Start & Run a Tour Guiding Business. Barbara Braidwood, Susan Boyce & Richard Cropp

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СКАЧАТЬ For example, many cruise line meet-and-greet guides are volunteers. Or you can contact local museums, botanical gardens, historical attractions, and art galleries. Many are chronically short of cash and welcome volunteers.

      (h) Include hobbies if they are relevant and demonstrate experience. If you say you have been a member of Toastmasters for six years, a potential employer will know something important about your public speaking ability.

      (i) This is a people industry. Whenever possible, drop your résumé off in person so at least one person knows what you look like and how you present yourself. Always be polite, professional, and immaculate in your appearance. Skilled receptionists and secretaries frequently eliminate sloppily dressed or rude applicants before the first round of job interviewing starts.

      (j) Have some references available to show a potential employer during the interview. Be shameless about asking past employers or other responsible individuals for a letter of reference which will show you as levelheaded, energetic, reliable, and competent. If you organized a city tour for your church group or your son’s baseball team, the minister or coach will likely be more than happy to help you out.

      No book can teach you how to have the personality tour operators are looking for when they hire guides. Once you are invited for an interview, be prepared before you go in, be natural during the process, and remember that “fit” within the company is just as important as skills and experience — sometimes even more important. Many guides, when talking about past interviews, have told us about “great” interviews which ended with the tour operator explaining, “You have a wonderful future in this business, but you’re not quite what we are looking for.” Do not get discouraged and always ask if your interviewer can recommend another company you should apply to.

      5. A Starting Point

      The best starting point for any job search is in your own community. While the newspaper is traditionally downplayed as a source of employment leads, it is still worth looking at. Sometimes you can strike paydirt in the local daily.

      Visit your local travel agent — he or she will know if there are any tour companies locally who might be hiring guides. If you see a bus sporting a sign that says “ABC Tours,” note down the company’s phone number and give it a call. All tour companies hire guides from somewhere, so why not put your name in front of as many of them as possible. Other sources are the Yellow Pages (yes, they really are a great reference), your local chamber of commerce, and departments of tourism (municipal, provincial or state, and national). Appendix 2 lists some of the major tour operators you should contact. Don’t be put off by a company just because it is located on the other side of the continent. Tour operators need reliable guides everywhere because tours are created everywhere.

      6. How Much Will I Make?

      6.1 Pay rates

      Payment varies widely throughout the industry, usually by region. According to research by the National Tour Association, rates are highest in the northeast, Great Lakes, mid-Atlantic, and southern regions. The northwest, west, and Pacific coast areas tend to be at the lower end of the pay scale. While it is possible to earn up to $65,000 per year (including tips) if you are employed by one of the major tour companies, a more realistic figure is probably $20,000 to $35,000. As an overall average, you can expect to make $100 to $150 per day as a tour director or $10 to $20 per hour as a local guide. Gratuities can add a substantial amount to your income, but they are unreliable. One group may tip lavishly, the next give nothing at all, and certain groups simply do not ever tip. Students, for example, are usually on a tight budget themselves, and some cultures consider tipping unnecessary or insulting.

      Another factor to consider is the seasonal nature of tour guiding. Only 20 percent of tour guides or tour directors work full time, year-round. For others, 150 days in a year would be considered a heavy work schedule. Regardless of location, the main tour season runs from May to October, ideal for people who want to pursue other interests or kick back and relax for six months out of the year. Some typical winter jobs are ski instructor, student, semi-retired go-getter, and artist.

      Bill Newton, cofounder of the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI), has found that many of the best tour guides and directors are the ones who integrate tour management with other pursuits. “If you’re doing this year-round,” he says, “it often becomes just another job. The ones who pursue other interests as well do this because they love the work. That makes them much better guides than people who are doing it only to make the payments.”

      6.2 Contracts

      Written contracts for freelancers are surprisingly uncommon. Most tour directors and guides are hired verbally on the basis of their résumé and a personal interview. It is not unheard of for someone with experience and good references to get the job after only a phone interview.

      7. Occupational Standards

      7.1 Canada

      In early 1996, the Canadian tour industry ratified a set of voluntary national standards. Long-term professionals in the industry established minimum proficiency levels in all areas of tour guiding and tour directing. The standards are divided into three sections:

      (a) Core skills

      (b) Tour director

      (c) Tour guide

      Maureen Wright of the Pacific Rim Institute of Tourism (PRIT) in Vancouver, British Columbia, one of many people who worked on setting the standards, believes they will be invaluable for self-regulation within the industry, could become key components for training and educational purposes, and will provide a solid basis for job descriptions. Copies of the standards are available from PRIT for CDN$25 each or CDN$75 for all three sections. Write to:

       Pacific Rim Institute of Tourism

      Box 12101

      930 - 555 W. Hastings Street

      Vancouver, BC V6B 4N6

      Tel: (604) 682-8000

      Fax: (604) 688-2554

      PRIT also began a testing/certification program in 1996 which will recognize qualified guides. The test involves a written exam (15 percent Canadian knowledge, 25 percent provincial knowledge, 65 percent local knowledge) and an on-site assessment by an independent evaluator who goes on tour with the applicant. This pilot project could ultimately be used to certify local guides in all major centers across the country.

      Montreal and Quebec City are, at present, the only cities in Canada with formal regulations for tour professionals. Both cities require local tour guides to be licensed, and impose fines for violation.

      7.2 United States

      There are no formal federal or state regulations governing tour directors in the United States. However, local guides in Washington (DC), New Orleans, and New York City must be licensed.

      7.3 Europe

      Most European countries regulate tour guides and tour directors. In many places, there are heavy fines for anyone — foreign or local — caught conducting a tour without the appropriate certification.

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