International Journal of Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Law guide and a specialized guide to the market and the customer. In essence, it will be the users, tour operators, and organizers in general who will decide whether, for a given territory or a specific theme to be presented to the public, a specialized guide or a licensed but not specialized guide is preferable. Specialization becomes an added value that will have commercial significance, as well as providing greater protection for the illustrated heritage. Enrolling in special sections of the list will certainly give guides an initial competitive advantage, but their performance will be truly judged in the field. It is in the field, in fact, that they will consolidate or nullify the initial competency advantage It is a solution that attempts to reconcile the difficulty of illustrating a country as rich as ours, whose heritage is difficult to know in its entirety, and the need to allow guides to circulate. A homogeneous minimum level of competencies is established through national qualification, and operators are free to deepen their knowledge through specializations. The law thus puts an end to the issue of identifying special sites, solving it not only legally, with the repeal of paragraph 3 of Article 3 of Law No. 97 of August 6, 2013, but also practically, making the choice for both the professional to specialize and for the user to opt for a specialized subject44. Article 6 of Law 190/23 also addresses the issue of foreign guides, whether European or nonEuropean. In paragraph 1, it establishes that citizens of the European Union, of a state belonging to the European Economic Area or Switzerland, qualified to practice the profession of tourist guide in accordance with the regulations of another Member State of the Union, or the European Economic Area or Switzerland, are entitled to carry out their activity in Italy: on a temporary and occasional basis, in the framework of the free provision of services, or permanently following the recognition of the professional qualification obtained in another EU Member State, or the EEA or Switzerland, subject to the integration of training through a compensatory measure under articles 22 and 23 of Legislative Decree No. 206 of November 9, 2007, consisting of completing an adaptation internship (exercising the profession for a duration of 24 months under the responsibility of a qualified professional, accompanied by additional training, subject to evaluation by the Ministry of Tourism) or passing an aptitude test in Italian. In addition to the tests, knowledge of two foreign languages, one with a level of C1 and the second with a level of B2, is required, as for internal guides. The recognition of qualifications and freedom of movement for 'European' guides is not automatic; the need for competence and professionalism guides the entire framework of the law, in compliance with and according to the principles of the European Union45. As with many other provisions of this law, in this case too, its practical application will be crucial for an assessment of the effectiveness and success of the law. In this specific case, for example, much will depend on the manner and seriousness with which the internship is conducted, as well as the quality of supervision by the qualified professional. All foreign citizens not included in those listed in Article 6(1) obtain the recognition as guides only after passing an aptitude test in the Italian language. The aptitude test consists of a written test, an oral test to assess the applicant's knowledge, as well as proficiency in two foreign languages at levels C2 and B1, exactly like internal and European guides. Compared to the qualification test for the title in Italy, only the third practical test is missing. According to paragraph 9, the Ministry of Tourism is the competent authority to rule, under Article 5 of Legislative Decree No. 206 of November 9, 2007, on applications for recognition of the professional qualification of tourist guide obtained abroad; thus, it can exercise an action of verification and supervision of the actual competence of foreign guides. Obtaining the qualification, thus registration in the lists of qualified guides, whether internal, European, or foreign, certainly represents a good point of arrival, but it does not guarantee the professional the right to operate indefinitely. With the aim of protecting and ensuring the user of the di circolazione dei fattori produttivi ed esigenze imperative degli Stati membri nel mercato interno), in Studi sull’integr. Eur., 2011, 295 ss. 44 The choice has recently been criticized by some professional associations. Michela Mura, president of ARGTS (Professional Association of Tourist Guides of Sardinia), stated: 'The situation is quite complicated, from several points of view. We need new guides specialized in the regional territory, who know foreign languages other than English, and Law 190/2023 is not an answer in this sense”, www.nemesismagazine.it 45 On freedom of movement see, B. Nascimbene, F. Rossi, Dal Pozzo (a cura di), Citizenship rights and freedom of movement in the European Union (Diritti di cittadinanza e libertà di circolazione nell’Unione europea), Padova, 2012; S. Spinaci, Freedom of movement, European citizenship, principle of equality (Libertà di circolazione, cittadinanza europea, principio di eguaglianza), Napoli, 2011.
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