| In survey after survey, when people are asked | | | | single career path that leads to becoming a |
| what they would do if they had more time and | | | | good tour director; indeed, it is tour guide |
| additional financial resources, the top | | | | training that makes all the difference. |
| answer is "travel." Unfortunately, for most | | | | |
| people, the dream of seeing exotic locales | | | | Finding the Right Tour Guide Training |
| and exploring the sights and sounds of | | | | |
| distant places remains just that - a dream. | | | | While some community colleges and |
| But some people choose to transform their | | | | universities offer tour guide training, you |
| travel dreams into reality by receiving tour | | | | can also earn a certificate as a tour |
| guide training and becoming a tour director | | | | director through online courses. The best |
| or getting any one of a number of other | | | | online courses offer the option of getting |
| travel jobs. | | | | credit for the course through an accredited |
| | | | college or university in your community. |
| Types of Tour Guide Jobs | | | | |
| | | | When looking at travel and tourism training |
| Travel and tourism training paves the way for | | | | options, look into the background of the |
| any number of tour guide jobs. Leading tours | | | | instructor. Ideally, you will find someone |
| can mean sightseeing and bus tours, adventure | | | | with over a decade of extensive travel |
| tours, sporting tours, and cruise ship | | | | experience throughout the world as a cruise |
| excursions either near your home, within the | | | | host and international tour director. He or |
| United States, or internationally. With tour | | | | she should also have considerable tour guide |
| director training, you can find work as | | | | training experience. |
| varied as being a cruise host to assuming a | | | | |
| management position with a tour company. The | | | | A reputable tour director training course |
| companies you can work for include tour | | | | should last about six weeks. It should cover |
| operators, destination management companies, | | | | the expectations, requirements, and |
| and event planners. | | | | procedures involved in tour directing and |
| | | | guiding, as well as techniques for group |
| Who Makes a Good Tour Director? | | | | management, creating and delivering |
| | | | interesting narration, and handling |
| One of the wonderful things about the travel | | | | challenges that arise. The course should also |
| and hospitality industry is that it | | | | go into depth about pre-tour planning, |
| encompasses a diverse array of jobs and draws | | | | multi-day tours, facing emergencies anywhere |
| people from a variety of backgrounds. In | | | | in the world, and governmental regulations |
| order to succeed in the field, you simply | | | | and procedures. Finally, a good tour guide |
| need to love travel, enjoy working with | | | | training course will explore the career |
| people, and have the right travel and tourism | | | | opportunities available for a tour director, |
| training. Some tour guides have extensive | | | | which opportunities are a good fit for your |
| travel experience prior to starting, while | | | | needs and interests, and how to best write a |
| others just have natural curiosity and the | | | | resume, network, and interview for travel |
| desire to travel. Many take tour guide jobs | | | | jobs. |
| on a part-time basis, either during vacations | | | | |
| from school, after retirement, or during the | | | | Getting paid to travel is a dream job. And, |
| "down time" of seasonal careers. Others work | | | | with the right tour guide training, you can |
| locally as full-time tour directors or travel | | | | make that dream come true! |
| the world on cruise ships. There isn't a | | | | |