Czech Tourist Guide Qualification Exam cheat sheet
Czech Tourist Guide Qualification Exam · Keep the key ideas within reach.
Legal framework, trade licensing and the guide's professional obligations
Guiding falls under Act No. 455/1991 Coll. (Trade Licensing Act), which divides trades into ohlašovací (free, craft, bound) and koncesované.
"Průvodcovská činnost" is listed in Annex 4 of the Trade Licensing Act as a free trade (volná živnost).
Act No. 159/1999 Coll. regulates business in tourism and defines the guide (průvodce) in the context of package travel.
Selling or organising package tours is a koncesovaná živnost requiring a state concession.
Package travel is governed by Directive (EU) 2015/2302, transposed into Czech law by Act No. 159/1999 Coll.
Client data (passenger lists, ID/passport data, health information) are processed under GDPR (Regulation 2016/679) and Act No. 110/2019 Coll.
Consumer complaints are handled under Act No. 634/1992 Coll. on consumer protection.
Guides employed by agencies fall under the Labour Code (Act No. 262/2006 Coll.); freelance guides invoice under the Trade Licensing Act.
EU/EEA nationals may provide guiding services in the Czech Republic temporarily under the EU freedom to provide services.
Tour organisation, itinerary planning, logistics and cost handling
EU Regulation 561/2006: maximum 9 h driving per day (extendable to 10 h twice a week), a 45-min break after 4.5 h, and 11 h daily rest.
Walking speed in crowded historic centres averages about 3 km/h, i.e. 1 km takes roughly 20 minutes.
Total tour cost = fixed costs + (variable cost per pax × number of pax) + contingency margin.
A contingency margin of 5–10% of the budget is standard for unforeseen entries, meals or transport.
Audio headset systems are used for groups above roughly 15–20 participants.
Travel times: Václav Havel Airport to Prague city centre about 30–45 min by coach; Prague–Brno about 2 h 15 min by train.
Group restaurant reservations are reconfirmed 24–48 h before the meal.
Itinerary planning ranks sites as must-see, should-see and could-see to protect the core programme.
The Czech Republic applies a 21% standard and a 12% reduced VAT rate (from 2024).
Guiding methodology, interpretation and presentation technique
Tilden's six principles: interpretation must relate, reveal, provoke, address the whole, be unified and be purposeful.
A guided stop at a monument typically involves 45–90 seconds of speech; longer monologues reduce retention.
The rule of three: no more than three key facts per stop.
Attention drops after 15–20 minutes of passive listening, so the stimulus is changed (movement, question, anecdote).
Each stop is structured as hook → story → message.
Position yourself so the sun is behind or to the side, never directly in visitors' eyes.
Voice projection: speak to the person farthest away, articulate consonants and pause after key facts.
Open questions ("What do you notice?") generate more engagement than closed yes/no questions.
Reading text aloud from a guidebook is not interpretation; paraphrase and connect the content to the audience.
History of the Czech lands from prehistory to the present
Great Moravia (9th century): Cyril and Methodius arrived in 863 and created the Old Church Slavonic liturgy.
The Přemyslid dynasty ruled Bohemia from the 9th century to 1306; Charles IV (1346–1378) made Prague the imperial capital.
Jan Hus was burned at Constance in 1415; the Hussite wars followed in 1419–1434.
The Battle of White Mountain (1620) ended the Bohemian Protestant revolt and was followed by Habsburg re-Catholicisation.
Czechoslovakia declared independence on 28 October 1918 in Prague.
The 1938 Munich Agreement ceded the Sudetenland; 1939 saw the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; liberation came in 1945.
The communist coup took place in 1948; the 1968 Prague Spring was ended by the Warsaw Pact invasion on 21 August.
The Velvet Revolution began on 17 November 1989; on 1 January 1993 the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the EU on 1 May 2004.
