What do Tour Guides Do?
The work of Tourist Guides includes:
- Coach tours
- Walking tours
- Museum and Gallery and tours
- Cruise ship excursions
- Driver guiding
- Conferences & Incentives
- Meet and greet – airport/railway station transfers
- Hospitality desks
- Familiarisation and press trips
Assets and Attributes of Tourist Guides:
- flexible and adaptable
- friendly and approachable
- trustworthy
- open minded and tolerant
- sense of humour
- knowledgeable
- creative and confident
- full of integrity and enthusiasm
- positive attitude and professional
Responsibilities and Liabilities of Tourist Guides
As a Tourist Guide you are responsible:
- Towards the attraction/ city/country/region you guide in
- To promote it à enthuse your visitors to return. You are an ambassador!
- Towards the guests: you must respect your guests and their background and relate to their individual intellectual and emotional level. You have a duty of care!
- Towards sustainability: you must be a role model to your guests and inspire them to behave responsibly towards the environment, communities they visit and to support the local economy.
As a Tourist Guide you are liable:
- To your tour operator/agency or employer
- Towards guests: you must ensure that the guests get everything they have paid for.