Professional Tour Management Training
Training for Tour Guides - Tour Directors - Cruise Hosts
"We are successful because you are successful!"
What is the
difference between a tour director and a travel agent?
Tour directors are actually out in the field leading the
tours. Travel agents work for an agency selling the tours and making the
reservations. The two roles are completely different, one is hands on visiting
various countries, dealing with people and logistics while the other works
mainly in the office.
As a tour director, I don't work in the office at all. I
don't plan, sell or market the tours. I am hired to travel with the tour group.
For example if I am doing a tour in Australia and New Zealand, I meet the tour
group in Los Angeles and we fly together to Australia, New Zealand and then
return from Fiji 3 ½ weeks later. I go
home, I’m finished with the tour. I
avoid the office. Travel agents have to know computer codes, the computer
programs, selling and all the other clerical work, that's not at all what we do
as tour directors.
Most people I train as tour directors and guides don't want
at desk job. If you want a steady office position I suggest working in-house
for an agency, tour operator, incentive house, DMC, student tour operator,
sightseeing company, receptive services company and or a cruise line. There are lots of opportunities for sales,
marketing, reservations, account executives, IT, administration, event planners
and such. Tourism is full of opportunities
and I think it’s the best industry in the world. I love it.
How did you become a
tour guide?
I do sometimes act as a guide but I’m mainly a tour
director, traveling with the tour groups. I was in education, sales and a
variety of other careers before I became a tour director. I actually found my
way into this industry by volunteering on a cruise ship as a children's
activities counselor. That job led to working as a cruise host on the cruise
lines. Tour operators hire me to escort their guests on cruises to all their
various destinations. That experience eventually lead to escorting tour groups
for international tour operators.
How did you evolve
from a tour director into teaching courses on how to be a tour guide and tour
director?
In 1993, I realized there was a need for a college course
that would provide direction to those who are interested in tour guiding, tour
directing and cruise hosting. I decided to combine my education background with
my career in tours and developed my course which is now available in my "Tour Director Training Guide".
In the United States there is very little available to
educate people in tour management. Most
people apply to tour operators and state in their applications they qualified
because "I love people and I love to travel." That helps but that doesn't mean they are
qualified to lead a tour, especially overseas. Tour operators need to feel
comfortable that the people they hire know the procedures, briefings,
documentation, safety and behind the scenes work that goes into being a
successful tour guide and tour director. That is exactly what my course offers.
How did September
11th impact the tourism industry?
Immediately after 911 more people wanted to travel
domestically. Tour operators added domestic tours to their itineraries. In that
sense it worked to the advantage of the new tour directors. Tour directors
could now be trained domestically which is easier for both the tour director
and tour operator. After gaining experience they may be placed on international
tours.
Another thing that really impacted the tourism industry is
that the economy fell after 9/11 and it hurt the incentive market. The same
happened with the 2008 recession. As the
economy tightened up companies shortened their trips and looked for ways they
could still offer incentive trips but more economically. For example, an
incentive house that before 9/11 might rent out Sea World for the night would
instead offer a "dine around" and take their guests for fine dining.
You've mentioned
several times Incentive Houses, what exactly is an Incentive House?
The incentive houses work with Fortune 500 companies in
planning their company trips. The trips may be a reward for their employee's
job performance, training, meetings, team building, a convention or an
introduction to new products. Tour directors, often called "travel
staff", are hired to travel to the destination and make sure their guests
receive VIP treatment.
The incentive house will then hire a DMC or Destination
Management Company which is a company located in or near the trip destination.
They hire local tour directors and tour guides to assist the guests by meeting
them at the airport, covering hospitality desks, taking them to attractions,
leading city tours, assisting with dine-a-rounds, taking them on car or boat
rallies, assisting with parties and events and so on. DMC work is fun and a
great way for new tour directors to start getting experience and networking. I
cover the job responsibilities in my training. My new tour directors have been
very successful starting with the DMC's.
I’ve enjoy working with the DMC’s in training and also
working as a local tour director when I’m home.
