‘The tour guide is the most important factor in creating a travel experience you’ll either rave about or an experience that will soon be forgotten.’
– Diana, Just Wanderlust Blog(opens in a new tab)
We’ve already talked about how to hire great tour guides (VIDEO)(opens in a new tab) and had Kelsey Tonner on the Sell More Tours Podcast talking about what makes a great guide.
But what if you already have a strong group of tour guides? How can you help them become even better guides and, as a consequence, have your customers love your tour business even more?
What about sharing great resources with them and inspiring them to always excel?
Today I’ve got a few things to share with you – hoping you’ll share them with your guides as well.
Online Resources
Be A Better Guide
Here at TourismTiger, we’re a big fan of Kelsey Tonner from the Be a Better Guide(opens in a new tab) project. Last week, he came on our podcast and shared a little bit about how to delight your customers.
Kelsey’s project is all about helping guides do a better work, and he’s got some great videos about all things tour guide.
Sharing something with your employees that will help them be more successful and get more tips shows that you really care about them (especially if you don’t take a cut of their tips), so they are more likely to jump on it.
Check out his YouTube channel(opens in a new tab) and his Twitter account(opens in a new tab).
How To Be a Tour Guide
How To Be a Tour Guide: The Essential Training Manual for Tour Managers and Tour Guides was originally just a book(opens in a new tab) but evolved to be a bit more than that.
Nick Manning(opens in a new tab) now has guided tours in over 15 countries and, as both a writer and a traveler, has his own way of sharing the tour guiding experience he was able to gather.
Besides the book, Nick shares videos on how to be a better tour guide on his YouTube channel(opens in a new tab).
Books
Coming Up On Your Left
Coming Up on Your Left: A Tour Guide’s Guidebook(opens in a new tab) was written by tour development expert Joemy Wilson(opens in a new tab).
The book features ‘poignant and hilarious’ stories from her 12 years of directing tours all over the world.
But more than that: she makes it a point to share the secrets of the world’s best guides or, as she would call them, ‘cultural ambassadors’ that can really make the trip a one-in-a-lifetime experience.
Coaching for the World’s Best Tour Guides
Lance Camarena(opens in a new tab) is a professional trainer and was the Director of Training & Development for Holland America Line(opens in a new tab) for over 10 years.
Hopping from port to port, Lance went beyond training the ship staff and started helping the tour guides that served Holland America’s guests improve as well.
From the back of (many) buses, he gathered notes that would later become the book Coaching for the World’s Best Tour Guides: Observations from the Back of the Bus(opens in a new tab).
Sell More Tours
In my book Sell More Tours: The Essential Guide to Online Marketing For Day Tour & Activity Operators(opens in a new tab), I share some great tips on how to be a great tour guide. You can take a peek here or buy the book on Amazon(opens in a new tab).
A great thing you can do to remind your guides of these resources is have the books in an easy-to-see shelf in your office or even on the center table if you have a chill-out area.
If you have a computer that guides can use at your main location, setting your homepage to one of those websites would also work well.
But remember: the most important thing is for the guides to feel like they will reap the benefits of it as well (and don’t worry – they will) rather than something you’re forcing them to do just because it will be good for your business(opens in a new tab).
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