Legislative Context

The Law 4:2013 represents a new frontier in the regulation of professions not recognisedi.e. those without a register and non-organic. The Law is mainly oriented at Associations of a private nature for professions without a register even if the associations are not bound to represent the specific profession exclusively, thus leaving the possibility that there are several for the same figure. Furthermore, the law specifies that the individual professional may also operate without associative representation even if it is delegated to inform who operates in the specific context of the liberal professions. It is important to emphasise that free professions, not organised in orders or colleges, cannot intervene in matters that are the exclusive competence of professions structured in orders and colleges such as, for example, lawyers, accountants, doctors or, in the specific case of adventure tourism, mountain guides. Violating these requirements calls into question the offence of abusive exercise of a profession (Art.348 CP).

La ISO 21102 standard It expressly states that, in relation to this role – that of an adventure tourism guide – it is always necessary to check, for each specific area, whether there are any binding regulations in a particular country.

In Italyfor example, a representative figure of adventure tourism is the Mountain Guide, This profession is a regulated profession (State Law No. 6 of 1989) and, as such, only the National Association of Italian Mountain Guides may award the professional qualification.

Naturally, any Mountain Guide can become certified as an Adventure Tour Guide in accordance with the standard ISO 21102 in the various forms provided for.

 La certification is therefore volunteer and is in this case a distinctive and recognisable element further internationally and also nationally but not necessary for the purpose of practising the profession because the practitioner, in this case, is already authorised by law.

If, on the other hand, one considers in the context of adventure tourism the guide cycle tourismprofession is free and if certified, the only valid public register in accordance with Law 4:2013 is the register of Accredia where the names of all persons certified by an Accredia-accredited Certification Body for ISO 21102 are listed. Attention that certification is not an access system to the world of workbecause being a free profession, access is free. The certification is one additional guarantee instrument for the market and a confirmation system that is not self-referential, but third-party, hence independent, of a professionalism acquired.