Almost 17,000 aspiring tourist guides had registered for the national qualification exam (the second after last year’s) scheduled yesterday in five cities: in the two written exam sessions planned for the day, 8,346 faced the tests, with an attendance rate of just under 50%.
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Attendance in the five cities
The five exam locations were Caserta (4,353 expected participants and 1,883 attendees with 43% attendance), Rome (5,556 expected participants and 3,132 attendees with 56% attendance), Milan (4,716 expected participants and 2,258 attendees with 48% attendance), Catania (1,783 expected participants and 839 attendees with 47% attendance) and Cagliari (444 expected participants and 234 attendees with 53% attendance).
Non-notional tests
«The procedure, simplified and rationalized compared to the previous edition – underlines the Ministry of Tourism, which organizes the selection with the support of Formez PA -, included non-notional tests, aimed at verifying basic knowledge of the main Italian tourist sites, with the elimination of penalties for incorrect answers. The objective is to meet the needs of sector operators, who for years have reported a shortage of certified tourist guides, also in order to more effectively combat illegal activity». The tourist guides registered in the single list introduced in 2023 with the sector reform are approximately 14,000. In 2025, tourist presences in Italy were 476.9 million (+4.3% compared to 2024).
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The calendar of oral exams
Monday, June 8, the calendars for the oral exams and technical-practical tests will be published, which will start by the end of June. «Excellent news. Keep it up» is the comment of the Minister of Tourism Gianmarco Mazzi. In the first call for tourist guide exams, just over 12,000 people participated. 222 obtained the qualification.
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