Start & Run a Tour Guiding Business

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

START & RUN A TOUR GUIDING BUSINESS

Introduction

1. Before You Quit Your Day Job

1. Why Group Travel?

1.1 Convenient, hassle-free travel

1.2 Companionship

1.3 Safety

1.4 Affordability

1.5 Knowledgeable leader

2. Different Types of Tours. 2.1 Cruising

2.2 Rail tours

2.3 Bus tours

2.4 Adventure/eco tours

2.5 City tours

2.6 Theme tours

3. Different Types of Guides

3.1 Local guide

(a) Site guide

(b) Step-on guide

(c) Driver guide

(d) Meet-and-greet guide

3.2 Tour director

3.3 Tour operator

2. Can You Really Do This Dream Job?

1. The Rewards. 1.1 Freedom

1.2 Challenge and excitement

1.3 Creative opportunity

1.4 Sharing the joy of a destination

1.5 Meeting people

1.6 Tax write-offs

2. Day To Day — The Reality. 2.1 Long hours

2.2 You are never off duty

2.3 Be prepared for complaints

2.4 You are not going to get rich

2.5 Home is where the laundry is

3. Getting The Job

1. Assessing Yourself

1.1 Characteristics of success

1.2 Sticking to your goals

(a) Put your goals down on paper

(b) Review and revise

(c) Learn from your mistakes

1.3 Do your homework (a) Network

(b) Associations and organizations

(c) Read and research

2. Formal Education

3. The Importance of Language

3.1 Learning a language

3.2 Body language

4. Your Résumé

5. A Starting Point

6. How Much Will I Make? 6.1 Pay rates

6.2 Contracts

7. Occupational Standards. 7.1 Canada

7.2 United States

7.3 Europe

4. Meet The Players

1. The travel suppliers

1.1 Airlines

1.2 Consolidators and wholesalers

1.3 Tour operators

(a) Group Inclusive Tour (GIT)

(b) Foreign Independent Travel (FIT)

(c) Independent Tours (IT)

