Tactics to keep the group enthusiastic

· Keep the commentary light: People travel for enjoyment, so present the facts with a sense of humour. Be witty but also monitor your tone of voice to allow variation.

· Keep the narrations positive: Each country or province has problems but do not dwell on them and focus on the positive things instead.

· Personalize the information: Groups are curious about the guy‘s personal and professional life. Turn this curiosity to an advantage and weave some personal information in the commentary. Do so moderately.

· Know your audience and involve them: Tailor the information to each particular group. If the group is farmers or accountants point our sites that they might find most interesting. Schedule and allow many photo opportunities as the tour will allow.

· Be accurate and specific: Present information in an academic manner that is accurate and specific. Quiz the visitors on the commentary to add some entertainment.

Types of Tour Guides (Canarini Tour Guides Lesson 4)

· Local Area Guides

Each city has its unique sights and places to visit. A local tour guide‘s job is to show visitors around the area and share with them the knowledge about the place.

Tour guides are hired to help visitors navigate the unfamiliar and explore the new things in that area. A great tour guide will know lots of interesting things and local gems to show visitors before they find out themselves.

· On-site Guides

On-site tour guides are tour guides for specific locations such as in museums, art galleries, historic houses or gardens. The tour guide will be extremely knowledgeable about the site and be able to walk visitors through and answer all the questions they have about the attraction. These are usually guides who work or have a contract with tour companies to escort tourists on day trips around the area. The duration is mostly a one-day tour.

· City Guides

City guides are tour guides who work within the city mostly leading visitor on walking tours of famous landmarks and attractions. They can also be working as tour guides on coaches or boat tours that take visitors around the city.

· Special Interest Guides

Special interest guides are guides who work with specific sites such as sporting stadiums or historic places. They use their extensive knowledge about the attractions to bring the fascinating facts about the venue to visitors. Special interest guides can also be found working in special events such as during the Australian Open Spring Racing Carnival, Olympic Games, Munich Beer Festival and so on. They assist visitors on transportation, local information, and showing them around the area.

· Private Tour Guides

Private tour guides are guides who are hired take a group of visitors to sites and attractions that they specifically have knowledge on. These tour guides can be hired by half a day to a day or any other periods depending on the visiting locations.

· Step-on Guides

Step-on Guides are mostly freelance or specialists who come on board to give commentaries about the attraction being toured. They are usually for free-booked tour groups who need someone with a special knowledge of particular sites or attractions being visited besides their own tour guide they may already have. Step-on guides are usually licensed and literally step on the tour bus as it enters the city. He guides the bus and its passengers through the city delivering interesting commentary and then steps off the bus as it exits the city at the end of the tour.

· Country Tour Guides/ Tour Escort

Country Tour Guides/ Tour Escort are tour guides who travel with clients or visitors, guiding them through various locations.

The country tour guides will be holding not only a responsibility showing clients around but also providing help and assistance to clients managing passenger lists, luggage, hotel bookings and organizing city tours along the way. Moreover, country tour guides sometimes also help to arrange meals and special events such as passes into festivals or cultural events. In the case of Contiki tours they also organize cooking classes for the passengers during the tour.

This type of tour guide works for tour operators who organize the tour, sells the tour and sets up arrangements ready for the tour guide as such tours are often for a longer duration – several weeks, so it is valuable to have a tour guide on board who can resolve problems as they arise, looks after the passengers and generally keeps the tour ticking along the schedule.

Tour guides on these kinds of trips will stay with their tour groups for days or even for weeks and this type of guiding is also known as tour conducting.

· Specialized/Outdoor Guides

Specialized/Outdoor Guides are tour guides who have particular skills that match the clients‘ needs.

They conduct bike tours, hiking expeditions, skiing, or tours that are more physically demanding and different than usual walking tours. They may even be guiding with certain types of transport such as leading motorcycle or cycling tours. The cost for guided tours for groups vary from free tours in many cities in the world provided by public service organizations to much more expensive organized trips such as treks in Nepal. It is also possible to hire a private tour guide who works with a client or group of clients to develop a customized tour which tends to be costlier but includes personalized and detailed attention which some people enjoy while travelleing.

How to Become a Tour Guide ( Canarini Tour Guides Lesson 3)

· Consider your personal qualities and job requirements. A professional tour guide must present and establish these below factors:

- People-oriented: this job is all about interaction with people. It is a critical personal character that one must already have. You must enjoy dealing with people of all occupations such as customers, suppliers, your colleagues.

