Unit # 2

how to be a good tour guide

English Applied to Tourism
B.A. Ismael Aristides Merlos Juarez
 Contents

• Characteristics of a good
tour guide
 Knowledge of the Tour Area
Your tour guide should be
prepared to take you on a
journey to some of the most
unique places in the world.
Tourists are educated during
various parts of the trip by
guides who know the area
inside and out.
 Knowledge of the Tour Area
Tour guides should be able to
explain facts, history,
landmarks, figures, local
customs and more. They should
also be able to answer
additional tour related
questions that may come up
during the trip. Knowledgeable
guides can help make your trip
insightful and memorable
 Ability to Communicate Effectively
Communication is one of the strongest
qualities a tour guide needs to have. They
must be able to articulate and project their
voices and speak clearly, to help prevent any
misunderstandings from their various tourists
and groups.
 Ability to Communicate Effectively
A good tour guide also needs to know how to
properly pronounce words. Someone who knows how
to command the attention of multiple people at once,
is a good candidate for a tour guide position. Tour
guides must be approachable and have excellent
interpersonal skills because they will be involved with
multiple people on a daily basis.
 Strong Empathy and
Understanding
Tour guides assist people from all
over the world. For this reason, it is
vital to be able to communicate
effectively. Tourists may come from
various walks of life, age groups,
cultures, nationalities, and
backgrounds, or speak different
languages.
 Strong Empathy and
Understanding
The ability to handle social
norms and expectations is key to being
an effective tour guide. The best guides
are empathetic to cultural differences
and prioritize making each delivery
unique to their guests. Your tour guide
should also have a sensitivity and
understanding for accommodating
those guests with special needs.
 Charismatic Personality
Your tour guide should be
entertaining, and able to engage
charismatically with numerous
tourists. It is a plus to have natural
charisma. Each day and every tour
will be unique, so tour guides must
consistently find opportunities to
be charming, interesting, delightful,
funny and friendly. This helps
groups enjoy one another, which
can make the tour more appealing.
 Keen Ability to
Improvise and Adapt
Situations may change at the spur of the
moment. Tour guides should be familiar with
improvising and adapt to these changing
situations. They should be able to tell when their
audience needs for them to adapt to prevent loss
of interest from the group. Your tour guide should
also be able to adapt and keep up to date with
. changing times and constant advancements in
technology and determine how they affect or
enhance their tours.
 Focuses on Building
Rapport
People are excited to be embarking on
once in a lifetime journeys. Tour guides can
help by exhibiting patient, yet encouraging
and cheerful demeanors throughout tour
excursions. Guides should build rapport by
. encouraging effective conversations, asking
questions, providing information, and
demonstrating passion
 4
Getting sick
Food poisoning is a travel problem that
can strike at any moment. Symptoms can include
nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting or diarrhea. If
it's bad then it can hit you within hours of eating
or drinking the contaminated thing. Anti-diarrhea
. tablets can be a lifesaver... literally.
Drink plenty of fluids but avoid dairy and
alcohol. Once you start to feel a little better then
start with soups or broths and build back up to
solid foods.
 Engaging Storyteller and
Actor
Tour guides should have a
compelling zeal and passion for what they do.
They do not have to be locals to be a guide in
an area. They just need to have enough
passion to learn the history of an area,
naturally, tell the story and explain their
knowledge with enthusiasm to eager guests.
 Engaging Storyteller and
Actor
Tourists love learning about various
fun facts and little known secrets about the
area they will be touring. Guides should
consistently have the ability to convey
passion, act positively and tell various
interactive stories.
Flexibility
At times, tour guides will need to go with the
flow. They may need to use various approaches based
on the audience they will be entertaining. A flexible
approach to a situation can make a good tour even
better. Great tour guides are flexible when it comes to
unexpected issues and schedule changes.
Timeliness and Punctuality

Being punctual is one of the most essential characteristics

your tour guide should possess because they need to have guests at
designated areas at specific times. They usually follow a schedule
from an itinerary with various timeframes. It is imperative that your
tour guide make specific allotments for these timeframes, and help
guests get to where they need to be on time. The greatest tour guides
are punctual and organized.
 Eagerness to Learn and
Willingness to Teach
Others
Your tour guide should be able to keep the
tour group well informed. Guests should learn new
things and gather new insights while they are traveling.
A good guide continuously aims to facilitate ways to
.
learn how to make each tour distinct and unique from
previous tours.
 Eagerness to Learn and
Willingness to Teach
Others
They care about identifying needed
improvements, and studies or pays attention to what
guests gain from their tours. Tour guides learn by
encouraging guests to provide necessary feedback so
.
they can use the information to enhance future tours. A
good tour guide is an expert in their destinations and
area attractions.
 Professionalism

Guides should maintain rapport by

displaying a professional attitude at all times.
Even when not working, quality guides exhibit
behaviors that are representative of who they
are. Professionalism helps audiences see the
. tour guide as a credible and reliable source.
Being professional includes essential
attributes such as being honest, well
groomed, punctual, attentive and courteous.
 Activity Chart
Reporting Information in El Salvador
Activity name

Homework
Activity type

1. To practice how to present information about places.

Course competence 2. To use features from a real tour guide for talking.

• this are the steps you have to follow for this week’s activity:
1- Record a video presenting information about a touristic destination in El Salvador.
2- you have to pretend you are talking to a group of tourist.
3- try to apply the most important characteristic of a tour guide in your presentation.
Instructions 4- you can record yourself on screen or use visual to aid you on presenting the information.
5- include interesting fun facts about each place.
6- you have to sound as professional and knowledgeable as possible. {
7- you can use any tool you want for recording the video. Then upload it and share the link in
the homework folder.
Sunday of week 9 at 11:55 pm
Due date

• Use of role play

• Tone of voice
Evaluation critieria • Vocabulary
• Use of fun facts

20 points
Percentage
 Complementary resources
Resource Name Reference

Video 13 qualities of a good tour guide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i

5MeQc70xNs
Video A tour guide in London https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U
v_niyhdKLE
Questions?
Have a nice day!