Finding a tour guide with the right qualities for your trip can make or break a holiday. That’s why you need to know what to look for in a tour guide. A key factor for having a high quality vacation is to look for the top 7 qualities of a tour guide.
Some important qualities of a good tour guide are providing accurate information about the attractions, making sure their group sees as much as possible, and do what they can so their group can have a good time in the process. A tour guide should care about the education of their group, especially if their group cares about learning. And generally should do whatever it takes to ensure a quality tour.
How do you steer clear of a bad tour guide? Ask around and people will let you know. A bad tour guide doesn’t provide information and the group leaves their trip with no new understanding of where they visited. Bad tour guides lack enthusiasm and humor. At the end of a tour with a bad guide, the group ends up needing a rest from the trip itself, all from the poor qualities of their tour guide.
If you are planning your tour, here is a list of good characteristics of a tour guide to watch for when you’re scouring the internet searching for the perfect fit. With the right tour guide, you’ll be surprised by how exciting a place can become. Even if you’ve traveled somewhere before, a good tour guide can change your perspective on that place so you’ll be thinking positively about your trip for years to come.
What Are The Qualities Of A Good Tour Guide?
A good tour guide should have good communication skills
One of the most important qualities of a tour guide is that they communicate effectively and tourists understand the information and ideas they share. An ideal guide engages tourists by asking them questions and looking for their feedback. The tourists’ point of view matters to a good tour guide. Being a good listener helps understand tourists better, their opinions, and interests. To engage tourists and keep them interested, an ideal tour guide keeps the storytelling short and simple. It should be clear, correct, concrete, concise, and complete in order to have tourists memorize the information.
A tour guide must have lots of passion
The hard skills of a tour guide are important to look out for, but maybe even more important are the qualities that people don’t pick up in a tour guide course. To do a job well, one must love doing it and be passionate about it. Being a tour guide is not easy. The amount of passion affects the performance. A tour guide who is passionate about their job will not only list information about a visited place, they will share ideas and knowledge in a way that is interactive and engages their audience. Lack of passion is one of the top reasons a tour guide may be the wrong fit for your trip, turning a once in a lifetime trip into a chore.
Have an outgoing personality
One of the top reasons people become tour guides is because they love people. Sure, they love the place they’re showing off, but they also enjoy getting to know the people from all over the world that have come to share in their passion. Being a tour guide requires a lot of energy and enthusiasm for getting to know people. Find a tour guide that engages with their group, asks questions, and is happy to answer questions in between the moments when they’re speaking in front of the group. That personal connection is often the difference between a normal tour guide and a great tour guide.
Have a good sense of humor
One of the most important traits of a tour guide is a good sense of humor. Sure, the facts about a place are interesting to the tour guide, but to make them extra interesting to their group, it helps to have a sense of humor. This can also put groups at ease and make them more likely to speak to each other or more comfortable talking to the tour guide and asking questions. It’s one of the best qualities of a tour guide. Often, one of the most memorable parts of a trip are the jokes of a funny tour guide–and a good joke can actually help people remember the fact connected to that joke.
A tour guide needs a lot of Knowledge
An ideal tourist guide provides accurate and interesting information about the visited place. Each city or attraction is unique in its own way, and there is always something unusual and interesting for travelers to learn. If you’re on an archaeological tour, for example, it helps to have someone that can answer your history questions. This is a must do tour with a guide. Whether you’re on an archeological tour or a street art tour, sharing accurate information will enrich tourists’ knowledge and experience.
Tour guides should be empathic
Tourists come from various parts of the world. They have different backgrounds, social norms, cultures, and customs. They also come in all ages and levels of ability. Their expectations and needs might be different than the ones a tourist guide is used to. Being empathic is important to make them feel comfortable and enjoy their trip. Respecting the differences and adjusting tours to their needs and wishes is crucial for a successful tour.
Good organization skills
A good tour guide makes sure that their tourists don’t have to think of much. People come on a tour to escape the day to day of scheduled events, timekeeping, and mental load. Even though it has nothing to do with the information a tour guide is providing, keeping track of time and organizing is an essential skill so that tourists truly feel like they are on vacation. Groups place their trust in a tour guide so they can have a smooth trip and focus on the important things–like getting to know a new place or enjoying the food, views, and places of a new destination. A great tour guide plans everything in advance, sticks to the schedule, and pays attention to every detail so their group doesn’t have to. They should also be flexible and able to make changes if necessary or when tourists desire it. A great tour guide makes this all look easy.
GIL Travel knows that travel starts with people, and we find all of these qualities in our tour guides. Check out our guided tours here. There are so many different ways to engage with a good tour guide, somewhere you can tailor a personal trip for yourself and others where you hop on with a group and don’t need to make any decisions. Both are great ways to encounter great tour guides, and you can learn which of these two guided tours suits you here.
