2. Guides on a Crossroad: Between Deregulation and Entrepreneurship

Working conditions for certified guides in Copenhagen are undergoing a rapid transformation, due to deregulation, disruption from tips-only based tour guides, and the influx of the so-called “guide lights”. The development is fuelled by a fast-paced growth in tourism, which at the same time operates with slim profit margins. Hard fought for rights are lost, and now more than ever the certified guides have to adjust to still more precarious working conditions, while they balance their role as knowledge entrepreneurs, creating and shaping their own work. This chapter explores how certified guides, their union The Association of Authorized Tourist Guides and their education The Tourist Guide Diploma Programme are being transformed in the wake of the fourth industrial revolution.