Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tour Guide Curriculum
Tour Guide Curriculum
Tour Guide Curriculum
Naturefriends International
It is indeed an educational and learning process, however under special circumstances. Ham
(1992) rightfully distinguishes free-time and free-choice learning, and learning in a school
setting. The basic difference is the mind-set of our visitors. One can experience this on a
holiday or excursion how much less focused and attentive we are.
But to use tour guiding as a management tool, contrary to the audience, it requires a high level
of consciousness on the managing organizations side both during the planning and execution
phases, not to mention monitoring. While enhancing the above mentioned conservation ethic
should be a fundamental aim, other objectives might also be set, such as informing the public
about the managing organization itself and its activities, to orient visitor flow not to violate
carrying capacity, or lets not be hypocrites, even to generate revenues. As it has been
indicated the primary aim of this document is to aid the interpretation of natural (protected)
areas. And as such it has to be emphasized that achieving management goals in nature
conservation legal tools (e.g. legislation and ranger service) and physical barriers (e.g. fences
and gates) are also important and necessary beyond doubt, but interpretation results in a winwin situationn, thus it enhances the image of the particular area and organization.
3.1.1. Key issues to clarify before you start organizing your course:
The need for training.
- Why is the training necessary? What market needs it would serve? Is it a demand within the
organization or maybe the would-be trainees approached your organization?
It is possible that your own organization has a specific need to interpret some assets under its
management, and for that purpose it has to employ or contract guides in some form. As the
candidates have different levels of knowledge and skills they have to be trained to achieve a
minimum standard to interpret the given asset(s).
Very similar demands motivate those organizations, e.g. eco-tourism agencies or umbrella
NGOs employing tour guides (within or out of the target region), which actually do not
manage the asset(s) themselves, but take visitors there.
A somewhat different approach is if tour guiding is a sort of auxiliary service for example in a
family-run pension or small hotel, where the owner wants to broaden his/her tourism offer.
And there is a possibility of a mix of the above types.
But be straightforward with participants on what you can offer when the training is over.
Who are the trainees?
-
As all personal services, tour guiding too is a form of employment. Local people might
find an alternative or second or even the only job opportunity in tour guiding. Other
advantages of local tour guides are that they have a sense of ownership of, emotional
link to the place, thus they offer a special insight and authenticity. Either way,
involving locals in tour guiding supports sustainable tourism in a region. Of course,
outsiders can become excellent guides, but including local colour in guiding
programmes is always a treat.
You should set your minimum set of criteria how you accept applicants to the course
(e.g. minimum age, minimum educational attainment, etc.)
Consider minimum and maximum number of participants, as too few people might
result in that the course is financially not viable, or if you want to select the best
candidates you might end up with not having real options. On the other hand, you
have to safeguard that there is enough attention paid to each participant, so there
should be an upper limit, as well. An ideal group size is approximately between 10
and 15 to attain nice group dynamics, with the upmost limit of 20.
Here we also have to mention teaching skills, as trainers with good communication skills are
not only more enjoyable to listen to and easier to learn from, but also set good examples as
interpreters.
How is the training arranged?
There are subsets of this question to be investigated
Timewise:
-
How many hours the course will be and what is the length and frequency of the
training sessions? You have to consider the trainees capacities and schedule, as well as
how they can reach the course venue (e.g. public transportation time-table).
Off-season is the reasonable time of any training, partly those ones already involved in
tourism are less busy, and the trainees can readily use their new knowledge and skills
in the coming season. On the other hand some spectacles, such as flowers, birds
cannot be seen for real during the course, so it is worth allocating some occasions in
the vegetation period.
In fact, if there are follow-up training sessions, it is worth scattering them throughout
the year in order to gain an insight in different aspects of nature.
Does the training include staying overnight? If so, what is the venue? Anyhow, if a
training session exceeds 3-4 hours you have to think of some sort of catering, or warn
participants to bring some refreshments.
Venue:
-
Indeed, venue of the training itself is a crucial thing, as it comfortably has to hold the
whole group, has to have minimum comfort facilities and sufficient equipment.
The venue can change throughout the course. It can even be an opportunity for
participants to familiarize with different sites and with different settlements.
A very important training venue for nature guides is nature itself, so field trips
should definitely be part of the curriculum.
Finances:
As the target audience of this document is more from the public and the not for profit
sectors, the below considerations refer to any financial arrangement that supports
sustainable tourism development criteria in the given area.
