How to Become a Tour Guide

Shiwam D. Tripathi
Dec 9, 2017
3 min read

Being a tour guide can be a great career option for people who love to travel, enjoy being in front of a crowd, and are masters of multitasking. If that’s you, then start looking for job opportunities online and in your area. You can improve your chances of getting hired by becoming professionally certified or getting a degree. Once you’ve found a job, be ready to meet the challenges of this fun and unique but sometimes hectic position.

Looking for Opportunities

1- Look online for a variety of job postings. Tour guides work at parks, historic homes, sightseeing companies, cruise ships, and many other locations. Consider where you’d most enjoy working. Narrow your search to those types of positions.

To get started, enter something like “Be a tour guide on a cruise ship to the Caribbean” into your favorite search engine. You can then browse through tour guiding jobs with different companies, job requirements, and salaries.

2- Take tours to see which ones you like. In order to decide where you want to work, attend a variety of tours. Go to museums and historic homes in your area and book a tour on a sightseeing bus. Make note of the pros and cons of different kinds of tour guide jobs.[2]

You may need to space these tours out, as some could get expensive. Budget in one tour every two weeks or so. While you’re looking for jobs, go on tours instead of going out to eat or doing other fun activities.
Invite friends and family to take tours with you. They’ll be able to share their likes and dislikes with you, which will help you be a better guide once you find a job.

3- Take notes to record your thoughts about different tours. When you go on tours, be sure to bring a notebook with you to keep track of your thoughts about the experiences. You can refer back to these notes later if you’re weighing different job offers. The notes may also help you develop your own tour guiding style.

4- Check out tour guide associations’ websites. Many cities, countries, and regions have professional organizations of tour guides. These organizations help guides advance their careers and promote tour guiding as a positive aspect of international tourism. They can help you find educational opportunities, and they may point you in the direction of job openings.[3]

For more information and to find a list of associations located around the world, visit: http://www.beabetterguide.com/tour-guide-associations/

5- Visit your local travel agency to pick up brochures. Travel agencies may partner up with local sightseeing companies for advertising. Take the brochures they keep in their office, and ask which companies they recommend to their clients most often. Contact the best companies using the information you find in the brochure and ask about openings.

Be aware that travel agents may tell you they love a certain company if the two are in a partnership together, even if they know the company has some issues. Be sure to do your own research by going online or visiting the company’s offices.

6- Contact major sightseeing companies in your area. Especially if you live in a big city or even a larger town, there are probably sightseeing companies right down the road from you. Get in touch with these companies via email or phone and ask whether they’ve got openings. These local opportunities could be a great place for you to start your career as a guide.You can also look online to see if the companies have open jobs, as many will list these positions on their websites.If you’re hoping to become a tour guide to travel, this might not be your favorite option. Remember that doing work locally can help you build your resume and gain experience while staying in your comfort zone. You can always keep looking for travel-oriented jobs while you’re working!