Article July 2009:

The Real Job of a Local Tour Guide

I’ve been leading international tours and training tour directors and guides for years.  I love learning about cultures and sharing stories with fellow professionals. Last year I was privileged to get to know a wonderful professional Bulgarian local tour guide.  Bobi, the local tour guide, took my online tour management class but I’m sure I learned as much from her as she did from me.

As a local guide Bobi has worked with groups from around the world.  She has also traveled extensively so she has an amazing understanding and ability to express and share her experiences.  Her insight has given my students a wonderful understanding of the what the local guides may be feeling as they work with visitors from around the world.

When one of my students expressed her concern and fear of delivering narration for the first time, Bobi shared her first experience.  I think it’s good advice for all new tour directors and guides.

She said, “I can tell you a story about my very first presence in front of a large group from USA.  I am a Bulgarian and English is not my mother tongue. On the other hand, at that time (I was 24 just graduated from the university and was very shy.) Bulgaria was a communist country and we did not really see Americans, nor we had any idea about the difference between British English and American English. Believe me there is a great difference.

However, I had to talk in front of 42 Americans, who I did not understand at all. I was about to cry and wanted to hide, but I was at work and had a week ahead and a lot to talk about. I am sure everybody has his moments of being shy and feeling uneasy.

Then the tour director (he was an American of Polish origin) came to me and said in Polish (yes, I know Polish) - he said - just talk, keep talking. Don't worry that you make mistakes, don't worry about how good or bad you sound. When you are talking people do listen. They will understand you and even will help you.

That was all I needed. Just talk and don't think of what you look like and how you sound. You sound great and you look tremendous - I am positive about it.

Wish you luck. Go for it.”

As tour directors and guides our jobs are never boring.  No matter how prepared we are surprises and challenges still happen.  I call it “job security”.  If everything always worked perfectly, we may not be needed.  Here’s how Bobi handled one of her challenges.

“I am from ex-communist country. Once in the 70s I had a group of Americans. That was very rare at that time. The group had two hours only for lunch before departure. We had the first course served and then the group was totally neglected because, imagine - the daughter of the Prime Minister had her birthday party in the same restaurant.

All the staff went to serve her party.  A Prime Minister's daughter is extremely important. We waited for more than 30 min. Nobody came to serve us. When I found out the reason and talked with the manager he dared not tell his staff to serve the Americans. Can you imagine how the tour members took that?

They were hungry, did not have much time due to the departure time, were hurt, had pre-paid the tour and the food, were treated as a "second" class or even worse - enemies.

I went to check out what was going on. With the bad news I came to the group (I was a guide but it was in my country and my city). I told the tour director the real situation and he presented it in such a manner that all the members laughed loud. With a very nice sense of humor he told them the situation. They laugh and laugh and that laughter brought the manager’s attention who came as pale as a white sheet of paper. 

He was begging for silence being scared for his position and promised the world to the Americans if only they won't laugh so much and so loud.

We finally had an extremely fast and perfect service plus a good laugh. I am sure that the tour members remembered that for long time, told it to their friends, and laughed over and over again.”  I’m sure she is right.

I always admire Bobi’s professionalism and commitment that every one of her groups have a great experience.  Her attitude is always positive and she never seems to complain and is always grateful.  Here’s an example of why I am so impressed and feel privileged to call her a friend. 

“As for me - I am well, as I always am - never tired, never hungry, never sleepy. My last trip ended this week and it too, was a good one. I worked for a Bulgarian small company dealing with agriculture. They had their American partners on visit. Two Americans who never came to our part of the world and 8 Bulgarians were on a week trip round Bulgaria.

The great weather and off season everywhere was so peaceful and nice. Right after that trip a one day conference and a city tour with 2 busses with doctors from Balkan countries. Tomorrow I'll meet two gentlemen from the UK for a short two days and next weekend another two day excursion.

That is all for now, but I am glad I have those.
I better close the present or you won’t have chance to take a break.
Best of luck,
Bobi”

This makes me smile since she’s concerned about my break.  I hope you think of Bobi as you travel the world meeting your local tour guides.  They are dedicated and work hard to share their countries, cities and attractions with you.  It may not always be as easy as they make it look.  I now share Bobi’s stories and words of wisdom in my Tour Director Training Guide (http://www.tourtraining.com).  She’s an excellent example of professionalism and what our career is really all about, helping others.



Press Release October 2008:

ASPIRING TOUR GUIDES DON'T HAVE TO TRAVEL FAR TO GAIN SKILLS FOR TOP-PAYING CAREERS WITH THE "GET PAID TO TRAVEL" ONLINE CLASS

Lake Forest, California -- October 30, 2008 Booming tourism around the world demands more highly-trained tour guides and tour directors than ever before. A unique online class called  Get Paid to Travel gives hundreds of colleges in the United States and Canada an affordable skill-building class to offer students who wish to pursue a travel guide career.

Tourism accounts for a majority of travel around the world each year. According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), about 52 percent, or around 395 million people, traveled for the purpose of leisure and recreation in 2004. Consequently, the career opportunity for aspiring tour guides, tour directors, and cruise hosts has grown tremendously.