- Energetic and in good health: Tour guising requires a certain level of physical fitness as the job involves ongoing walking and talking constantly moving on and off vehicles, unusual working hours outdoors and indoors. Fitness is especially crucial during the peak of tourism season when taking sick leaves without prior notice might result in stranding a coach full of tourists without a tour guide.

- A love for destinations you are guiding: Feeling passionate about any locations that you are tour guiding will give you more motivation in portraying the sites with interest and facts which involve a touch of your personal experience, positive only. Those who are essential to make the tour commentary memorable to your group of visitors. If you have to pretend to like a place you shouldn‘t be tour guiding there.

- Knowledgeable: To establish your credibility as a tour guide you need to know thoroughly everything about the destination from the natural facts, historical stories, cultural lifestyle, the city‘s attractions, local restaurants, the dos and don‘ts. This requires you to do an additional research besides the basic knowledge in the training courses. You need to work hard in expanding your own knowledge, so your commentary is more informative and interesting. Knowledge is needed to provide better services to your customers in order to achieve more success in your career.

- Trustworthiness: As a tour guide you will be handling important documents, luggage and money to pay for entrance fees or other tour-related costs. Therefore, it is critical that you establish an honest working ethic so that customers and companies feel comfortable being on the tour you guide.

Police checks are most likely the first requirement prior to your application to any potential employer.

- Patience: There are a lot of issues on tours that will test your patience such as traffic, flight delays, passengers who get lost or lost track of time, dealing with the local offices or government and so on. Having a calm and collective mind-set is necessary to keep yourself flexible in all kinds of situations in order to come up to the best solutions and also to help your customers better. Be cool and mindful with your passengers, suppliers and the general public.

- Organized: Timing is everything and therefore to be well-prepared at all times is essential to be a professional tour guide. Knowing where to be, when to be and what to bring along will require you to carefully plan your own checklist for all the necessary documents, booking confirmation, guest lists, trains or flight information. Each customer might be different, so ensure everything is clear, so you don‘t waste time looking unprofessional.

- Punctual: As a tour guide you will need to follow the schedule of the tour itineraries and programs. Not only must you be on time but you have to be early than anyone else. Be the first person to arrive at any departure point. To wait for your customers is the way to create a good impression from the beginning with your group.

- Adaptable and flexible: Tours are subject to change in the last minute from time to time due to transportation or other aspect of the tour. Therefore a professional tour guide needs to be trained in being adaptable with all types of changes that might occur during the tour. Moreover being flexible to come up with new solutions to operate within the trip will not only help to maintain a good trip but also to build up a better connection and relationship with your customers, suppliers.

- Resourceful and creative: As a tour guide you need to expect the unexpected despite being provided with all itinerary, passengers and

transportation. Your passengers may get sick during the trip, there are more people added or fewer people in the group, changing route or one of the attractions you are scheduled to visit is closed. In such situations there‘s no time to be confused or stressed out but to immediately come up with other ways to fulfill the trip. The ability to be creative is one thing that differentiates tour guides. Those who are more creative and resourceful will indeed appear more reliable to customers and suppliers.

- Ethical: It is important that you maintain an ethical standard for your profession as a tour guide. You might get offered incentives in the monetary or gifts forms to take tourists to certain places, sites or shops that are not in the originally established itinerary in order for them to buy something from that particular destination. This is unprofessional and is considered forbidden. Thus, it is necessary to keep in mind and not fall into this trap.

- Language skill: As a tour guide you will be working with customers from all around the world. Therefore, being able to speak more than one language will give you a great advantage when communicating with customers. Moreover, tour guides need to possess excellent interpersonal skill and ability to work unremittingly for the customers from the beginning of the trip until the end when customers are returned safely.

· Follow the standards and licensing regulations.

The World Federation of Tourist Guides Associations is an organization that is in charge of setting high-level professionalism within the tour guiding sector and has developed a code of guiding practice for its member guides:

- to provide a professional service to visitors, professional in care and commitment and professional in providing an objective understanding of the place visited, free from prejudice and propaganda;

- to ensure that as far as possible what is presented as fact is true and a clear distinction is made between the truth and stories, legends, traditions or opinions;

- to act fairly and reasonably in all dealing with all those who engage the services of guides and with colleagues working in all aspects of tourism;

- to protect the reputation of tourism in our country by making every endeavor to ensure that guided groups treat with respect the environment, wildlife, sites and monuments, and also local customs and sensitivities;

- as representatives of the host country to welcome visitors and act in such a way as to bring credit to the country visited and promoted as a tourist destination.