Cultural heritage: architecture, art, monuments, museums and UNESCO sites
The Czech Republic has 16 UNESCO World Heritage sites (as of 2024), including Prague, Český Krumlov and Telč (all 1992).
Other UNESCO sites: Žďár nad Sázavou (1994), Kutná Hora (1995), Lednice-Valtice (1996), Kroměříž and Holašovice (1998), Litomyšl (1999), Olomouc (2000), Villa Tugendhat (2001), Třebíč (2003), Kladruby and Krušnohoří (2019), Great Spa Towns (2021), Žatec (2023).
Romanesque: rotundas and basilicas, e.g. St George's Basilica at Prague Castle.
Gothic: St Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge and Vladislav Hall.
Renaissance: sgraffito façades, Litomyšl Castle and the arcaded squares of Telč.
Baroque: Dientzenhofer churches such as St Nicholas in Prague, and the rural Baroque of Holašovice.
Art Nouveau: the Municipal House (Obecní dům) in Prague; Czech Cubism: the House of the Black Madonna.
Functionalism: Villa Tugendhat in Brno and the Baťa architecture of Zlín.
Geography, regions, transport and natural heritage of the Czech Republic
Sněžka (1,603 m) is the highest point; the lowest is the Elbe at Hřensko (115 m).
Longest river: Vltava (430 km); the Elbe/Labe flows 370 km within the country; the Morava drains to the Danube.
Area 78,871 km²; population about 10.5 million; 14 self-governing regions (kraje).
Borders: Germany (west), Poland (north), Slovakia (east), Austria (south).
Four national parks: Krkonoše, Šumava, Podyjí and České Švýcarsko.
There are 26 protected landscape areas (CHKO); Šumava is the largest national park.
Climate is temperate continental; the warmest area is South Moravia, the coolest the mountain regions.
Main transport axes: D1 Prague–Brno–Ostrava, D5 Prague–Plzeň–Nuremberg; Prague metro lines A, B and C.
Communication, group management and customer service
Headcount at every boarding, departure and meeting point, and record it in the tour log.
Each stop begins with a meeting point fixed by a visible landmark and a stated time.
Decision rule: if a participant is repeatedly late, address the behaviour privately, not in front of the group.
Complaint handling sequence: acknowledge → apologise → solve → follow up.
Active listening: paraphrase and confirm the client's words before responding.
Use names and eye contact; speak to the whole group rather than to one person.
In mixed-language groups keep sentences short and check comprehension with questions.
Ask in advance about punctuality norms, tipping expectations and dietary requirements.
Safety, first aid and risk management during tours
Emergency numbers: 112 (EU-wide), 150 fire, 155 ambulance, 158 police.
Adult CPR: 30 compressions to 2 rescue breaths, 100–120 per minute, compression depth 5–6 cm.
DRABC sequence: Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing, Circulation.
Recovery position is used for casualties who are unconscious but breathing normally.
Heat exhaustion signs: heavy sweating, weakness and nausea; move to shade, cool and hydrate.
Hypothermia: slow warming, remove wet clothing, do not give alcohol.
Lost-person protocol: stop the group, fix a meeting point, contact the person and local police, record the time.
Pre-tour risk assessment covers route hazards, weather, participants' medical needs and the nearest hospital.
Language competence and guiding in a foreign language
CEFR B2 is the minimum level for professional guiding in a foreign language; C1 for specialised or academic tours.
Present tense is used for historical narrative ("Charles IV builds the New Town") for immediacy.
Place names are translated: Staroměstské náměstí = Old Town Square; Karlův most = Charles Bridge.
Czech pronunciation: stress falls on the first syllable; "ch" is a single sound; "ř" is unique to Czech.
False friends: Czech "host" means guest; "aktuální" means current, not actual.
Dates are spoken in full: 1 May 2004 = "the first of May, two thousand and four".
Idioms are rendered by target-language equivalents, never literally.
Core vocabulary: průvodce = guide, zájezd = package tour, památka = monument/heritage site.