The Israel Tour Guide Exam Part One: The Written Exam Part B (Summer 2014)

Having written last week about Part A of the written exam I sat back in June, I am now posting Part B – the really long and challenging part of the exam. Here are the instructions and the options I receieved:

LICENSING EXAMINATION – TOUR GUIDE COURSE
Part B – Total of 70 Points

Time allotment for this section of the examination: three hours

Permitted reference tools:
• Non-electronic Dictionary (which provides the translation of the word only, without explanation)
• Touring Map at 1:250,000 only (cannot use a map that includes additional information)

This question is divided into two sections:

Section A (total 40 points) :
You must build an itinerary in the tables provided.
Please fill in the relevant information in the table cells only!
All activities during the two days of the tour will be guided personally by you. For example, if a group visits a site which normally provides a local guide, you must specify the subjects to cover and provide the guiding.

Each day of the tour ends upon arrival at dinner at 19.00.

Available for the trip :
1 ) Bus with no limit on distance it can travel
2 ) Unlimited budget
3 ) Up to two attractions (e.g. visit to a winery or theme park)
4 ) Full board )
5 ) Accommodation at Hostels / Field Schools / Country Lodging / hotels at all levels – your choice. The lodgings should match the group.
6 ) You should assume that your trip takes place in a time of no security concerns so you can include sites in the West Bank.
7 ) All tours take place in May. They begin on Monday at 8:00 after breakfast and ending on Tuesday at 19:00 before dinner.
8 ) At least 80% of the tour program must be related to the topic.

Section B (total 30 points) :
You must choose one point from the itinerary and expand on it. You should not exceed the one page provided for this purpose.
The expansion point must be made at a site not from the bus.
Viewpoints will be disqualified .
The expansion point must be connected with the main topic of the group (eg archaeology students who want to visit archaeological sites in the country – the expansion point must be related to archaeology, even if you have incorporated into the itinerary other sites and subjects).

Choose one of the following three groups and plan a tour for it.

Group No. 1
A group of students from a theological institute abroad interested in synagogues of the Jewish settlement in the northern part of the Land of Israel, from the Second Temple period to the present.
The tour departs from Katsrin on Monday at 8.00 and ends at a hotel in Akko on Tuesday at 19.00.
Please note:

  1. The southern limit of the tour is the Jezreel Valley (including the Jezreel Valley)
  2. The tour must include synagogues from at least three different historical periods
  3. The tour must include a half-day in the Golan Heights (no more and no less) and a half-day in Tsfat (no more and no less)
  4. The expansion point must be related to the tour theme

Group No. 2
A group of French pilgrims interested in a pilgrimage tour in the footsteps of Crusaders in the Land of Israel, from Caesarea to Jerusalem. The tour departs from Caesarea on Monday at 8.00 and ends in Jerusalem on Tuesday at 19.00.
Please note:

  1. The northern limit of the tour is from Caesarea to the east and it should not deviate farther north. There are no other geographic limits.
  2. The tour must include three Crusader sites outside of Jerusalem
  3. The tour in Jerusalem should be a half-day (no more and no less)
  4. The expansion point must be related to the tour theme

 

Group No. 3
A group of Israeli tourists interested in human heritage throughout history in southern Israel. The tour leaves Ashdod on Monday at 8.00 and ends at a hotel in Mitspe Ramon on Tuesday at 19.00.
Please note:

 

  1. The northern limit of the tour is the Ashdod line and east of it and it should not deviate farther north. The southern limit is the Mitspe Ramon line and the tour should not deviate further south.
  2. The first day of the tour will cover the area between Ashdod and Be’er Sheva. The second day will be from Be’er Sheva to Mitspe Ramon.
  3. The tour must include sites from at least three different periods.
  4. The expansion point must be related to the tour theme.

 

GOOD LUCK!

 

4 comments

  1. Ron says:

    Hi,
    Is it possible to take an exam in English?
    You mentioned hundreds of people take it each year.How many practicing tour guides are in I srael at the moment? Is it very competitive?

    • Samuel says:

      Hi Ron
      Thanks for the note and I hope you like the blog!
      You can take the exam in English, and you can also take the course in English in certain places.
      There are around 10 000 guides in Israel at the moment although the estimates I have heard is that there are around 2000 who do it as their full time job. I don’t know this for sure however.
      And yes, it is competitive. But, if you are good, there is work. If you are average, and you don’t speak Hebrew (so you can only do the foreign market) it is harder.

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