Overview (Who we are)
Sri Lanka Institute of National Tourist Guide Lecturers (S.L.I.N.T.G.L)
The Sri Lanka Institute of National Tourist Guide Lecturers (SLINTGL), celebrating its 53rd year in 2021, is the official organization formed in 1968 representing the National Tourist Guide Lecturers (NTGLs), who are registered and licensed under the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA – the state regulatory body for the tourism industry), after successfully completing the National Tourist Guide Lecturer course conducted by the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM).
The National Guide Lecturer profession has been established under the Ceylon Tourist Board Act No. 10 of 1966 and subsequently repealed by the Tourism Development Act of 1968. The profession was gazetted by the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 408/8 of 1986 and repealed by the Tourism Act No. 38 of 2005 and again repealed by Gazette Notification No. 2140/17 issued on 10th September 2019.
Main Objectives of the Institute
- Safeguard the professional rights of the members.
- Enhance the knowledge and skills of the members.
- Work in collaboration with other stakeholders in the tourism sector to ensure a sustainable tourism industry which benefits all Sri Lankans.
- Support state authorities to regulate the legal framework for tourism.
- Conduct workshops and training courses for personnel engaged in the tourism industry.
Inception and Profile
The initial batch who was trained as Tourist Guide Lecturers formed the Tourist Guide Lecturers Association in 1968 with 15 members who gathered at the residence of Mr. Dudley Perera, electing Mr. Ernest Munasinghe as the President and Mr. Reggie Perera as the Secretary.
The association was registered as the National Tourist Guide Lecturers Association of Sri Lanka (NTGLASL) in 1986. The first office was established in 1986 at Colombo 8. A permanent office was operated in the Taj Samudra Hotel complex from 1987 to 1995. In 1995, a building was purchased at No. 37/35 , Temple road, Colombo 10 where the construction of the present four storied headquarters commenced in 2007 and completed in 2009.
At present the institute has 1600 members speaking 24 different languages engaged in professional tour guiding in Sri Lanka. The institute is a full member of the World federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA – Member of UNWTO) which is the international federation representing official tourist guides.
The institute is actively involved with state and private sector stakeholders and academic institutes to develop an ethically sustainable tourism industry.