Get Paid to Travel is being offered online at more than 1200 colleges in the United States and Canada. The class gives students an opportunity to train as tour directors and guides for local, domestic, and international tours. Students can easily take the class online from a computer without interfering with their other college studies.

The course was developed by Cherie Anderson, owner of Professional Tour Management Training and author of the "Tour Director Training Guide." Anderson has been working in the travel industry leading tours and cruises around the world since 1984. She began introducing her tour management training to colleges in Southern California in 1993, and now many of her past students are leading tours around the world.

Anderson realized the need for an extensive training course that is not only convenient for everyone, but also covers the skills needed for a variety of tourism careers. She feels there are vast differences among travel careers that many people misunderstand and a targeted training course for tour guides, directors, and hosts was long overdue.

"The skills are very different for travel agents and tour directors. For example, a tour director needs special skills to work with tour groups. The director must also understand tour group procedures and how to work with local suppliers, tour operators, tour guides, and assist with challenges and emergencies wherever they travel. On the other hand, the travel agent makes appointments from an office and arranges reservations. The two careers are entirely different, so the skills required are different as well," states Anderson.

Get Paid to Travel targets a wide audience of students that are interested in a travel career. Whether they want to become a local tour guide or work abroad, students gain the skills needed to enter their field of choice. Some might prefer to travel around the world and direct a variety of tours from week to week, including African safaris, cruises, European tours, etc.

Though very affordable, Anderson's online class helps students gain the required skills to land a well-paying travel job with a potentially bright future for those who work hard and are dedicated to their career. The average income for an experienced international or domestic tour director is $250 to $400 per day, including salary, tips, and commissions.

Students that have already enrolled in the class were amazed at the detailed training provided. As one student acclaims, "Cherie Anderson’s course Get Paid to Travel far exceeded my expectations. It was very in-depth and concise. This has been one of the most exciting, educational, and rewarding classes I’ve taken in the last five years in my pursuit of my B.A. of Geography with a Travel/Tourism concentration. Cherie is an open and honest person, a quality that seems hard to find these days. Thank You Cherie!"

Anderson says, Get Paid to Travel inspires students that are interested in a travel career to pursue what they love doing most while equipping them with the knowledge they need to become a great tour guide or director."

More information is available at the Web address below:

http://www.tourtraining.com/

New! 

Published Article September 2007: 

Have you always dreamed of traveling to interesting places and getting paid to do so? As a professional tour guide or tour director, this dream can become a reality. But how do you get started as a tour guide or tour director? How do you find travel jobs? Where is work available for this type of career? Below are some helpful tips to help you find the tour guide job of your dreams.

What is a Tour Guide?

Before seeking a job in this field, you should have a clear understanding of the job and its requirements. A tour guide is not merely someone who leads a group of people around at a particular site. They are highly-skilled at what they do. They understand how to communicate and work with people. They know the rules and expect the group to follow those rules. Tour guides study hard to learn all they can about the site or attraction so they can answer questions along the way. They understand the importance of safety and are trained to handle emergencies when they arise.

Types of Tour Guide Jobs

Tour guide duties vary according to the type of job. There are adventure travel jobs where you'll go along with a group of travelers by bus or plane to adventurous places and remain with the group for the entire trip. With this type of job, you must have skills in tour management, knowing tour procedures for handling large groups worldwide. As a tour director for multi-day tours, you'll be responsible for managing arrangements, briefings, procedures, working with suppliers, handling emergencies, documentation and more. On international tours, you'll have a local guide to deliver interesting and informative narration. You might become a tour director for African safaris, mountain hiking, winery tours, walking tours - whatever your desire. So, whether you want to travel abroad or find a tour guide job or tour director job in your local area, there are plenty of opportunities.

Tour Guide Training

A smart first step in finding the travel job of your dreams is to take a tour management training course. Training is available for tour guides, tour directors, and cruise hosts. With tour management training, you'll learn about safety procedures for various travel methods and destinations. You'll also learn about working with tour operators, suppliers, handling emergencies, documentation, delivering informative narration, giving important tour briefings, types employers, getting hired and more. Both tour guide training and tour director training will help you prepare to work with people, become a great speaker, get organized, and be able to act immediately when emergencies arise. It is an important first step for most professional tour directors and guides.

Tour Jobs

Once you are trained and have knowledge of the wide variety of opportunities and types of employers, you will find the tour guide job or tour director job that will fit your personality and desires. Determine the type of position you would like and where you would like to work. Do you want to travel to exotic places or, would you rather be a tour guide in your local area so you can be home at night with your family?

There is Get Paid to Travel available through over 2100 colleges worldwide. So, you won't even have to leave your home to learn these valuable skills.

No matter what your career goals, there's a travel job waiting for you! To learn more about subjects like tour guide jobs please visit the web site at: http://tourtraining.com

For more information and informative related articles and links about this subject matter and content, please visit Majon's Travel directory: http://www.majon.com/directory/Travel