. Educational excursions on history, literature, Lviv studies, and other subjects for schoolchildren and students of vocational schools and higher educational institutions may be conducted by teachers of the relevant subjects as well as employees of research institutions conducting narrow-purpose scientific and educational excursions within the framework of scientific cooperation. An administrative order issued by the institution organizing the excursion serves as an official document enabling the group supervisor to conduct a scientific and educational excursion in Lviv.

2.4. After obtaining a permit issued by the Accreditation Commission of Lviv Regional State Administration and a certificate of state registration of an entrepreneur (or a signed agreement with a tour operator), the guides/interpreters, guides, and other tourist guiding specialists shall submit an application (Appendix 1 hereto) for obtaining a free-of-charge badge (Appendix 2 hereto) to the Bureau of Tourism and Recreation of the Office for Culture and Tourism of the Department of Humanitarian Policy of Lviv City Council.

Lviv City Council shall issue a badge (lapel badge) that serves the purposes of implementing a unified type of IDs for guides (guides/interpreters and other tourist guiding specialists), compiling a register of guides (guides/interpreters) who are actually involved in provision of guiding services, and supervising their activities in Lviv.

After obtaining a permit from the Accreditation Commission for Issuance of Permits for Provision of Tourist Guiding Services of Lviv Regional State Administration and a state registration certificate for entrepreneurs – legal and natural persons acting as tourist guiding specialists (or natural persons who have signed an agreement with a tour operator), the guide (guide/interpreter) shall obtain a badge with the term of validity corresponding to the issued permit at the Bureau of Tourism and Recreation of the Office for Culture and Tourism of the Department of Humanitarian Policy of Lviv City Council within three days after submitting the application.

2.5. Guides, guides/interpreters, and other tourist guiding specialists shall carry the following documents in the course of providing tourist guiding services:

- A permit for providing tourist guiding services issued by the Accreditation Commission of Lviv Regional State Administration;

- A copy of the state registration of an entrepreneur certified in accordance with the established procedure (if the guide, guide/interpreter, or other tourist guiding specialist provides the excursion services individually, he/she shall carry a certified copy of the agreement with the tour operator on provision of tourist guiding services).  

- A badge (lapel badge).

2.6. Bus and automobile excursion routes shall be planned according to the Traffic Regulations. Excursion buses and cars shall stop at locations specified in the tourist transport parking scheme.

3. Supervision over Excursion Activities

3.1. The Office of Municipal Squad of Lviv City Council shall be charged with supervision over excursion activities.

3.2. The employees of the Office of Municipal Squad shall check the legitimacy of excursion activities in Lviv in accordance with these Regulations.

The employees of the Office of Municipal Squad of Lviv City Council shall have the following scope of authority when checking the legitimacy of excursion activities carried out by guides, guides/interpreters, and other tourist guiding specialists in Lviv:

1. To check if persons providing excursion services in Lviv specified by these Regulations carry a badge.
2. To inform the person providing the excursion services about the Regulations on Excursion Activities in Lviv in effect within the city if such person does not carry a badge entitling him/her to provide excursion services.
3. To identify the person providing excursion services in Lviv in violation of these Regulations, issue a verbal warning, compile a report on the violation, and submit it to the Bureau of Tourism and Recreation of the Office for Culture and Tourism of the Department of Humanitarian Policy of Lviv City Council.

3.3. The Bureau of Tourism and Recreation of the Office for Culture and Tourism of the Department of Humanitarian Policy of Lviv City Council shall prepare a presentation on the discovered violations to be submitted to law enforcement agencies, agencies of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, executive authorities in the field of consumer rights protection etc.

Download - Application for obtaining a guide’s ID card