Montreal's Plan to Eliminate Tour Guide Licensing Sparks Concerns Over Tour Quality

The City of Montreal's plan to drop the licensing requirement for tour guides is raising concerns within the industry about the potential impact on the quality and accuracy of city tours.

Sandrine Trudel-Laurendeau said she studied hundreds of hours to get her tour guide license and lead tourists around town.

"It's a knowledge that has been passed from generations to generations. And it would be sad to just end it all like that without really thinking about all the impacts," Trudel-Laurendeau said in an interview.

Montreal is one of the few remaining cities in North America that requires a license.

A 240-hour mandatory course at the ITHQ, a hotel, tourism and restaurant school in Montreal, is required for certification. The course costs around $2,000.

"They get a very interesting and proper knowledge of Montreal history, culture, architecture. And they also have many interesting stories they can always add," said Frederik Nissen, the co-founder of Local Montreal Food Tours.

Thom Seivewright has been a tour guide since 2016.

"If you book a certified Montreal tour guide, you are guaranteed a certain level of quality as well as knowledge."

If the licensing requirements change, there are concerns tourists may not learn proper facts about Montreal's iconic landmarks.

But Seivewright said it's already happening because the city has not done anything to stop illegal guides.

"It's kind of like wasted money if the city is not going to do their end and actually control whether or not people are guiding with this permit," he said.

The city said it is studying the regulations and will take the time to make necessary adjustments and work with various partners.

The tour guide association, ITHQ, Tourism Montreal and tour guide agencies said they are coming up with alternate proposals for the city and will present them in the coming weeks.