It’s great for those that don’t want to travel and those that need
flexibility in their career, like moms.
I really enjoy the people I work with.
I’m used to working independently on international tours but when working
programs for DMC’s and incentive house it’s all a team effort. It attracts professional sharp people since
the clients are company VIP’s. I have to
say I love the people I work with, many I trained and have known for
years.
If someone came up to
you and asked you how to get into the tour guiding business what advice would
you give them?
Let me help. I’m very
upfront, detailed and straight forward in my training. My goal is to help my students to be
successful and to get hired. As an
educator that’s my biggest thrill.
I recommend ordering the "Tour Director Training Guide". It includes all the necessary tour procedures,
safety, narration, briefings, handling emergencies, medical emergencies and
such. It also covers local, domestic and
international careers. The guide
includes a list of potential employers and how to gain experience in the
industry. I'm also here to help.
I have face to face training throughout the year which gives
them the practical experience to go with the “Tour Director Training Guide”. The training tours vary so they need to
contact me for information or sign up for my Newsletter on http://www.tourtraining.com
The other thing I tell someone interested in becoming a tour
director is, don't quit your day job yet. It may be competitive to become a
tour director and you can start getting part time experience pretty much wherever
you live. You can work as a step on guide for a local tour operator, work
locally for a destination management company, work for receptive services, volunteer
to docent at a local museum or historical site or work at a popular
attraction. If you live near a port of
entry for a cruise line you can start getting experience and networking working
as pier staff when the ships dock. There
are lots of ways to gain experience in the field that will help you land a job
with a major tour operator if that’s your goal.
Finally I tell my students to network. Often a tour director
or a guide will be offered a job and when they are not available. The tour operator will ask, "Do you know
anyone who can do the tour?" Word of mouth recommendations go far in this
business so it's a good idea to build up a network within the tour guide
community.
What kinds of career
advancement can a tour guide look forward to?
The future opportunities are amazing. Tourism is the largest
and fastest growing industry in the world. The baby boomers are retiring and
many of them say they want to spend their retirement traveling.
Tour directing can also lead to other opportunities. I've
done lectures throughout the US doing seminars and workshops for a number
associations and companies. I've turned down jobs promoting hotels, cruise
lines and countries.
Tour directors have become product managers (developing
tours), vice presidents and presidents of tour operations. This kind of work also
develops excellent leadership skills for other careers. I know tour directors that have started their
own DMC’s, incentive houses and tour operations.
Do you have to be an
expert on any given subject before you get hired as a tour director?
It depends on what kind of tour operator you are working
for. Most U.S. domestic tours include a lot of history and or geography as when
leading National Parks tours. It might
be difficult to get a job giving tours of Gettysburg if you're not familiar
with the Civil War. However, the internet makes research easy. If you tell a specific employer that you have
tour management training and can research and deliver informative and
interesting narration, that’s really what most are looking for in the staff.
When I lead an international tour, local guides deliver the
narration. I don't need to know the history of Australia or wherever the tour
may be. I'm also not bilingual, my local guides help if I need an interpreter.
My job is to manage the tour group, not deliver the narration.
How difficult is it
to juggle a family life while being a tour director?
You can work locally for a destination management company,
receptive services (meet and greet) or lead local tours, which will allow you
to be home and still be a part of the tourism industry. However, if you work
for a domestic or international tour operator you might be gone for several
weeks at a time. Some families may like
that set up, for others it's not really an option.
Would you say that
the work for land tours is pretty much year round or is it more of a seasonal
job?
There are high and low seasons, but tourism is year around.
I lead international tours so we are busy all year round. For example, when it
is winter above the equator, it is summer below the equator. In the fall we
usually started our South American, Australia and New Zealand tours. In the
winter when the domestic tours slow down the domestic tour directors and guides
may work for the incentive houses and destination management companies to keep
busy. The incentive trips are the busiest in the winter and spring. There
really are opportunities all year.