There are many national organizations around the world that set standards for tour guides operating within their boundaries. In some countries tour guides are accredited by these organizations acquiring professional qualifications that are verified by the tour guiding associations.

Licensing regulations are in place to ensure that visitors are not subjected to harassment at popular attractions nor are they ripped off by inexperienced people posing as tour guides.

In some cities depending on its regulations a tour guide license might be required.

Therefore, it is best to check with the City Council before starting your job.

· Get tour guide training and qualifications

One of the key qualifications to be a professional tour guide is up-to-date broad knowledge about the located destination. Each country has its own tour guiding licensing and accreditation system. Thus, we recommend that a prospective tour guide does a thorough research in the area they want to follow to acquire relevant qualification certificates.

You can begin a career in tour guiding by working in a specific attraction such as a museum, castle, or art gallery. The learning about attraction is easier as the area of

focus is small. Once you have established as an attraction or site tour guide you may then progress to tour guiding in your local area before setting your site on international tour guiding.

As a foundation to any destination or geographical knowledge a general qualification in tourism is a great place to start. Each country has its own such qualifications and its content is remarkably similar. Core subjects will include: the tourism industry, communication skills, problem-solving, Health & Safety, dealing with emergencies, presentation techniques, local geography, local culture and history, practical tour guiding in the local area, practical tour guiding in local attractions, tour guiding management and administration.

The Tour Guide‘s Duties and Responsibilities ( Canarini Tour Guides Lesson 2 )

Tour Guide‘s Duties

· Do an in-depth research of the destination prior to the tour.

· Plan and agree itineraries as well as interpretation for guided tours in the area.

· Lead tour groups on coach, at site, and on foot.

· Provide practical information, advice and assistance.

· Ensure the safety of passengers and the public at all times.

· Be quick and practical in emergency situations. Also, be prepared for any possible problems that might arise during the tour.

· Develop positive relationships with clients, colleagues and visitors.

· Maintain the professional but friendly attitude throughout the entire trip.

· Manage tour documents, financial reconciliations, and appropriate records. Tours that require overnight stays will involve a more detailed tour management from the tour guide including:

· Checking passengers into hotels en route and liaison with accommodation providers.

· Organizing and leading short tours en route.

· Handling customs, immigration and security processes at border controls.

· Management of passengers‘ baggage for the duration of the tour.

Tour Guide‘s Responsibilities

To your customer:

· Provide your customers with honest information and explanations about destination, without prejudice.

· Give your customer a factual presentation that distinguishes true stories, traditions and legends.

· Act with tact and diplomacy.

· Warn your customers about:

- bad weather and the necessary clothing to bring with

- plants which might cause allergies

- food allergy (if applicable)

· Caution of animal bite.

· Presence of pick-pockets in crowded areas.

· Check your luggage, belongings before leaving.

To yourself and your colleagues:

· Never allow yourself to be used by organizations who want to take advantage of you and your customers.

· Never take advantage of the lack of knowledge of your customers.

· If you get asked questions that you can‘t answer, be honest and respond with ―I don‘t know. I‘ll find out for you‖, and do it as soon as possible.

· Practice reasonable and fair teamwork with your colleagues and co- workers.

To the country you are guiding tours:

· Protect the reputation of every country.

· Treat your tours with the respect for the environment, wildlife, sights & monuments, local customs and traditions.

· Act responsibly as a representative of the country and the people of the destination.

A very good tour guide vs a great tour guide (Canarini Tour Guide Lesson 11)

Starting the Tour

A good tour guide lonely introduces himself, welcome you and give you an introduction of what to expect on the tour.

A great tour guide takes the time to know where you‘re from while you‘re visiting, your interests. If there are others on the tour he will introduce everyone on the tour to each other. The best guide spends the time getting to know the guests on the tour that day and not in a intrusive way that shows genuine interest. It could be during the drive ride, over lunch, drinks or as you walk from site to site

Seeing the sites

A good tour guide only shows you all the sites on the itinerary.

