How to be a Tour Guide - PDF ebook

Being a tour guide can be a full time career, or a casual or part time job.

Being a tour guide can be a full time career, or a casual or part time job.  Some jobs are an amalgamation of being a tour guide and other things.

-Small tourism companies might be managed by just a few people (perhaps family), who could at times be planning, organising and marketing tours, then at other times leading a tour as a guide.

-Attractions such as zoos, museums and national parks may employ people to manage the attractions, but at times also lead tours.

Read this book to understand better exactly what tour guides do, and what they need to learn in order to do their job successfully.

Pages: 51

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 ROLE OF THE TOUR GUIDE 
What is a tour guide? 
Types of tour guide 
Historical 
City tour guides 
Museum 
Park 
Nature 
Adventure 
The role of the tour guide
What are the tour guide’s responsibilities? 
Sharing knowledge 
Carrying out research 
Tour guide skills 
Leadership 
Communication 
Organisation 

CHAPTER 2 PRACTICAL SKILLS USED IN TOURS 
Initial introductions and establishing rapport 
Selling your passion – introducing yourself and why you love being a guide 
Customer research – establish your group’s interests at the start 
Personalising a tour - adapting your tour to fit your group’s interests 
Learning names – hints and tips 
Identifying access and equity issues (wheelchairs/buggies/ additional sensory needs) 
Voice projection and presentation skills 
What kind of stories to tell? 
Tell, tell, tell (tell them what you will talk about, talk about it, summarise key points) 
Building affect and emotional connection with your audience 
Keep things short and simple
Maintaining the group’s interest and involvement 
Introducing age/interest appropriate games or activities 
Time management 
Preparing for the group’s arrival 
Choosing a meeting spot 
Managing parking or transport issues 
Comfort breaks 
Keeping the tour together (and moving at a group-appropriate pace) 
Running a trial tour 

CHAPTER 3 ORGANISING TOUR ACTIVITIES 
Knowing who is in the group 
Ability 
Age 
Carrying out research effectively 
Scheduling 
Punctuality 
Calculating time required for different activities 
Selecting complementary activities 
Adapting 
Creativity

CHAPTER 4 WORKING WITH OTHER SUPPLIERS
AND ORGANISATIONS 
Accommodation 
Check-in 
Adventure accommodation issues 
Catering 
Managing multiple dietary requirements when camping 
Managing multiple dietary requirements from accommodations/hotels 
Transport 
Choosing transport services
Equipment 
Linking with other organisations 

CHAPTER 5 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
AND PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR TOUR GUIDES 
How to get jobs as a tour guide 
Setting up own business 
Developing a USP 
Marketing a tour business
Pestle analysis – why it’s relevant 
Assessing risk 
How to plan for and managing risks 
A risk assessment is a document which is created risk assessments 
What do we mean by a risk on a tour? 
Requirements for licenses or permits 
Insurance 
Further reading and study 
More ebooks available 
Courses available