Guided tour of Corfu historic centre

In the past, Corfu Tourist Guides' Union took school pupils on a tour of the town on International Tourist Guide Day but nothing like yesterday's public tour has previously been organised.

The President of Corfu Tourist Guides' Union Magda Kousouni expressed her satisfaction at the response of the Corfu public: "Unfortunately, we didn't have the weather on our side today but there was a good response - 250 people took part in the tour groups whilst we also had cancellations from quite a few people who live at a distance from the town. Corfu historic centre is a museum without walls and there is a lot that we can learn wherever we go. The tour programme was very flexible and was determined by the guides or the participants - we hope to organise similar activities again in the future."

Sunday's guided tours were organised so that the public could learn more about Corfu and also become familiar with the work of the certified tourist guides. Tours led by non-certified guides have been a problem.

"Recently, there has been an increase in the number of infringements with locals and tourists taking advantage of the lack of checks and organising their own guided tours," said the Corfu Union President. "Today is an opportunity to safeguard our profession and the best way to do that is for the public to meet the guides and understand their role."