Being A Tour Guide

Jose J Santana801038178

Profa. Melvia Guzman

Description

• If you're considering being a tour guide, you may want to consider just what it means to work as a tour guide. The basic tour guide job description can actually vary quite a bit. A basic tour guide job description should go something like this:

• Tour guides are responsible for leading travelers on tours. They may lead individuals or groups. They may go for tours less than a day or greater than a day. The tours may be completely planned out ahead of time, or they may be more flexible. Tour guides are usually employed by tour companies, but some work alone.

Job Requirements

• A tour guide must be sure that they are able to provide for the safety of their clients. That may mean different things in different areas. A tour guide should have excellent communication skills, including the ability to speak and read whatever languages are necessary to communicate with the client and locals. A tour guide needs some form of transportation. Some tour guides drive small groups or individuals themselves. Others run walking tours, cycling tours or bus tours. A tour guide needs great right customer service skills. Your customers will be in a place that is totally new to them, which means lots of unexpected situations may arise. You'll need to be able to deal with these situations on the spot. Many tour guides need to have some sort of certification in the area in which they work. A tour guide will need specialized knowledge in the field they work in. This may mean getting a degree in history, taking a course in wine tasting or any other number of educational endeavors.

Salary• How much do other tour guides earn? What kind of salary can you expect if you

become a tour guide? Those are tricky questions that anybody considering work as a tour guide will have to consider.

• Tour guide salaries vary widely based on several factors, most notably location. A tour guide in London is most likely going to earn a lot more than a tour guide in Vietnam - that's just a matter of local earnings levels.

• You will also need to consider whether you will be working for a company, or for yourself. Employment in a tour company should provide you with a consistent salary. On the other hand, working for yourself may allow you to earn a lot more, but your income will not be guaranteed.

• A good way to check what independent tour guides are charging would be to check Synotrip. Their asking prices per hour and day are public, giving you a good idea of local rates. Another way to check would be to browse local job sites such as Monster. You can also try doing a search for tour guides in your area on Google or Twitter; they should have a good idea of expected rates in your area.

How to be the Best Tour Guide• "How to be a tour guide" is a loaded topic. It's essentially the topic of this entire website. But for this page, let's

break this topic down into several bite-sized pieces.• How to be the Best Tour Guide• To be the "best tour guide" really means to be the "best tour guide in the eyes of your customers." Being a tour

guide is a business so you have to cater to your customers as much as possible. Here are some tips on how to keep your customers happy.

• Before you begin a tour, it's of the utmost importance that you make sure your customers have a clear understanding of what they are paying for and what they're going to get. Where will you be going?

• Is there room for a change of plans if they want?• Will there be additional fees that they will have to pay? Think: food, tickets, transportation, etc.• Will they be with you or another tour guide?• What kind of food will be available? Will you have cuisine available to match special dietary requirements?• Will the places you travel to be accessible to them?• What will they need to bring? A tourist may forget to bring sunscreen and end up having their whole day ruined.

Think ahead.• Are all destinations you will go to family friendly?• What is the selling-point of your tour or tour guide service? Are your customers looking for a leisurely trip or

mad excitement?• How many people will be on the tour?• What form of transportation will you use?• How much walking will there be? For some people, even walking a few blocks is considered exercise.• What might the weather be like?• Do you speak their language well enough for their needs?

Would I Pursue This Career

• Definitely.• I love interacting with new things, new

cultures, new people, etc…• It is a career that makes you study the history

of everything because if your going to be a guide people will be looking after you. Is a very fun thing to do every single day, to wake up and walk around educating people…what could be better than that?

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