Northern Ireland Tourist Guides “Good to Go”: Recipe for Recovery

Visitor Needs and Wants

• Local and Domestic Visits and Road Trips. International travel is not expected to pick up before 2022.   This has a strong impact for tourist guides who traditionally work more with overseas visitors.  So, it is important to think about how we can adapt our tours to appeal to some of these domestic visitors. 
• Wish to avoid crowds: countryside rather than cities. This is an opportunity for tourist guides to develop new tours which will go to lesser-known areas of Northern Ireland.  This trend will also apply to the first international visitors as well so guides can help their tour operators by identifying good places to take people once the market opens up again. Remember tour operators are also suffering financially and their staff may have changed and be less experienced,  so the more you can do to help them makes it more likely they will want to employ you again. 
• Travelling with Friends & Family: Multi-generational groups. This of course means that we need to consider how to adapt our tours to varied age groups and particularly for children and their families.  The old principle of planning your commentary for an intelligent 12-year-old will stand you in good stead when you have real children in front of you!
• Last minute decisions will be the norm. People are afraid to make commitments when they are unsure what will be permitted so they will wait until the last minute
• New and Customised Experiences will be looked for especially for stay-cationers who want to find something new to do in Northern Ireland. What are the hidden stories and places you could tell them about?  Could you work with local accommodation providers (including self-catering) to offer a package?
• Health and Wellness conscious: People are very concerned about health and wellness. A tourist guide who clearly follows Covid 19 Good to Go Protocols will be considered a safe person to go with.  You should also be aware that proof of vaccine may be required for both visitors and guides.  Several cruise ship companies are doing round Britain cruises in 2021 and their passengers will have to be vaccinated and it is likely that the guides will have to as well or at least be tested for Covid 19.
• People have missed out on human contact so a personal tour with a real live guide might be of interest to them especially when they can be assured that everywhere they go is safe.
• Sustainability is becoming even more important and guides should think about how they could work with their own local community. Are there any community events you could bolt tours on to?

Ideas for the Domestic Market

• Work with accommodation providers to offer a package
• Bicycle Tours
• Walks and Treasure Hunts with Stories and Legends
• Wildlife Detection and Photography – do you know places they can go?
• Who Do You Think You Are? – Genealogy, Find a Grave, Family History
• Whiskey and Food – walks with special stops
• Explore the Hidden Places in Your Own City

Short and Long Term Marketing

• Phone Apps – they are being developed all the time and could be seen as competition, but there is an opportunity to write the script and use them for real live tours for example Guiding Group's Smart Guide.
• Virtual Tours – these can bring in income now but also remind people you are available when they are. Tour operators may want to see you “guiding” rather than just a CV if they don’t know you already. For more information click here.
• Social Media Marketing is key – everyone will be looking on line both now and in the future.