The establishment of Global Tourism & Hospitality Institute is to train more tourism professionals to make tourism this “smoke-free” industry that bring countless foreign dollars to our country with endless stream of manpower supply.
Tour guide is a fun career, but you still need to have some basic elements in order to let you go in this area more professional and more long-term.
The following is the 10 basic elements to become a tour guide:
1. Strong Communication
As a tour guide should speak a range of languages, including your own, as well as the local lingo. Tour guide should also speak clearly, audibly and with confidence. Depending on the type of tour, you might be asked to wear earphones or use other types of audio equipment.
2. Personable & Outgoing
Tour Guide shouldn’t just be able to communicate well, they have to be great conversationalists with outgoing personalities. And a guide should be able to break that immediately to help people feel comfortable talking to each other and their guide. This ensures later on they feel open to add comments or add questions along the way.
3. Good Memory
Tour guides need to retain a lot of stats and facts when walking people around a city but they also need to be a great story-teller. Guides simply can’t get the information wrong, spend extra time trying to remember it or spend the whole tour reading from a piece of paper.
4. Knowledgable
A good tour guide has an in-depth knowledge of the site, its history and importance. A great tour guide has a passion for their subject and can convey their enthusiasm to the group. Such passion can be contagious and inspiring, and make the site really come alive. Being able to convey a sense of the overall cultural background is also important, as it can greatly enhance each tour member’s overall understanding of the site as a whole.
5. Full of Enthusiasm
Just as guides will often play off the energy of the group, your attendees will likely feed off the energy of their guide. Your guide has be enthusiastic about the thing they’re talking about, but not so enthusiastic that they fail to sound genuine.
6. Humour & friendly
Just like being outgoing and enthusiastic, humor can be the perfect tool to cut any tensions and as always add an extra layer of entertainment for guests.
7. Punctuality
Punctuality is a can’t do without quality for tour guides. If your guide isn’t on time to meet arriving attendees at the meet up location there will be confusion, frustration and unhappy tour goers.
8. A Keen Sense of Good Direction
Tour guide should also be able to help direct guests. Often guides have to be prepared to give some general directions to help people get to where they need to be when the tour is complete.
9. Speak Loudly & Clearly
Your guests need to hear you properly so that they can digest the information and remain engaged. A small group size is always the best for a tour as it allows you to pay close attention to, and manage the guest experience. However, if you have a big group, consider using headsets so that everyone can hear the information you are providing.
10. Passion for The City
Last but certainly not least, true passion and interest can take a tour from typical to outstanding. Anyone can point and recite facts, but those who really love what they do can pass that passion onto tourists and locals to make them feel it too. Plus those with passion for their city, bring their own experience to the tours they give.