-
Finances is a crucial issue and depends on various factors, e.g. who organizes the
course and for whom, if the course can be implemented with in-house or invited
trainers, etc. As tour guiding is very likely to generate income for the would-be guides
on the long run, taking a training course is a kind of investment, so some tuition fee
can be charged. Also, what is free of charge is usually less valued. On the other hand,
if such a course is organized for local unemployed people with the intention to employ
the most talented few, a free course might be a good educational opportunity to make
your organization more accepted and even transparent within local communities. Also,
the more criteria you set and the more restrictive they are, the fewer applicants you are
likely to receive.
There are more sophisticated methods to compensate or pay back partially or fully the
tuition fee provided the trained guide does use the newly acquired skills, and there is
an organized form of monitoring this activity. This way the financial arrangement can
become a motivation factor, as well.
Application
It is already a statement on the organizers part, and has a lot to do with transparency. It
includes that you should already state a series of issues in the call for application:
-
the type of certificate you will provide and how it can be used in the future
the timeframe of the course (total hours, dates, start and end time of the training
sessions),
if there is an exam and its main features (oral/written/practical; dates; the marking
scheme etc.) or the closure of the training,
in case of overflow of applications, the criteria for selecting actual participant (which
might be as easy as first come, first served, but can include more utilitarian
considerations),
contact person(s) and contact(s) it is better to have only one responsible focal point
to contact both for the trainees and the trainers
You should make the call for application and the application form publicly and easily
available whatever it means in your region. Besides your own channels, you can seek
local/regional organizations interfaces, too.
Allow enough time both for spreading the word that such a course is coming up, so your
target group can learn and think about it well before the application deadline. Also, allow
enough time before the training start to process applications until you come up with the final
participants.
Thank everyone for their application and confirm both positive and negative decisions. In the
latter case, if you are in the position to do so, you should give a hint when and under what
circumstances you can accept applications if a further course follows.
Introduction of participants and trainers (for the latter ones it is better in person, but if
it is not quite feasible, at least through a ppt presentation); it is not only for courtesys
sake, but also you will spend a considerable time together, so everyone should have an
overall idea who are there, what are their motivations, experiences, etc. If you apply
some playful version, it can also reduce formality and tension. Of course, you want to
keep a relaxed discipline, but as your audience here are adult learners, probably you
will not have too many problems with that.
Introduction of the course and its contents. It is worth repeating what has already been
said in the call for application in some more details, with additional and relevant
information. What you consider important, you can repeatedly tell participants
throughout the course, while you should always make relevant announcements about
upcoming issues.
Always make sure that your message got through to everyone. Allocate some time
during the introduction (and at the end of each milestone section) when participants
can ask questions and clarify things.
While too much repetition and overlap between different fields are undesirable, making crossreferences throughout helps reinforcing information and gives new perspectives to the very
same issue.
a, Theoretical background of tour guiding
-
Categories of guided tours based on mode (i.e. non-motorized ways, such as hiking,
cycling, boating, caving, cross-country skiing or snow-shoeing, horse riding),
difficulty (i.e. physical fitness, technical equipment, terrain), length (adjusted to the
difficulty level), duration, aim and their description
Organizations active and initiatives in tour guiding in the region with a national
(possibly international) outlook
Botanical assets
Zoological assets
Ecology
Land use and human-nature interaction (although this can easily be discussed under
the natural history heading, as virtually no land untouched by man has remained in
Europe, what more, anthropogenic landscapes and habitats can be of high ecological
value, this feature is listed here)
The tangible heritage (e.g. architecture, traditional utensils and objects, etc.)
Cultural organizations
e, Tourism issues:
-
The infrastructure of guided tours (trails, signs, picnic areas, equipment shops, hire
and repair shops, etc.)
f, Visitor studies
Here the presentation of theoretical knowledge and some level of practice should be
combined.
-
Target groups and their segmentation the visitor profile; individual visitors into
visitor groups
Psychological characteristics
g, Interpretation
Here the presentation of theoretical knowledge and practice should be combined.
-
Organizing the group (from meeting a group and conducting the tour to finishing the
programme) and group dynamics
h, Technical issues
This is a section that can be very different contentwise depending on the mode of the tour, and
the curriculum does not aspire to provide as specific guidelines. As this point requires
specialist knowledge and input, and to some extent e.g. horse-back riding competence is a
precursor to participate in horse back tour guide training this section is to be adapted to the
particular needs. Still some general content requirements can be stated. Here the presentation
of theoretical knowledge and practice should be combined.
-
Health and safety (potential dangers and avoiding them, first aid, rescue basics,
emergency contacts, avoiding accidental and deliberate human damage, etc.)
Type of written exam; list of oral exam questions; method of practical exam.
Time constraints.
How to appeal.
Re-sit possibilities and requirements (after how much time, if fee applies, etc.), limits
of occasions.
Evaluation sheets from trainees and trainers it is a good way to receive mutual feedbacks, so
successful features can be carried on with, while less successful ones can be improved.
