Paper 9: Tour Guiding Essentials

Module 2: Introduction to Tour Guiding

THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Principal Investigator Prof. S. P. Bansal,

Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi University, Rewari

Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Prashant K. Gautam,

Director, UIHTM, Panjab University, Chandigarh

Prof. Sandeep Kulshreestha,

Paper Coordinator Director, Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management

Dr. Saurabh Dixit,

Paper Co-Coordinator Nodal Officer, IITTM, Gwalior

Dr. Saurabh Dixit,

Content Writer Nodal Officer, IITTM, Gwalior

Content Reviewer Dr. Prashant K. Gautam,

Director, UIHTM, Panjab University, Chandigarh
 Items Description of Module
Subject Name Tourism and Hospitality

Paper Name Tour Guiding Essentials

Module Title Introduction to Tour Guiding
Module Id Module no-02
Pre- Requisites Basic knowledge of Tourism and its types

Objectives After completing this chapter you will

 To give you an idea about a tour guide and his role in
the industry
 To understand the meaning of tour guiding

Keywords  TVP- Top Visual Priorities

 Dictaphone
 Smart technology
 Tacho or tachograph: a device for recording speed and
distance covered by vehicle.

CONTENTS
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Meaning of a Tour Guide
2.2 Job profile.
2.3 Working Environment
2.4 What is the role of a Tour guide?
2.5 Why do people want to become a tour guide
2.6 What is expected from a tour guide?
2.7 Guiding Gadgets
2.8 Do I need a tour guide
2.9 Future tour guides
2.10 Key words
 QUADRANT-I
2.0 Introduction
Tour guiding is an interactive activity in which a tour guide meets a tourist or a group of
tourists, and takes them to a place called a tourism destination or a tourist attraction. He
engages them in commentary about the place. He connects his clients with the past of this
place (like history of Agra), presents USP and specialties about region. He also recreates
a story as per the demand of the situation.
2.1 Meaning of a Tour Guide
This chapter, Tourists vis a vis tour guide is based on the real life experiences of the
authors. The chapter cites the meaning, role and significance of a Tour Guide. We talk
about accommodation, transport, destinations, etc, but we forget to talk about the tour
guide. A tour guide is an important active link in any field tour. He is important
especially when you are going to have technical exposure like people working in
architecture engineering going to see a fort, temples, monument etc.

Expectations from a guide

Good attire
Good mood
Good smile
Equipped with required gadgets
Ready to serve
Environment friendly
Empathetic

A tour guide is an important person in the chain of the tourism and travel industry. When
the tourist starts from his place of living, he meets the first person who will accompany
him for the whole journey; this person may or may not be a tour escort who may also
attend to him on the way. After the tourist reaches his destination, he needs someone to
help him on the tour. The person should have good knowledge about the place (for e.g.
Agra, New Delhi, Sirpur etc.), languages (i.e. French, German, Spanish etc.), and should
preferably be a native of that region. This person (tour guide) is a liaison with the Tour
escort and expedites the tour in the area. After the completion, the tourist proceeds to
another place and a second person takes up the job. The person, who is native to that
place and who manages the tour at that place is a tour guide.
Many people ask a simple question, who is a tour guide? They might want to know how
one could become a tour guide. An individual known to me completed his masters in
tourism and wanted to stay in the same town. He started going to travel agents with the
hope of finding work and became a tour guide.
One man who is from a peak travel destination travelled to Delhi with the intention of
working for a reputed travel agency, but the only reason he got a job is that the company
had no other choice than to accept him as a tour escort.
One gentleman left his studies due to a personal problem. One of his friends was a tour
guide; he discovered that it was a good work to get money. Later, he picked up a foreign
language and commentary. This was someone who was not able to speak fluently in his
first assignment and the travel agent was annoyed.
Case
Mr. Mishra is a Tourism graduate from a University and started working as a manger in a
company. He was interested in working in his town and was looking for something that
interested him and allowed him to return home after a day of long work. He found tour
guiding as a suitable work. He applied for a license with the Ministry of Tourism, Govt.
Of India and became a licensed guide. He often remarks that every tourist has a different
nature, temper and questions. He feels happy after getting appreciation from tourists
various times.
2.2 Job profile.
For a Tour Guide you must have the following:-
Knowledge about the history, art, culture, cuisine, and architecture
First aid skills
Ability to speak multiple languages
Knowledge of food, cuisines
Ability to read a map
Pleasant personality, patience, and interest
A guide is regarded as an expert of his own area. He must know the place where he
guides very well. Many people work as only as tour managers but many work as both
guide and manager.