(d) FAM

1.4 Hotels and car rental agencies

1.5 Insurance

1.6 Cruises

2. Agency Specialties

3. Travel Regulators — IATA, BSP, IATAN, AND ARC

5. What Does It Take To Become The Perfect Tour Director?

1. General Duties. 1.1 Present a professional image at all times

(a) Learn everyone’s name

(b) Encourage everyone to feel they belong

(c) Mind your p’s and q’s

(d) Avoid comparisons with other companies

(e) Don’t show favoritism

(f) Do not take sides

(g) Always be immaculately groomed

1.2 Encourage people to experience the uniqueness of a destination

1.3 Be environmentally aware

1.4 Hurry up latecomers

1.5 Keep written, daily reports

1.6 Have map, will travel

2. Welcome To Today’s Destination — Providing Commentary

2.1 The area’s natural environment

2.2 Sociology

2.3 The area’s history and current statistics

2.4 Transportation

2.5 Taxes

3. It’s All A Matter of Communication

3.1 Keeping their attention

3.2 Can everyone hear me?

3.3 The strange case of the missing voice

4. Keep People Informed About All Activities

5. Confirm And Reconfirm All Reservations

6. Be Prepared

6. You’re On Your Way

1. At The Airport (Or Other Terminals)

1.1 Confirm your group’s reservation

1.2 Departure day

1.3 Checking in

1.4 Boarding

1.5 During the flight

1.6 On arrival at the destination terminal

2. Hotels

2.1 On arrival

2.2 Moving on, checking out

3. Luggage

3.1 Precautions

3.2 Keeping track while on tour

3.3 A lifesaver tracking tip

3.4 Lost luggage

4. Dining

4.1 Seating

4.2 Considerations for group dining

4.3 Menus

4.4 Take regular breaks

4.5 The “best” place to eat may not be

5. Border Crossings And Other Wild Animals

5.1 Passports and travel documentation

5.2 Restricted items

5.3 Register valuables

5.4 Duty free

5.5 Keep all receipts

5.6 Carry only what is yours

6. Selling Optional Excursions

7. It’s Party Time

7.1 Hello, my name is..

7.2 Good-bye; I’ll write soon

7. Over Land And Sea

1. Cruising

1.1 All aboard

1.2 Getting to know your floating hotel

1.3 The send-off party

1.4 Shore excursions

1.5 Making it unique

1.6 You are still in charge

2. Motorcoaches — On The Buses

2.1 Seat rotation

2.2 Safety

2.3 Let the games begin

2.4 Your driver and you

2.5 Washroom and pit stops

3. Adventure/Eco Touring

8. Problems Come In All Sizes

1. Lost Or Stolen Property

1.1 Credit cards

1.2 Passport

1.3 Driver’s license

1.4 Traveler’s checks

2. Health Issues

2.1 Look after your own health

2.2 Carry first-aid basics

2.3 Illness or injury

2.4 Death

3. Dismissing Someone From The Tour

4. Bumping

5. Missing Member

9. See You Again Soon — Following Up

1. Short-Term Follow-Up

2. Long-Term Follow-Up

10. Organizing Your Own Tour

1. The Big Step — Branching Out On Your Own

2. The Theme — Why Your Tour Will Be Different

3. We’re Here! Now What?

4. Timing

5. Sheltering Your Guests

6. Nourishing Your Guests

6.1 Restaurants

6.2 What about alcohol?

6.3 Food on adventure/wilderness tours

7. Miscellaneous Concerns

7.1 Medical

7.2 Security

7.3 Insurance

8. Costing Out Your Trip

8.1 Getting there

8.2 Food

8.3 Accommodations

8.4 Attractions

11. Running Your Own Tours

1. Working As An Outside Agent

1.1 Choosing a travel agency to work with

(a) Small versus large agencies

(b) IATA/ARC and non-IATA/ARC agencies

(c) Choose an agency that can sell travel insurance

(d) Using multiple agencies

1.2 How to find an agency to work with

2. Compensation — Trips And Cash

2.1 Free trips and tour director seats

2.2 Getting paid cash

2.3 Other ways to get paid

2.4 Getting more commission

3. Arranging The Tour Yourself

4. Pricing Your Tour

12. Marketing Your Tours

1. Marketing Is Not Just Advertising

2. Your Brochure

2.1 Legal fine print

2.2 Photos

2.3 Printing

2.4 Keep words to a minimum

3. Use Your Personal Contacts

4. The Ultimate Marketing Tool — Word Of Mouth

5. Know Your Competition

6. Free Publicity

7. Conducting Informational Seminars

8. Selling Through Travel Agents

9. Direct Mail

10. Advertising As A Small Tour Operator

13. Using The Internet

1. Research

2. Booking Airline Seats, Cars, And Hotels

3. E-Mail

4. Marketing Using The World Wide Web

5. Your Brochure

6. Spam

7. Collecting Money Over The Internet

8. Keeping In Touch

14. Building A Tour Company

1. Am I Ready To Get Bigger?

2. Day-To-Day Life Of A Tour Operator

3. Rewards

4. Statistics About Travel Businesses

5. What Are Your Goals?

5.1 Cheap travel

5.2 Owning your own business or changing careers

5.3 Travel professionals looking for a new career

5.4 Tax savings

5.5 Making money

5.6 Nothing else will do

6. Assessing Yourself

6.1 Your personal qualities

6.2 Your experience and education

7. Prescriptions For Success

7.1 Explore the industry

7.2 Develop your skills

7.3 Planning

7.4 Take on a knowledgeable partner

7.5 Educate yourself

7.6 Learn how to market your business

8. Prepare For Failure, Then Concentrate On Success

