NEW MEMBERS – Join the LVTGG today!

Are you a Tour Guide, Tour Manager, or Tour Professional in the Las Vegas Area?

Join your colleagues in the premier organization for Las Vegas Tour Guides, the Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild (LVTGG)!

Who We Are
The Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild is a membership organization of  tour professionals and members of the travel and tour industry who live and work in the Las Vegas area.

Guild Members are dedicated to promoting the integrity of our profession. We strive to improve the local tour industry and ensure quality service for our clients and customers.

The Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild advocates for the advancement of the tour guide profession and tourism.  We also provide a liaison between tour guides and employers.

The Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild is a member of the National Federation of Tour Guide Associations (NFTGA).

Now is a great time to join and receive the benefits of membership in the Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild (LVTGG)!

Some of the important benefits of membership are:

  • A personal listing on our website’s Members Page, www.lvtgg.com/members. Many guides receive weekly communication from interested companies interested in step on guides; these companies will contact you directly. Foreign language guides also receive a listing on our site, here: www.lvtgg.com/members/foreign-language-guides/.
  • Annual or bi-annual Certified Professional Las Vegas Tour Guide (CPTG) training classes offered for members to increase their local and regional knowledge and professional guide skills, and attain the designation of LVTGG Certified Professional Tour Guide (see http://www.lvtgg.com/cptg/ ).
  • Knowledge & recognition gained from becoming a LVTGG Certified Professional Tour Guide.
  • Relevant gatherings, networking, educational field trips and events, often with complimentary admission to attractions and sites.
  • The Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority (LVCVA) values our professionalism and often recommends our guild website when tour guide requests come to their offices.
  • Hundreds of LVTGG brochures are distributed monthly to national & regional travel shows, through partner associations and the LVCVA Welcome Centers throughout Clark County. The information on the brochure leads the reader to visit our web site.
  • Tourism industry networking, events and conference opportunities through the LVTGG membership in the National Federation of Tourist Guides Associations-USA, Las Vegas Territory, Destination Services Association, and the World Federation of Tourist Guides Associations.
  • Interesting tidbits of regional and Vegas information from our board members, educational instructors and Facebook page stimulate timely exchange of ideas, facts and relevant material that you can pass on to your clients.
  • Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – check us out and post some pictures, comments, and useful information and area updates. Your voice and expertise can and should be part of the dialogue.

Individual Annual Membership dues are just $25 (plus a one-time $15 registration fee) and you can sign up and pay online in minutes.

Just one job or connection gained from your membership will more than pay for the small cost of membership.

Now is the right time to join the LVTGG!

Promote your skills, services, and guiding professionalism through our Members Page and your personal profile page, network with fellow guide and tourism professionals, and let your voice be heard.

Show your professionalism – join the Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild today!

Click here to join using our easy online registration and payment, it just takes a few minutes! 

Welcome aboard!

If you have any questions, please Contact Us.

WelcomeToFabulousLasVegasSign

 The best Tour Guides in Fabulous Las Vegas!

The RJ publishes a reader quiz in conjuction with the LVTGG

The RJ, Las Vegas’s daily newspaper, published an online quiz in coordination with the LVTGG entitled “Can you pass the test to become a certified Vegas tour guide?” The quiz has 15 multiple choice and true/false questions covering a range of topics that a certified Las Vegas guide would know.

We’re excited to have been asked to participate in putting together this quiz, and know it will be good fun for our members and the community. LVTGG certified guides will likely notice that, unlike the guild’s class and testing, the RJ’s quiz doesn’t have any questions relating to the practical tour guide skills a certified Las Vegas tour guide must have, such as how to manage and speak with groups, location and transportation knowledge, working with tour companies and DMCs, and much more, but it’s all in good fun so we’ll let that slide 🙂

So, have at it LVTGG members! You can take the quiz here: Can you pass the test to become a Certified Vegas Tour Guide?

If you’ve passed the LVTGG training class, we’re expecting 100% scores from you!

If you’re interested in the LVTGG’s training program, more information can be found here. The dates of the next session have not been set, but if you express your interest, we will advise when the next class dates are scheduled. Note that one must be a member of the guild to take the class, and that tour guide experience is a necessary qualification to obtaining certification from the LVTGG.

Keep on Traveling ~ the LVTGG Training Team

NSM Folies Bergere exhibit opening and LVTGG member gathering

The glamour, the glitz, feathers, rhinestones, tuxes and tiaras! You are cordially invited to join us this Saturday, June 11 from 2-5 PM to mingle with Las Vegas glitterati and fellow LVTGG members, and relive the showgirl glory days at the opening reception and panel discussion of the Nevada State Museum’s new Les Folies Bergere Exhibit.