2.3 Working Environment

Many people work as freelancers and others are engaged with a company. You must be
adaptable to the group. Training programmes are conducted by the Ministry of Tourism,
Govt. of India and various state governments from time to time. These programmes are
very useful as tour guides and tour managers/ tour escorts learn many new skills as well
as the dos and don’ts. A good guide has the following characteristics:
a. Liking for people visiting your place
b. Ability to Research
c. An organised way
d. Proactive
e. Good dressing sense
f. Young and dynamic and good health
g. Strength and stamina
h. Clear voice, good command over language
i. Well behaved
A guide is a link between people and place
Photo: Saurabh Dixit
2.4 What is the role of a Tour guide?
I frequently visit Himachal Pradesh. I find people accompanying tourists for
mountaineering, trekking and they also help them in pitching tents, they assist them in
activities, and they know local flora and fauna and have knowledge of land slide areas.
You must have seen Bear Gryl’s programmes on TV. A guide is a million dollar person
who saves a trekker during trouble. Many times, he is also washed away in floods and
other natural calamities there (Kedarnath incident).
Our guide in Malaysia offered us good quality key rings and mementos while we were
going from the hotel to the airport. Most probably, he was authorised to do so by the
travel agent. However, let us not get into the legislative part. In this instance, a guide is a
communicator as well as a salesman who helps us by providing mementoes in the coach
itself.
Once a group went to Panna from Khajuraho to see tree houses but unfortunately the tree
houses were closed. Their guide however tried to get some tea for the tourists in the
forest area, where the tree houses were and
ultimately arranged four logs and used these
logs as a Torch (Mashaal) to use for the
safety of the group since these people
Role of a Tour guide
reached at midnight. However in the  Adviser
 Informer
feedback the tourists mentioned that it was
 Investigator
the best part of the tour. A guide is someone  Organiser
 Encourager
who makes your tour interesting by using
 Reassurer
innovative ideas as in the case of Panna Tree  Leader
 Coordinator
houses.
 Motivator
We went to Orccha and visited the palace.
By the time we reached the Ram Raja
Mandir Temple, it was closed and we were
forced to come back after having lunch. I always feel unlucky when I think about my
Orccha trip. It was my bad luck that being a devotee of Ram, I could not visit this temple
even after going there. Thus, a guide can spoil your tour if he is not organised. So, a
guide is an organizer: he has to work according to the instructions of the Travel Agent
and the Tourists.
I went to Panna National Park; we were provided a guide to accompany us in the gypsy.
He started telling us about the forest, the trees, the animals and their habits. He had with
himself a binocular and used it to spot animals. He gave us examples of groups that had
come in the past. Thus, a guide must be a subject expert. He should be able to give
answers to queries raised by the tourists.
A group saw a sculpture in which a lady was pointing to her foot. One guide near me
started explaining that she was picking thorn; my guide told that she was painting. It was
contradictory and we raised our objections. My guide asked us to look at her facial
expression- she is blissful. So, she must be painting. Thus, a guide must be able to justify
his statements.
2.5 Why people want to become a tour guide
Tour guiding is not the first choice for many in India. People opt for tour guiding as a
profession because of certain reasons. Young people who are interested in travelling,
meeting people, and are extroverts usually aspire to become tour guides. I met many
people from popular tourist places who told me that Foreign Individual Tourists (FITs) in
their localities are becoming tour guides. Many people who run their own businesses like
shops, hotels are interested in obtaining a tour guide license.

