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

Përshëndetje / Zdravo / Merhabalar! (Albanian/Serbian-Bosnian/Turkish)

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 more than 120 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”.

INITIATIVE AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION

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.

The Statute of the organization was approved by a unanimous decision of the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on October 10, 2018. For the statute in the original version in Albanian check Statuti GUIDEKS  and in the English language version check  Statute GUIDEKS ENG

The organization is officially registered as a membership association at the end of 2018. For the registration certificate click here.

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.

EXISTING MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION

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

Actually, Muhamer Hasani is the Executive Director of the organization appointed by unanimous decision of the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on April 2022.

Naile Çekaj is the Chairwoman of the Assembly of the organization while the Executive Board is consisted from the following members: Enes Toska (Chairman), Rudina Lila, Shqipe Mula, Fitim Bunjaku and Taulant Hoxha.

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.

In Kosovo, public and private institutions do not offer any regular / official curriculum for the certification of tourist guides, but only in certain periods and are delivered mainly from international and/or local organizations. For this purpose, GUIDEKS applies a public call for membership and in the organization guides who have experience but also enthusiasts of tourism who want to become guides in the future have the right to become members. Members can belong to different categories of membership.

For the complete list of members of our organization, check the LIST HERE (Apr 2024).

To apply for membership, continue to the dedicated section HERE. 

MISSION AND ACTIVITIES

– Kosovo tourism promotion through professional guides.

– 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 driving profession in Kosovo;

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