Anonimity might encourage more honest answers, if it is in a questionnaire format, however
oral feedbacks can spark some good discussions, as well. You might as well mix the two.
Issuing certificates should take place within a reasonable time after the exams and
evaluations. It can be in a form and/or part of a community event, but mailing them should be
your last resort.
Glossary of terms:
Below some useful terms linked to tour guiding are defined and explained. Here are the links
that have been consulted. Some definitions have been fully borrowed and some further refined
for the purposes of this very project.
http://www.definitionsproject.com/definitions/media/definitions_list_0107.pdf
http://media.unwto.org/en/content/understanding-tourism-basic-glossary
http://en.wikipedia.org
Audience
A person or group of persons for whom messages and/or services are designed or delivered.
Synonymous terms might include: visitors, learners, customers, users, recreationists,
stakeholders, guests, buyers, consumers, clients, patrons.
Certification
The recognition of an individual who maintains a standard of professional practice.
Sometimes used to recognize a program, product or service that maintains or meets an
established standard.
Communication
A process by which information is exchanged through a common system of symbols, signs,
language, or behavior.
Conservation
ResourceAn ethic of planned management of a natural resource or a particular ecosystem
based on balancing resource production, use, allocation, and preservation to ensure the
sustainability of the resource.
ObjectMaintenance and preservation of works of art, artifacts or objects, their protection
from future damage, deterioration, or neglect, and the repair or renovation of works that have
deteriorated or been damaged.
Competencies
Prescribed standards that enable people to perform successfully by achieving specific
outcomes and completing tasks effectively. A competency may consist of knowledge, skill,
ability, attitudes, values, and/or personal characteristics.
Curriculum
Typically refers to a written plan outlining what students will be taught (a course of study).
Curriculum documents often also include detailed directions or suggestions for teaching the
content. Curriculum may refer to all the courses offered at a given school, or all the courses
offered at a school in a particular area of study.
(Adapted from Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)
Environmental Education
A learning process that increases peoples knowledge and awareness about the environment
and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the
challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions
and take responsible action. (UNESCO, Tbilisi Declaration, 1978)
Education
Education is the process of developing an individuals knowledge, values and skills and
encompasses both teaching and learning.
Interpretation
A mission-based communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections
between the interests of the audience and meanings inherent in the resource. (National
Association for Interpretation)
Interpreter
A person who employs a mission-based communication process that forges emotional and
intellectual connections between the interests of the audience and meanings inherent in the
resource.
Interpretive
Technique that assists audiences through communication media in making both emotional and
intellectual connections with heritage resources.
Interpretive Program
Activities, presentations, publications, audio-visual media, signs, and exhibits that convey key
heritage resource messages to audiences. (Adapted from US Fish & Wildlife Service)
Interpretive Services
Any personal or non-personal media delivered to audiences.
Interpretive Theme
A succinct, central message about a topic of interest that a communicator wants to get across
to an audience.
Managing organization
An organization that is legally responsible for the operation and handling of a given site.
Natural Resources
Physical properties, materials, and on-going ecological processes that include but are not
limited to air and water atmospheric resources, marine and freshwater systems; geologic
features and processes; biological entities and systems; natural sound; day and night sky
features and relationships; seasonal and celestial fluctuations; and natural interactive
processes.
Personal Interpretation
One person or persons proving interpretation to another person or persons.
Public/ general public
The community at large, without reference to the geographical limits.
Tour guide
A tour guide is a person who is knowledgeable about a resource and is skilled in teaching
others about that resource, and often accompanies visitors from place to place in the area of
the resource. A person normally possesses an area-specific qualification usually issued and/or
recognised by the appropriate authority.
Tour guiding
An interpretive programme when an insightful explanation of the attraction and/or site is
provided by the tour guide. It can last any time less or more than a day. Depending on the
mode of tour it can also include some technical guidance, as well.
Tourist
Someone travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than
one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes
Tourist attraction
It is a place, object or phenomenon of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or
exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement
opportunities.
Training
The systemic process of developing knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes for current or
future jobs through formal or informal learning experiences.
Visitor
A visitor is a traveller taking a trip to a main destination outside his/her usual environment,
for less than a year, for any main purpose (business, leisure or other personal purpose) other
than to be employed by a resident entity in the country or place visited. A visitor (domestic,
inbound or outbound) is classified as a tourist (or overnight visitor), if his/her trip includes an
overnight stay, or as a same-day visitor (or excursionist) otherwise.
Visitor Studies
The interdisciplinary study of human experiences within informal education settings; the
systematic collection and analysis of information or data to inform decisions about
interpretive exhibits and programs; measuring or assessing the effects of museum exhibitions
and/or interpretive programs and media on learners.