2.6 What is expected from a tour guide?

A tour guide must have certain qualities. Tourists wear casuals during the tour or they are
free to wear whatever they like as long it’s not
objectionable to the authority or the locals but a
Guiding Gadgets guide must wear professional attire. His dress
Torch has some meaning and helps him to get
Cap
Dictaphone recognition as a professional.
Pen and Paper He must be clean and not chewing Tobacco,
Mobile phone
LED Torch Naswar, Paan, Gudhakhu, Beetlenut ( Supary),
Binoculars Gutka etc. he must know the norms of hygiene
Paper soap
followed in the tourists’ country. He must be
Tacho or Tachograph clean shaven or keep a trimmed beard. In
Rajasthan, you will find guides with peculiar
moustaches and different styles of suits
(Jodhpuri style etc.).
A guide must wear shoes of good quality. He must choose cloths that suit the climate. I
would not say that the guide must wear a tie and a suit in the summers in Khajuraho.
Cloths must help him during commentary.
Guide must keep in mind the culture of the tourist and how to behave with them. There
are many cultural differences, something good in our culture might be wrong in some
other country.
A tour guide must be argumentative in nature. It means that he must seek out arguments
in the subject to know more about the monument, attraction, region, and culture. But, he
should not argue with the tourists.
He must be open for lifelong learning. I had one trainee who was a retired teacher and
had a good collection of books at home. He joined the guide training programme. There
is no age bar to learn a new subject and skill set.
2.7 Guiding Gadgets
Guides also have gadgets to make their job better. When you are going to a forest, a
water fall, a nature park, caves, or for a safari, carry a common torch or head mounted
torch.
Traditionally, guides used to encourage tourists to touch walls and domes in palaces to
have a feel of stone. But, nowadays, we have become environmentally conscious and
people are requested to look at these things from a distance. A guide’s job is to point out
the objects which one cannot touch. If the objects are at a height, he may use a laser light
to point to the object.
When you go with a group, you have to leave them for lunch and start then start again
from where you left off. If you carry a Dictaphone you will be able to record your
commentary and the questions raised by the tourists. A guide may play these questions
during lunch and answer them after lunch. A guide may use the Dictaphone as a
recording device which will help him improve his guiding skills.
I was talking to my friend over my phone while I was on a tour. He asked me to write a
number, and I asked my guide to give me a pen and paper.
Once a man met with an accident while he was on a tour, the guide called for an
ambulance and took him to the nearest hospital. In many major cities of Madhya Pradesh,
the government has started the 108 service for citizens and tourists. It is a multi-purpose
service.
It was a nice experience when the guide offered us paper napkins after a tour to a palace
in hot summer.
I discovered that many guide friends keep a smart phone with internet connectivity. They
are updated with weather, public utilities around them, important numbers and other
related information. They can even book tickets using their phones and palmtops. These
are some gadgets that will be useful for a guide:
 Map: A good map helps a lot. You must also know how to read a Map. A good
guide must know Map reading.
 Goggles: Goggles will help you to speak in hard sunlight.
 Handkerchief or perfumed paper wipes: A handkerchief is an essential thing and
helps you keep your face fresh.
 Mobile: I recommend a good mobile (with a good operating system i.e. Android,
Windows, iOS etc., camera, video, internet, useful apps etc.).Mobile is a life
saving device in a crisis. It helps to navigate, take photos, store your dossier,
check your health and stay connected.
 Camera: A good small camera will help you keep memories of your clients and
your work.
 Important telephone numbers, contact details: Keep important numbers in your
pocket.
 First aid kit: First Aid Kit is a must and helps in cases of emergency.
 Identity Card: Keep your identity card (if given by the company).
 Business Card or Visiting Card: Carry your business card.
 Mouth freshener/ Mint: Mouth freshener or Mint keep your breath fresh while
working for long hours.
 Paper soap: Paper soap helps to clean hands while travelling.
 Tour Guiding License (TGL): A tour guide must carry his license.
 LCD projector (portable): One Tour Guide who I know is linking NGOs with
Tourists. A portable LCD projector helps you display your work in rural areas
where the availability of light is doubtful.
 Dictaphone: Dictaphones help you record voices from a distance. You can record
your commentary and improve.
 Figure: Dictaphone
Source:
https://www.google.co.in/search?q=laser+torch&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2
&ved=0ahUKEwioiMWWj-
rUAhWHtI8KHTviDrAQ_AUIBigB&biw=1517&bih=675#tbm=isch&q=%E2%80%A2
%09Dictaphone&imgrc=TcQMT7AD7nAe-M: accessed on 30/06/2017
 Laser Torch: It helps to point out an object that you want to show to the tourists.