8.1 Put all your major assets in someone else’s name

8.2 Incorporate your company

8.3 Sign everything in the company’s name

8.4 Set limits on the risk you will take

9. Do Your Homework

15. Making Your Business Legal

1. Set Up Your Business Legally

1.1 Sole proprietorship

1.2 Partnership

1.3 Limited partnership

1.4 The corporation or limited company

1.5 Subchapter “S”

2. Other Registrations

2.1 Workers’ compensation

2.2 Register with the government for your employees

2.3 Goods and services tax (Canada)

2.4 Remitting provincial and state sales tax

2.5 Municipal license

2.6 Better Business Bureau

3. Regulations Concerning Travel Businesses

4. Short Cuts And Regulations

5. IATA, BSP, IATAN, AND ARC

5.1 International Air Transport Association (Canada and elsewhere)

5.2 The Bank Settlement Plan (Canada)

5.3 International Airlines Travel Agent Network (United States)

5.4 Airlines Reporting Corporation (United States)

6. Is An Appointment For You?

7. Airline Plates And Appointments

16. What Will My Business Look Like?

1. Selling Retail Products

2. Selling Complementary Tours

3. How To Choose Your Products

4. How To Select Suppliers

17. Location

1. Types Of Locations. 1.1 Enclosed malls (retail only)

1.2 Retail street level and small strip malls

1.3 Downtown versus suburban

1.4 Office buildings

2. Points To Consider

3. Will You Get Enough Walk-In Traffic?

4. Negotiating The Lease

18. Equipping Your Office

1. Telephone Systems

1.1 Expanding your telephone service

1.2 Reducing line charges

1.3 Answering machine or service

2. Computer

3. Fax Machine

4. Photocopier

5. Decorations

6. Computerized Reservation Systems

19. Financing Your Tour Operation

1. Sources Of Funds And Free Financing. 1.1 Banks

1.2 Government guaranteed loans

1.3 Venture capital

1.4 Family and friends

1.5 Personal lines of credit, personal loans, and credit cards

1.6 Other private investors

2. How Much Money Will You Need?

2.1 Your market

2.2 Geographic area

2.3 Size of your telephone system

2.4 Equipment

2.5 Expenses associated with your location

2.6 Working capital

2.7 Other licensing fees

3. Adding Up The Cost Of Your Business

4. Recommendations. 4.1 Forget the frills

4.2 Trade time for money

4.3 Do not go into debt for the long term

4.4 Hire people who care

4.5 Read carefully

4.6 Think small

20. Revenues And Expenses

1. Commissions

1.1 Ask for a higher commission

1.2 Override commissions

1.3 Use wholesalers and consolidators

1.4 Join a consortium

1.5 Join forces with another agency

2. Expenses

21. Personnel

1. Inside Agents

2. Managers

3. How Many People Do You Need?

4. Experience And Qualifications Of Staff

5. Where To Find Employees

6. The Interview

7. Salaries

7.1 The commission component

7.2 Benefit packages

7.3 Reduced rate travel

7.4 Vacation time

7.5 Free labor

8. Staff Morale

9. Termination

22. Marketing A Large Tour Operation

1. Choose A Descriptive Name

2. Marketing Through Travel Agents Revisited

3. Travel Shows

4. Walk-In Traffic — How Much Do You Really Want?

5. Attracting Walk-In Traffic

6. The Brochure Rack

23. Advertising

1. Radio And TV

2. Print Advertising

2.1 Newspapers

2.2 Magazines

3. Creating Effective Print Advertising. 3.1 Pick the product to advertise

3.2 Create your ad

3.3 Choose the right vehicle

3.4 Evaluate the response

3.5 Helpful hints for print advertising

4. Co-Op Advertising

5. Piggyback On Someone Else’s Marketing

6. Direct Mail

7. Advertising Hotlines

8. Advertising On The World Wide Web

9. Newsletters And Other Periodic Mailings

10. Promotions — Premium Giveaways And Contests

11. Promotions — Charitable Donations

12. Directories

13. Discount Coupons

24. An Ending And A Beginning

Appendix 1 — Useful Organizations And Associations

1. United States

1.1 Convention and visitors bureaus

2. Canada

2.1 Chambers of commerce

3. International

3.1 World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)

Appendix 2 — A Preliminary List Of Tour Operators

1. United States

2. Canada

Appendix 3 — Useful Magazines And Publications

1. United States

2. Canada

3. International

Acknowledgments

Dedication

About the Authors

Other Titles in the Start & Run Series

Notice to Readers

Self-Counsel Press thanks you for purchasing this ebook

Contents

Отрывок из книги

Imagine a life filled with golden sandy beaches, sparkling ski resorts, priceless art treasures, and exquisite wonders of nature. Glamour! Romance! The adventure of exotic destinations and fascinating people. This week Paris, next week Rome or perhaps Hawaii. On days when you are not globe-trotting, you sport a great tan and are a sought-after guest at parties, where you dazzle everyone with tales of your travels.

Better yet, imagine someone paying you to live this lifestyle!

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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.”

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