Hello world! Greetings from the youngest country in Europe, KOSOVO!

GUIDEKS, is the Association of Tourist Guides of Kosovo and represents the umbrella organization of all tourist guides in our country, that of cultural and natural profile. GUIDEKS is the first membership organization of its kind in Kosovo and has a wide range of membership in many municipalities with currently 150 members. GUIDEKS is also the only national representative from Kosovo in FEG (European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations) and WFTGA (World Federation of Tourist Guides Associations.)

Our mission is promotion of Kosovo as a tourist destination through qualified tourist guides, including the promotion of our cultural and natural heritage as indivisible resources for tourism development.

TOURIST GUIDE, by the European and international norms is defined as a “Person who guides visitors in the language of their choice and interprets the cultural and natural heritage of an area, which person normally possesses an area-specific qualification usually issued and/or recognised by the appropriate authorities”.

THE IDEA AND INITIATIVE OF GUIDEKS

As an initiative, GUIDEKS dates from July 2018, through the PPSE Program Swisscontact/GearsUp Solutions training organized for tourist guides in Kosovo. From this training 12 tourist guides were certified, while 8 of them initiated the establishment of the Kosovo Tourist Guides Association GUIDEKS. The initiating group consisted of: Artë Prebreza, Enes Toska, Erdis Driza, Orhan Ramadani, Rudina Lila, Shqipe Mula, Visar Haxhifazliu and Visar Ukallo.

One of the main reasons for the establishment of GUIDEKS was that in 2018 the profession of tourist guide was not treated as a profession since the tourism law did not address at all the needs of this specific professional community.  Moreover, in Kosovo there was no such organization that represented the interests of the guide community, towards institutions or local and international tour operators. With its proactive work and lobbying through these years, and with the approval of the new tourism law in 2022, the profession of tourist guides has now begun to be treated more seriously by Kosovo institutions.

The Founding Statute of the GUIDEKS was approved by a unanimous decision of the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on October 10, 2018. For the Statute and all other official documents can be found in below section.

On February 10, 2019, the first Annual General Assembly (AGM) of GUIDEKS was organized. First Chairwoman of the Assembly of Members was elected Artë Prebreza, while the first Executive Director of the organization was elected Enes Toska.

MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE OF GUIDEKS

The Assembly of Members is the highest governing body of the organization.

Naile Çekaj is the Chairwoman of the Assembly of the organization while the Executive Board (ExBo) is consisted from the following members: Enes Toska (Chairman), Rudina Lila, Shqipe Mula, Fitim Bunjaku and Taulant Hoxha. The Chairwoman and the ExBo were elected at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held in March 2022.

Muhamer Hasani is the Executive Director of the organization appointed by unanimous decision of the EGM held in April 2022. With the Regulation in force, the Executive Director is also member of  ExBo.

MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION

GUIDEKS is a membership organization and is founded in accordance with the Law Nr. 04/L-57 on Freedom of Association in Non-Governmental Organizations in the Republic of Kosovo.

Membership in GUIDEKS is open to any person regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, association with any community, property, economic, social status, sexual orientation, birth, disability or any other personal status.

Existing and future members of the organization shall accept all obligations of its Membership Regulation including obligations arising from:
– The Statute of the organization and are committed to fulfilling the goals and mission of the organization; as well as
– The Code of Ethics of tourist guides of GUIDEKS membership.

Depending on their will and professional background, members of GUIDEKS can choose among these membership categories:
1. Full member – national guide
2. Full member – local guide
3. Full member
4. Ordinary member

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS AND APPLICABLE REGULATIONS OF GUIDEKS

1. 1. Registration Certificate
   2. Statute of the organization – English Albanian (original)
   3. Membership List (last updated March 2025)
   4. Regulation on Membership (Obligations and Benefits)
   5. Membership Application Form (Online)
   6. Code of Ethics of GUIDEKS tourist guides
   7. Regulation on the Chairman of the Assembly, Board and Executive Director

 

ACTIVITIES

– Kosovo tourism promotion through professional guides.

– Providing training for national and local guides in Kosovo

– Promotion of Kosovo as a tourist destination through various forms of communication;

– Promotion of natural heritage and environmental protection in Kosovo;

– Promoting the protection of heritage and cultural diversity in Kosovo;

– Promotion of professional capacities possessed by the membership;

– Promoting the profession of guide to the younger generations;

– Organizing various promotional activities such as symposia and conferences;

– Continuous increase of professional capacities for guides through various forms of education / training;

– Assistance and consultancy for national and international tour operators;

– Exchange of professional experiences between guides in Kosovo;

– Exchange of professional experiences between associations and guides in the region and the world;

– Membership in other regional and / or international associations / organizations;

– Various thematic research in function of the tourism sector and other topics that are related to tourism;

– Advocacy for market regulation and protection of the guiding profession in Kosovo;

– Cooperation with central and local institutions and other strategic national and international partners in the field of tourism;