The reception begins at 2 PM and the panel discussion ends at 4 PM. Afterwards, LVTGG members will have an informal non-hosted gathering at the Springs Cafe until 5 PM.

Please RSVP to Sander Smiles via email and print this page with the flier below for entry into the museum and reception. Hope to see you there!

NSM Folies Bergere Exhibit Opening flier June 11, 2016

MGM Resorts announces paid parking policy for locals

MGM Resorts has begun to provide information about their new paid parking policy and how locals will be affected. Many members have received the following message:

MGM Resorts Parking Policy for Locals
MGM Resorts International

MGM Resorts International is taking steps to implement a $90 million parking strategy to expand parking availability, implement technology upgrades and reduce the hassle and frustration resulting from outdated and inefficient facilities.

In order to fund these investments—and the ongoing maintenance and capital improvements of our parking facilities—we will be instituting fees for self- and valet parking. Fees will begin to roll out at our Las Vegas hotels on June 6, 2016. These rates remain significantly below those of other highly popular tourism destinations.

As a local Nevada resident, our self-parking will continue to be complimentary to you through December 29, 2016, with the presentation of a valid Nevada driver’s license.

To extend complimentary parking beyond that date, you may choose to participate in M life Rewards, the loyalty program of MGM Resorts. Once you achieve Pearl tier status, self-parking is complimentary. Gold, Platinum and NOIR M life Rewards members also receive complimentary valet parking.

All parking is subject to availability.

The environment in Las Vegas has changed dramatically in the decades since amenities like low-quality dining, lodging and free parking were offered to attract customers. Growth in tourism and our local population—including many more cars on our local roadways—requires more parking availability, more efficient, modern parking systems and more frequent maintenance and upgrades to our aging facilities—all of which come at significant cost.

We have come to this decision with a great deal of care, particularly knowing we would be breaking with Las Vegas tradition. We know this change in strategy may be difficult in the short term, but it supports our aspirations for continuing to invest in the Las Vegas community for many years to come.

Click here for a complete overview of our parking policy.

Sincerely,

Lili Tomovich
Chief Experience Officer

M life Experience
MGM Resorts International

©2016 MGM Resorts International®. All rights reserved.

MGM Resorts International
3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109

The new MGM paid parking policy will directly impact the work experience of professional guides and event staff who routinely work on the Strip at MGM Resorts properties. Gone are the days of easy coming and going from a job at one of MGM Resorts’ properties.

While we expect that this will not be the norm, at least one local employer of guides and event staff has announced that they will not reimburse MGM Resorts parking fees. What are your thoughts on this? Should step-on guides and event staff be expected to spend enough at MGM Resorts properties to reach the necessary M Life status to be able to avoid these fees, or are you ok with absorbing them, cutting into your income? This is an issue that we will be addressing more in the coming months.

What are your thoughts? How will this affect you? What solutions would you like to see enacted for those in our industry who routinely work at MGM Resorts properties providing professional services to their and our guests/clients?

LVCVA Rally for National Travel and Tourism Week

TandTWeek_2016

Mark your calendars to join us the LVCVA and travel and tourism colleagues on

National Travel and Tourism Week Rally Day on Tuesday, May 3, at 3:30 p.m.

The LVCVA will be hosting its annual Tourism Rally

at the Toshiba Plaza adjacent to the new T-Mobile arena off of Las Vegas Blvd.

This is a great opportunity to check out the latest entertainment offerings in our great city. The rally is expected to feature special entertainment, community delegates, and you can count on Oscar Goodman and the showgirls making an appearance.

Don’t forget to wear red at the rally! The U.S. Travel Association encourages supporters nationwide to wear the color as a symbol of unity among travel and tourism supporters.

Stay tuned for more information about National Travel and Tourism Week. We look forward to seeing many of you at the rally and other surprise LVCVA events that will be announced soon!

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NFTGA Newsletter

The National Federation of Tour Guide Associations (NFTGA), of which the Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild is a member, has published its first newsletter of 2016, and it’s an entertaining and informative read.

To read the NFTGA newsletter, click here.

This issue has a recap of the January 2016 NFTGA conference in Washington DC, and despite being caught up in a massive snowstorm, it was a worthwhile and interesting conference for attendees. LVTGG members and friends are encouraged to read the newsletter, and if you’re so inclined, consider submitting your stories or comments for future newsletters.

The LVTGG also welcomes its members and friends to submit your stories or useful information for publication on the LVTGG website. Just click here, or visit the “Have I Got a Story for You!” link in the Members Only section of the guild’s website (you must be signed in to the site to access), or email your story to webmaster@lvtgg.com with the heading “Story.”

Thanks and keep on traveling!

 

NFTGA conference members at the US Capitol, January 2016