Figure: A laser Torch

Source:
https://www.google.co.in/search?q=laser+torch&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2
&ved=0ahUKEwioiMWWj-rUAhWHtI8KHTviDrAQ_AUIBigB&biw=1517&bih=675
  Tiffin or Candy: If you have
something to eat on the way,
your confidence level will
Why do tourists come?
be up.
Being a part of the tourism
 Tachometer: A handy
industry, one must know why the
device for recording speed tourists come to see your city?
and distance covered by Many come to see temples, many
vehicle. for recreation. If you know the
reason why they come to your
2.8 Do I need a Guide?
place, you may be in a better
Many tourists avoid hiring a guide.
position to make them happy.
Many prefer having a person who
engages them in stories apart from
his other roles as a care taker and
interpreter. A guide indentifies your needs and serves you to satisfy them. A guide in
hilly areas will explain each and every plant.
I pay a good share of my travel expenses on transport, hotels and shopping but a guide is
the person who creates a dialogue with the monument, for example the Tajmahal. Why
do people visit a place again and again? According to me, they feel happy when they visit
a particular place. A guide could help you make your tour more blissful. A tour guide
tells you about the TVPs (top visual priorities) of a place, he creates interesting tales
about the place and helps make your tour memorable.

2.9 Future tour guide

In a tourist place, one can see that there are many people working as guides. Do we need
so many people flocking around? The numbers do not matter, a person who has the
qualities required in the field and who is supported by gadgets like laser torch, binoculars
etc. and the knowledge of how to handle the situation and attract tourists (if tourists are in
need of a guide) will be able to survive and work successfully in the trade. The future will
see an increase in the use of ‘smart technology’. Guides in the future will be facilitators.
One can predict the adoption of virtual guiding, audio guiding etc.
People love to travel and they need someone to accompany them so that he could help
them understand the place. This person is known as the Tour Guide or Tour manager.
They are also called by many other names like Tour Escort, Tour Manager and Tour
Guide.
A Tour manager accompanies a tour group on the tour; this tour may go through many
places/ countries/destinations. A tour guide is someone who will be with you at a
particular place or region and return home the same night. Tour Guides and Tour
managers act as an interface between tourists and travel agents. The success of the tour
depends on them. They also act as an intermediary between the tourists and the host
population. This book outlines important
information related to guiding as a profession. Tour
Future Guides
Guides and Tour Managers work as freelancers. It’s Virtual Guide
very rarely that they are permanently employed with Audio Guide
Integrated approach
one organization. These people can be of any age
group. If you wish to work as a tour guide you must
enjoy meeting people, travelling places and serving others.
2.10 Tourist Guides, Tour Manager and other related jobs
Literally, a guide is someone who tells you the way. A tour guide leads you on the tour,
he directs you, and he is the informal ambassador of that country and creates a picture of
the place in the mind of tourists. Guides must be humorous, dynamic, smart, mature and
extroverted. He should have good physical stamina and good knowledge, as well as being
charming, flexible, honest, motivated and aware about his business. A person who guides
visitors in a particular language, and interprets the cultural and natural heritage of an area
is known as a tour guide. Tour Guiding is an activity in which a guide interacts with
tourists. Guiding is an exciting feature of the tourism profession. They are truly the soul
of the tour; guiding is in fact an amalgamation of several independent roles. Thus while
they retain a poll of these individual roles such as that of an entertainer, an educator, or
even the public relations man in their region/place, they cannot be made to fit in one role
exclusively. They retain an independent identity of their own. It is this identity that makes
them lively and delightful in the view of the tourists.
2.11 Summary
Tour guiding is an activity that involves taking tourists to a tourist attraction and
engaging him by interacting about the place and its background. Tour guiding is a
dynamic activity.