I have a past student that works for Tauck Tours. If it’s slow for her during the winter, she
works for the cruise lines at that time.
You mentioned tour
directors are always busy doing work behind the scenes. Do you even get to
experience the "fun" of traveling?
Good question. Of course we have fun! We get to experience
all the things that people pay thousands of dollars to do. Some people think
that the tour group is with us 24 hours a day.
They don't want to be with us all the time! The group wants time to
themselves and time to go off on their own.
We may have some days where we are working from morning until night,
usually on travel days, but then there are other days when we may only have a
half day tour. When this happens we can go off and explore the destination on our
own. Not to mention we participate in all the fun evening activities that are
planned for the guests. For example, the evening might include a night out at
the Moscow Circus, a Tango Show, or
Shanghai Acrobats. As the tour director you get to be part of these incredible
events. It really is a fantastic experience.
Do tour directors
usually freelance or do they work through a company?
In the past most tour directors and guides worked freelance. About
2002 the IRS and the State of California determined that most were actually
‘employees’. This lead to law suits and
so today most companies hire their staff as full and or part time
employees. Some people start out
working for several companies. When I started as a tour director I worked for a
couple companies. Once the tour operators
receive the evaluations from the tour members and see the tour director knows
their job they will usually keep them pretty busy. Evaluations are extremely important which is
why the tour director needs to know how to lead the tour and can’t expect to
just learn as he or she goes along.
Can you draw any
parallels between tour guiding and other types of employment?
There's a lot of carry over. Teachers, mothers, actors,
health care workers, administrators, managers, I find almost any responsible
career has carry over that will help. I think I've used every skill I've ever
had in tour directing and guiding. We do it all, we're teachers, caretakers,
lecturers, sales people, administrators, actors, customer service reps, we do
it all. Most people think we are mainly a host, we are much more than that. I often hear from my students how much more
involved our careers are than they originally thought.
Do you have certain
qualifications or any restriction you're looking for before you let someone
take your classes?
No. I find most skills can be learned if the student will
follow my instructions and say exactly what I list in the lessons.
I've had students I didn't think would be particularly good
tour directors or guides and they turned out to be excellent. I've had others I
thought would be excellent and they couldn't show up on time or cancelled at
the last minute.
If they are not responsible then they shouldn't be tour
directors or guides. It's not the type of job where you can put on your
voicemail and hope that will cover for you. You have to actually be there and
on time. Better yet, be early!
What would you say
your typical student is like? Are they usually college age or adults?
Most of my students are mature. It's a great job for those
that are 'mature'. They have experience and maturity is an asset since most
people on typical escorted tours are mature, 70% are over 50.
I like seeing younger people in the training too. There are
so many opportunities now! Tourism is the largest and fastest growing industry
in the world, yet most people know very little about it. There are also
specific tours where young people are desired and needed such as Contiki Tours
or many of the adventure, camping, or Alaska programs.
I trained a young man years ago who had just turned 18. He became a tour director and then worked for
years as an assistant cruise director for Princess Cruise Lines. He's literary
traveled around the world. There's opportunity for all ages.
Is there any other
kind of work experience that is particularly helpful?
Narration is important for domestic tours, so public
speaking skills are very helpful. If you have worked as a ski instructor, camp
counselor or other type of activity where you have led and or directed a group
of people that may help with your chances.
Volunteering as a docent is also very helpful. In California
the mission docents are very knowledgeable of California history.
Customer service skills are important, sometimes handling
tour members under stress can be challenging. You need to be able to think and
make decisions. You'll be making the
decisions for the group. Even though the tour is set up a year in advance,
things change and there are challenges. It's up to the tour director to decide
what's best for the group.
In my training I give information on handling challenges and
emergencies and I have to say, they often seem to happen in the middle of the
night. We do the best we can when
there's a crisis. In my experience most things that happen may be a hassle and
inconvenient but not fatal. Yes, you definitely have to be able to think on
your feet.
Perhaps some minimum
CPR training would help?
Yes, first aid and CPR are important and some companies
require an updated card.
