The qualities of an Ideal Tour Guide

1. Qualities
of an
Ideal Tour
Guide
- Jenelyn Madriaga

2. 1. Enthusiasm – the most important
characteristic of a successful guide.
2. An outgoing and approachable
nature.
3. Self-confidence
4. A proactive nature
5. Sensitivity
6. Flexibility
7. Authenticity

3. 8. A pleasant professional appearance
9. Sense of humor
10. Knowledge
11. Good communication skills
12. Organization
13. Decisiveness
14. Good health
15. Personal Integrity
16. Charisma

4. Although the ideal guide would
embody all the traits, having or
achieving them and learning to apply
them in the various unpredictable
experiences of guiding is very
difficult.
As Cherem stated, “ A guide should be
prepared for a lifetime of personal and
professional development - a lifetime of
becoming”.

5. Moments of Truth
-Jan Carlzon – SAS President
- Is the precise instant when the
customer comes into contact with any
aspect of your business and, on the basis
of that contact, forms an opinion about
the quality of your service and
potentially the quality of your product.

6. Karl Albrecht
-moments of truth --- “the anthem
for service management”
In a global service-oriented economy,
moments of truth will determine the
existence of many businesses.

7. C
Y
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E
O
F
S
E
R
V
I
C
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8. Seven Sins of Service, Karl Albrecht
1.Treating Customers with apathy
2.Brushing customers off
3.Being cold to customers
4.Treating customers with
condescension
5.Working like a robot
6.Getting hung up on the rule book
7.Giving customers the “run-around”

9. Working with Different Age Groups
o Students
- as many sites and cities around, the world
provide ideal learning environments for children
of all ages which makes the number for student
trips increased in number.
- for some guides, groups of young students are
the most difficult to guide because they present
special challenges in terms of discipline,
motivation and interest level.

10. o Senior Citizens
- are the favorite age group of guides.
They are generally appreciative, curious,
interested, attentive, eager for experience
and willing to contribute their own life
experience.
Guides who do not know the interest of young
people will have a difficult time reaching them
or giving an effective tour.

11. Keep in Mind when guiding a Senior
Citizen
1.Allow extra time for the tour as many
activities will take longer, such as
getting on and off a motor coach, eating
and walking anywhere.
2.Pause frequently and make several short
stops on walking tours.

12. 3. Be particularly attentive to fatigue or
any sign of stress or illness.
4. Pay close attention to special medical
problems or difficulties and pay special
attention to their status.
5. Since hearing and memory problems
are more common as people age, always
repeat instructions especially meeting
times.

13. Working with “Difficult” People
Guides, like others who work with people, meet
tourists who complain, those who are late, or
those who dominate others.
It is the guide who is largely responsible for the
ambiance of a tour.
In the first meeting, visitors will
scrutinize(observe)
The guides for signs about his/her attitude,
personality, capability, and other indications
about the kind of experience they will have.

14. If such scrutiny is disheartening, guides should note
the following:
1.People travel on tours to enjoy themselves.
As ne tour operator said, “This isn’t brain
surgery. Relax and enjoy yourself, and
your group will, too.”
2.Most people would like to see the guide
succeed.
3.No one expects perfection. In fact, many
perfectionists turn people off.

15. Establishing Rapport and Cohesiveness
RAPPORT ~ sympathetic
relationship and mutual trust.
COHESIVENESS ~ working
together.

16. Many psychologist and human relations
experts advocate learning techniques for
developing rapport. The most popular of
these is the neuro-linguistic programming
(NLP) which is based on the premise that
people perceive primarily on one of three
ways – visually, auditory, kinesthetically.
By recognizing on which of the three ways
others perceive, guides are better equipped
to deal with various personalities.

17. Tips to develop Rapport and Cohesiveness
1. Be prepared
2. Adopt an attitude of friendliness and take
responsibility for creating and maintaining
harmony.
3. Let visitors know that their environment is of
primary concern.
4. Respect others and be a careful, concerned
listener.
5. Give clear instructions.

18. 6. Don’t give ultimatums that cannot or will not
be enforced.
7. Follow through on promises.
8. Avoid playing favorites.
9. Exemplify the desired behavior.

19. Working under Difficult Circumstances
The most difficult circumstances are those involving
safety. However, the most common situation guides
encounter are complaints about some aspect of the
tour.
Handling complaints requires patience and diplomacy.
Since guides are normally hired by tour operators,
they must speak on behalf of the company. Since
majority of the companies follow the rule ”The
customer is always right”, it is the guide’s duty to
show genuine concern to the visitor while at the same
time defending the company.

20. In cases of customer complaints, guides should
ask themselves:
1.What exactly is the complaint.
2.Is the guest’s complaint valid?
3.Can the situation be
resolved easily?

21. Dealing with HABITUALLY LATE PASSENGERS
Habitually late passengers are common problems
for tour guides. Late comings shows lack of
courtesy.
Therefore, there is an urgent need for guides to
establish policies such as giving firm time.
This will win the respect of those who are
consistently on time: those who care less about
punctuality will at least respect the policies.
Leaving behind a late person is many
times reasonable and justified.

22. Dealing with DIFFICULT QUESTIONS
The more experienced a guide is, the more likely she is to
welcome questions, especially challenging ones.
Questions that are difficult for guides:
1. Questions for which a guide does not have an
answer.
2. Questions whose answers are controversial.
3. Questions that are too personal.
4. Questions that shed an unfavorable light on the
guide or some aspect of the region.

23. The following factors are helpful in
answering questions:
1.Welcome questions.
2.Be gracious, even when the question is
difficult.
3.Never regard a question as stupid or trivial.
4.Never feel obliged to answer personal
questions.
5.Acknowledge a controversial question, then
move on to more positive points.
6.Use humor when appropriate.

24. Cross-cultural Understanding
Guides are required to conduct tours for people
from other cultures.
The following are the guidelines that may help
those in the service industry develop a multicultural
perspective:
1. Learn about the people and cultures of the
world.
- Through the media, literature, school and
meeting neighbors and visitors fro different
countries, one can learn much about the values,
habits and preferences of others.

25. 2. Travel
- Nothing offers a better way for truly
understanding other cultures than travel.
Travelers learn to understand people on a level
which is not possible through reading.
3. Learn a language.
- Learning and using other’s language is one of the
most basic and effective gestures in attaining
cross-cultural experiences.
4. Participate in specialized cross-cultural training.
- Such training is necessary to guides since it
intensifies travel experience and generates good-
will.

26. The following basic guidelines are recommended by
cross-cultural counselors for those who work with
different cultures and language:
1. Speak slowly and distinctly until the level of
understanding is established.
2. Pay attention to voice volume.
3. Encourage listeners to question what they
do not understand, or interrupt if they need
to have something repeated
4. Encourage and reassure visitors in their use
of the language.

27. 5. Be patient
6. Speak in terms of positives rather
than negatives.
7. In case an interpreter is present, talk
to the listener and not to the
interpreter.