Focus on the need of your clients

As a tour guide you have to think over what your clients want when enquiring about your guiding service. They want a unique and fantastic travel experience. They want a local expert to make things easy. They want a tailor-made tour specifically for themselves and their travel mates. They want their money spent with best value... Yes, all true. Although every individual is different with their travel needs, there are some patterns shared by certain groups of people. By better understanding your client, you as a tour guide will provide service of higher quality. So let‘s have a look at some clients who are interested in a private tour guide.

Business travelers

This group of clients are usually time poor. They visit a place for business, conferences, exhibitions and events etc. During their limited free time (usually half a day or one day), they would like to know the best of the city. As they are time poor do not present everything. Pick up the top things that meet their personal interests. Besides, business travelers are often interested in the area they are working on. A designer may be glad to see creative things, while an engineer can get excited about

machines and buildings. Pay attention to their interest and broaden your knowledge in daily work. A great tour guide is more than a scenery narrator.

Cruise passengers

They tend to prefer a leisure way of exploring. While on the sea they enjoy their vacation. Once on shore, they want to experience some excursions and adventure. One character they share with business travelers is limited time on-shore. So pick up something unique and not everything. And remember cruise passengers are on a vacation so they may want to be relaxed.

Senior travelers

After years of working, now they are retired. Their children have grown up and have their own families. So senior travelers have more free time to enjoy. They are usually not short of time for their tour. Design a tour with good combination of sightseeing and relaxation. Senior travelers also enjoy talking with people. Share their life experiences. A good guide shall listen to them and make good accompany during their tour.

1. Guided tours by the venue and location

- urban tours (городские)

- rural tours (загородные)

- plant tours (производственные)

- museum tours (музейные)

- combined tours (комплексные, сочетающие элементы нескольких видов).

2. Guided tours by the mode of movement

- walking tours (пешеходные)

- guided tours with the use of transport (и с использованием различных видов транспорта).

Walking tours around the city are carried out on foot. In different cities of Russia there are many interesting routes that pass through the main sights of a city, historical part is included by all means.

A tour guide can be challenged of an ideal walking tour. You need to pay attention to the tour pace (темп движения). The tour guide‘s speed needs to be OK with the slowest person in the group. Check the condition of your clients and make it easy for everyone to follow you. Mind especially if you are with elder people or children.

Walk in the front, or together with those in the front, as a tour guide is leading the way. You‘d better not have your clients stop and ask you for directions. When you arrive at corners or turns, pause or slow down. See if all your clients are within your sight. Do not lose people, otherwise you will have trouble. However, it is also advised not to pause too often. People feel as well tired with slow speed.

City walking tour has high requirements of a tour guide. The guide shall be well prepared for route selection, combination of spots along walking, speed and physical condition of travelers, resting points and toilets etc. But above all, walking is probably the best way to understand a city.

Guided tours with the use of transport Транспортные экскурсии (guided tours with the use of transport ) mostly consist of two parts - on-site presentation and tour commentaries. Travel companies may use different types of vehicles to carry out such tours – coaches, trams, trolley buses, boats, helicopters, etc.