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Travel Guide

All About Travel Guides

Job Description: Plan, organize, and conduct long distance travel, tours, and expeditions for individuals and groups.

A Day in the Life of a Travel Guide

  • Lead individuals or groups to tour site locations and describe points of interest.
  • Sell travel packages.
  • Provide tourists with assistance in obtaining permits and documents such as visas, passports, and health certificates, and in converting currency.
  • Attend to special needs of tour participants.
  • Verify amounts and quality of equipment prior to expeditions or tours.
  • Resolve any problems with itineraries, service, or accommodations.

Travel Guide Required Skills

When polled, Travel Guides say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.

Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Other Travel Guide Job Titles

  • Tour Director
  • Tour Escort
  • Mountain Services Manager
  • Tours Hostess
  • Tour Guide

Is There Going to be Demand for Travel Guides?

In the United States, there were 3,600 jobs for Travel Guide in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 5.6% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 200 new jobs for Travel Guide by 2026. The BLS estimates 600 yearly job openings in this field.

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The states with the most job growth for Travel Guide are Maryland, Utah, and Iowa. Watch out if you plan on working in North Carolina, Washington, or District of Columbia. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

What Tools do Travel Guides Use?

Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Travel Guides may use on a daily basis:

  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Web browser software
  • Microsoft Access
  • Word processing software
  • Data visualization software
  • Facebook
  • Tableau
  • Global Positioning System GPS software
  • Financial accounting software
  • Customer information databases
  • Travel Agent CMS

How do I Become a Travel Guide?

What kind of Travel Guide requirements are there?

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What work experience do I need to become a Travel Guide?

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Other Jobs You May be Interested In

Those thinking about becoming a Travel Guide might also be interested in the following careers:

Career changers with experience as a Travel Guide sometimes find work in one of the following fields:

References:

Image Credit: Bblackpsu via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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