Читать книгу Start & Run a Tour Guiding Business - Barbara Braidwood Susan Boyce & Richard Cropp - Страница 41

What does it take to become the perfect tour director? The long version (Warning! Inhale deeply before attempting to say this): The ability to ensure the smooth running of all transportation, luggage handling, sightseeing, activities, accommodations, group meals, customs clearances; to negotiate the best rates for all of the preceding; to promote communication and camaraderie between fellow travelers from the minute the tour begins till the moment the last person heads home.

If you can say it all in one breath, you have probably already passed the lung capacity test to be a tour guide.

The short version (for those in a hurry to read on or who skipped operatic voice training): Everything!

Well-run tours don’t just happen. They are the result of superb organization by the tour operator and precision choreography by the tour guides and directors. It is the tour professional’s enthusiasm and attitude that set the tone for any tour, and he or she is solely responsible for making everyone feel comfortable and well cared for. The director or guide is the person tour members interact with, and he or she must be prepared to be ambassador, diplomat, entertainer, historian, psychologist, translator, mind reader, and miracle worker.

The next seven chapters will give you an overview of the duties and responsibilities you can expect when you embark on a career in tour guiding and tour directing. Some of what you read here will be a surprise, while other information may seem self-evident or will not apply to everyone (for example, a step-on guide may wish to skip the sections about cruising). But remember, it is usually the self-evident things that get overlooked in any project, things that are so “obvious” people forget about them. And it is usually those obvious but forgotten considerations that cause the biggest problems.