Are there physical
demands?
There’s often a lot of walking. On some tours like in China,
it may be miles of walking, which I love.
Active tours have become so popular that it may really be to your
advantage to be in shape.
You don't have to be real strong, but we do have long days
and jet lag on international tours. And as I said emergencies seem to happen in
the middle of the night. You should be able to function occasionally without a
lot of sleep. Since it's difficult to
replace tour directors before or during a tour, the tour director should be
healthy.
Why do you think
people typically pursue the tour industry?
Some because they are retired and want to do something new
and fun. Other people go into it because they are tired of their day-to-day
routine job. They are looking for something that is fun and less routine. In some cases the kids are grown, out of the
house and now there's time for mom to travel. I meet lots of people that really
want to do something they love.
What would you say
the average entry-level pay would be?
It varies a lot, depending on the tour operator, type of
tour, and destination. Normally, on escorted tours, we earn salary, commission
and gratuities. Most tour directors should be making between $250 and $450 a
day with experience.
The entry-level destination management companies are
starting out their newly trained tour directors at about $15-18 per hour.
Experienced tour directors are earning $20-25 per hour, earning time and a half
after 8 hours. I’ve heard from my
students some DMC’s pay $50 an hour. The
leads earn a few dollars more an hour.
Experienced travel staff working for incentive houses are
now making $250 to $400 a day when working for the major companies.
You mentioned some of
the benefits. Is there anyway to get things like medical or retirement?
Yes, there are lots of changes. In the past we had to buy
our own medical insurance. However, in the last few years since the major laws
suits over ‘employee’ status and the growth in tourism, more companies are
hiring their tour directors as employees and giving them benefits. Hopefully
the policy will continue to grow.
Are there any
particular jobs in the industry that people consider more glamorous or popular
than others?
I'm sure most would say international tours are thought of
as more glamorous. Most of my students say they want to go international.
Some of our major tour operators will start their new tour
directors on domestic tours before assigning them to international tours. It may not sound as glamorous but spending
your days in National Parks, at popular resorts, NYC and such isn’t that
bad. We have so many wonderful
destinations in the US to share.
I have students that prefer the incentive market. They stay
at four and five star hotels and work as a team. The income can be just as good
and sometimes even better than on escorted tours.
Do companies help the
guides with the transportation costs or anything like that?
Absolutely. It's like
any other job that requires travel. All of our travel expenses are paid
including flights, hotels, meals, and tips. The company will give the tour
director funds to cover their expenses and the tour expenses before they leave
home.
Can you summarize
quickly some of the advantages of training, like your, versus somebody who just
goes it on their own?
As I mentioned the tour operators get a lot of resumes from
people that say they are qualified because they love travel and people. By
saying that it may tell the tour operator this person thinks the job is being a
host and their concern is probably for their own pleasure. It's much more than
that.
The job includes safety, legal aspects, specific procedures,
documentation, narration, challenges and emergencies. What are they going to do
if someone gets ill or dies on the tour? Unfortunately that's part of our job too. The training tells the tour operator you know
procedures, you know the ups and downs of our careers, their tour members will
be taken care of and that the person is serious about the career. It will also save a lot time and frustration
in getting into the industry.
Another big advantage to the training is being able to
locate the employers and types of employers. Some people still think we work
for travel agents. There are lots of different types of employers offering
careers locally, domestically, and internationally.
The training will help you be successful and get hired. If
they do and say what I list in the “Tour Director Training Guide” the group
will run smoothly and they’ll feel they are traveling with a professional and
experienced tour director. They’ll have
challenges but I call that ‘job security’.
If everything always ran smoothly on its own they wouldn’t need us.
I often have experienced tour directors and guides in my
classes. It’s funny how they really
appreciate the help since they know how important the steps are in leading
tours. Some take it because they want
to advance their careers.
Your job does not end
when the tour ends, correct?
If you're talking about the end of the day, after the tour
members get off the coach, you're right. There's lots that goes on behind the
scenes. These are responsibilities the tour members don't know anything about.