A great tour guide:

- not only ensures you to see what‘s promised but also modifies the itinerary to ensure you to see the sites when there are at least amount of crowds to maximize your enjoyment.

- he‘d like to show you additional nearby attractions on request and may recommend you new experiences based on your interests

- he even has a few personal must-see favourite places he‘s eager to show on his tour

- he never brings you to the stores where he earns a commission if you buy recommends where are truly the best places to eat, shop or buy that kind of souvenir you‘re eyeing and he‘ll gladly bring you there before or after the tour.

Time management

A good tour guide not only will be on time but he will also manage the time so you know how long you have at an attraction, what time you are expected to return and will ensure you are back on time.

A great tour guide:

- is aware of the start and end time but is flexible with the time and will tailor the day based on your interests and your time constraints;

- never rushes you as he is on your schedule

may even get so excited about an attraction that the tour goes on longer than expected with your permission as a result

Commentary

A good tour guide follows the script and gives you the historical and cultural background of the attractions

A great tour guide:

- is a gifted storyteller who is passionate about the attraction he‘s showing you. His historical accounts will take you back in time. Even personal anecdotes about what it‘s like to live there including the good and bad and the ugly will make you laugh,

- not only will tell you about the culture, he‘ll incorporate some cultural experiences into the tour, for example, stopping for mint tea in Morocco or sampling purified shark in Iceland;

tells you stories like telling a longtime friend in town for a visit.

Local knowledge

A good tour guide is familiar with the city or the country on the tour.

A great tour guide:

- can tell what makes this place so unique and special compared to other countries and cultures

is passionate about travelling, understands why you‘re travelling and understands what it‘s like to be on vacation and will do everything in his power to ensure you‘re having the best trip ever.

Wrapping up

A  good  tour  guide   concludes  the  tour  with  closing  remarks  ―Thank  you  for coming on the trip‖ and gently reminds you about tips for the driver. Of course, a good tour guide won‘t pressure you into tipping him personally.

A great tour guide:

- thanks you for your visit and welcomes you back

- offers recommendations for other activities you should consider during your visit

- may invite you to dinner to some other local event going on during your stay

- will love showing you around so much

- he will even offer to treat you

- never asks for tips but you want to leave one and recommend him to all your friend and family

The best guides may be in the tourism industry or the hospitality industry. These guides are personally friendly and above all so passionate about travelling and showing their country to guests that the enthusiasm overflows like water from a ruptured fire hydrant. As for guests they will sense the excitement from tour guides, finish the tour feeling like they just hung out with a longtime friend and can‘t wait to go back. If all tour guides are great, visitors would gladly take more tours.

Benefits from being a tour guide ( Canarini Tour Guides Lesson 12 )

· Tour guiding creates an opportunity for individuals to learn new knowledge about an area or attraction and let them share that knowledge in with others, helping and guiding others to be familiar in a new place.

· Tour guides have flexible working hours that doesn‘t limit within the useful 9am - 5pm business hours nor within the working space of an office. Tour guides would enjoy working at different attractions and outdoor.

· Commentary and deliver speeches to engage visitors are crucial skills to become a tour guide. Therefore tour guides are people who love to tell jokes and tales, making people laugh and holding the attention.

· It is a great way to make friends no matter where they come from as they will meet different groups from all over the world. There are also new things to learn from visitors so being a tour guide is rarely a boring job and it‘s always refreshing.

· Many tour guides establish great friendships with their visitors and the satisfaction of visitors after the tour brings wonderful joy to them.

· Country tour guides have the opportunity to travel to new places at no cost to themselves, and the excitement of leading tours to new destinations can be challenging but at the same time exhilarating. Many people thrive on the challenges of guiding long tours, as each group on itinerary is different.

· City guides are mostly free of charge at most attractions, sites or special events. Their employer will pay for their entrance fees and some sites/attractions may even provide additional complimentary catering for tour guides.

· Tour guides are paid a salary but they often earn a significant amount of money in tips from the visitors if the job is done well. Over each peak visiting season these tips can be more than their basic salary and can make up for the lack of work in any off-season period.

· Tour guide is an occupation that suits a lot of people if they have additional time as the working hours for tour guides are flexible, for example, students,

people on their overseas experience, semi-retired people or for those who prefer seasonal work.