Tour Guides are responsible for helping people to visit unfamiliar areas. They usually make special trips with groups of tourists in order to show them important places of cities. Their work is very useful for visitors who are for the first time in some areas, because these professionals are very knowledgeable and provide valuable information to people. They may work in travel agencies or museums.
Tour Guides usually perform many of the following tasks:
• Describing places to people.
• Greeting tourists groups.
• Providing safety devises.
• Escorting groups of people on cruises.
• Providing directions to tourists.
Skills
• Being flexible and proactive.
• Having good presentation skills.
• Being enthusiastic and friendly.
• Having good verbal communication skills.
• Being able to interact with people from different backgrounds.
• Having multiple language skills.
• Being able to work with a team.
• Having time management skills.
• Being able to retain historical facts.
• Having excellent knowledge about points of interest of specific cities.
Education
Requirements to be a Tour Guide vary depending on cities and companies. Among basic qualifications for these jobs are training programs and internships related to this area. These courses are offered by community colleges and tourism training schools. People working on this area usually receive on-the-job training from their employers in order to learn some basic and advanced skills. Among suitable certifications for this business are the Certified Tour Professional offered by the National Tour Association and the Sustainable Tourism Eco-certification offered by Sustainable Travel International.
- Tour Guide Skills
- Tour Guide Description
- Guide
- Tour Supervisor
- Tour Operator
- Tour Manager
- Tour Leader
- Tour Director
- Tour Coordinator
- Tour Operations Manager