I cover it all and give examples of documents in the "Tour Director Training Guide".
It's not really difficult, you just need to know what is expected.
Do you have a
favorite story you might want to relate?
My favorite stories are from my students on their first
tours. They tell me I'm right there on their shoulder the whole time. I also
enjoy the fact that they get most excited about the challenges during the tour
and are impressed with their own skills when they handle challenging
situations.
One young man said, "I want to tell you that everything
you said is exactly right." I stress that you have to know your job, be
direct, and you have to pretty much stick to you decisions. He said he had tour
members that when he told them what time they were departing the next day they
said, "No, we want to go later." So he changed the time to just 15
minutes later. He then had the others in the tour very upset because he changed
the time because others wanted it. So you have to know the group psychology. You
make the decision, you stick with the decision, and you never ask for a vote.
It's not a democracy. People take tours because they want to be led, they don't
want to deal with decisions, that's why they're on an escorted tour.
I have another student who was up in Washington State and he
called one of his first tours the Red Cross Tour. Within a couple of days he
had a woman who slit her knee open and had to have 20 stitches and a man who
had to be taken by helicopter to a hospital because he had a heart attack.
These are sort of typical stories and things we talk about in class. When the
students start working they find out this is what really happens! This is the
reality of it all. Fortunately we don’t
have emergencies and challenges everyday but at least our careers are rarely
boring.
I have a student, who started out with Tauck and leads tours
to the Alps. Her first tour was with Dominico and they sent her to the East
Coast. She was to lead a tour from New Jersey to Myrtle Beach. She prepared all
the narration and when she arrived, she was told, "Now you're doing the
tour from New Jersey to Niagara Falls!" She had tour members from Germany, the United
States, and England. She had to translate documents, do the tour in two
languages, and prepare the narration until two o'clock in the morning. I heard from her recently and she’s still with
Tauck and now helping with their training.
So, they learn it is a job. When the new tour directors get
back, I always ask, "How did you like it?" They all have said they
absolutely love it!
If you could give
people your best advice before pursing land tours as a career, what would it
be?
Research the job and responsibilities. Jobmonkey.com has lots of information. It's not for everyone. We're not a host, we
are on the tour working. If you find it is the career for you, than you'll
absolutely love it. Most tour directors will tell you they can't imagine having
a 'real job'.
If you do want to be a tour director or tour guide, be
persistent. Get training and experience. Get your resume out there, network and
be persistent. The jobs are out there. It took me about one and half years to
get my first job in travel. It doesn't need to take my students that long,
that's why I started my training. The students leave the course with
information it took me years to learn.
You can email Cherie
Anderson directly at Cherie@tourtraining or call her at: 949 830 8603.
The “Tour Director Training Guide” is available at: Tourtraining.com
Click on "Overview of Tour Guide Career" to start free video series. I hope you find it helpful.
"Cherie Anderson’s course, Professional Tour Management Training, has changed my life! I actually first took her class in 1994, and it stayed with me until I was ready to make a career change. In 2007, I looked Cherie’s name up on the Internet and discovered a new class was beginning the following week. The tools she provides, along with the certificate in your hand, will help get you noticed and in the door. Landed my first job soon after I graduated. Such a small investment in her wonderful class has yielded such big results. I now work full-time as a professional tour director and port lecturer for a cruise line. I am seeing the world and am loving every minute of it." Elizabeth Moran WriteEMoran@aol.com
March 2011:
The course by far exceeded my expectations! Cherie's knowledge and passion for the travel industry and tour directing is very inspiring. After taking the course I have a clear picture of how tourism industry works and ways I can try to start my career in this field.
Cherie is amazing. She knows so much and is so willing to share everything she knows. She has genuine care, interest and concern for all of her students. She really wants us to succeed! I know that it's because of Cherie's enthusiasm for tourism and her students that she is a leader in the field. I am so thankful to Cherie for helping me get hired. Thank you Cherie.
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