Tour leader (Reisleider)
Information on this skill...
A tour leader is responsible for various activities that have to do with travel guidance. In short, we can best describe the work of a tour guide as making travel organizationally and logistically possible. As a tour leader, you will generally stay abroad for a longer period of time, depending on the type of work. As a tour guide, you usually work for a certain travel organization abroad to accompany the holidaymakers on behalf of the travel organization. The tasks of a tour guide are very diverse and involve more than just accommodating the travelers at the airport. A tour leader is also responsible for informing holidaymakers, booking and enabling excursions, checking in and out of holidaymakers, possibly calling in guides and acting in an appropriate manner during any emergencies or other types of calamities. Handling possible complaints is also part of the responsibilities of a tour guide. Another important responsibility as a tour guide is to provide important background information about the country and the holiday destination. Think of informing about possible local habits or warning about possible common crime. The profession of tour guide must also be seen as fairly general, because a tour leader does not have to be a tour guide. In other words, the substantive activities and responsibilities can differ per tour leader. It is therefore not the case that all tour guides can automatically be seen as a tour guide. A tour guide may also only be responsible for accommodating vacationers and providing important basic information. In that case, there is generally no intensive contact during the holiday, if there are no possible complaints or other types of problems.
As a tour guide you have an important supporting service function and in all cases you are an important contact person for holidaymakers. It is the tour leader who knows exactly what the fun trips are at the holiday destination, and it is the tour leader who can organize these trips together with local agents, bus drivers and guides. If a tour leader is involved in possible excursions, the tour leader must also be able to be seen as a tour guide. It is also perfectly conceivable that a tour guide can be seen as a guide. In that case, a tour leader and/or tour guide must also be regarded as an educational employee. In general, a tour leader is familiar with the holiday destination. This local knowledge is very important, as holidaymakers may also have specific questions. Think, for example, of holidaymakers who ask for tips regarding a good restaurant or a nice café. It is the tour leader who can provide these kinds of tips. Another name for tour leader can also be host, but a host does not have to deal with holidaymakers.
ACTIVITIES TOUR LEADER
Other important tasks of a tour guide is to mediate if there are possible complaints. Think, for example, of holidaymakers who are not satisfied with their hotel or hotel room. In that case, a tour guide may be responsible for consulting with the hotel manager to resolve the complaints. Guiding holidaymakers who need to visit a gp can also occur as a tour guide. It is also important to report undesirable practices to holidaymakers in advance. Think, for example, of warning about locally common fraud practices and advising with regard to intrusive proppers, who are often active abroad. In most cases, tour guides are exactly aware of all relevant information that may be important for holidaymakers.
WORKING AS A TOUR GUIDE
The profession of tour guide can be regarded as a beautiful profession, but the profession can also be regarded as a fairly heavy profession. The working days of a tour guide are generally long and can ask a lot from the tour leader. As a tour guide, it is therefore important that you are firmly in the shoes. As a tour guide, you will generally not be able to enjoy the holiday destination much yourself, because the holidaymakers in all cases have a head start. Often a holiday goes according to plan and there is actually nothing wrong for the tour leader. Nevertheless, unexpectedly busy times can come for a tour leader if things do go wrong, such as a bus that does not show up when the guests have to go to the airport, or if a hotel fails and the guests do not get what they are entitled to. These are often stressful moments, which must be solved in a professional manner by the tour leader. The handling of individual complaints must also be done carefully.
GUIDING SPECIAL HOLIDAYS
As described earlier, a tour guide can work in different ways. It is not the case that all tour guides only have to deal with holidaymakers who have booked a hotel. A tour leader and/or tour guide can also be intensively involved with holidaymakers. An example of this is the so-called sailing holiday. During a sailing holiday it can happen that a tour guide will also sail on his own sailboat during the sailing holiday. In this case, the tour guide will sail on his own sailboat during the sailing holiday and guide the holidaymakers from place to place throughout the week. Sailing together with other holidaymakers, who each have their own sailboat, is also called flotilla sailing. The tour guide stays in touch with the various sailors by means of a radio and helps during mooring and mooring if sailors wish. In most cases, a tour guide will also be responsible for organizing various group activities during these types of holidays.
VARIOUS TASKS OF A TOUR GUIDE ARE:
- Guiding holidaymakers
- Providing appropriate help in case of problems
- Working as a guide
- Helping holidaymakers check-in and check-out
- Informing holidaymakers
- Maintaining contact with the tour operator
- Organizing, arranging and booking excursions
- Performing administrative actions
- Arranging transfers to the airport and accommodation
- Educating holidaymakers
WHAT DOES A TOUR LEADER DO:
TRAINING TO BECOME A TOUR GUIDE
There are various suitable training opportunities to become a tour guide, all of which generally have to be seen at MBO level, such as the MBO training tour leader and the MBO training leisure & hospitality. At hbo level, the hbo-education international tourism management can be regarded as a suitable education. In general, a tour guide will have to be at least eighteen years old to be able to work as a tour guide, but this can differ per employer and type of work of the tour leader. In many cases, a tour guide will also have to follow an internal training, because service provision is very important for travel organizations. A tour leader must also have at least a command of the English language. In some cases, a tour leader will also need to master the French and German languages. In addition, most travel companies expect you to have the driver's license. An important addition to the profession of tour guide is that a tour leader does not have to have a specific tourist training in all cases, because motivation and enthusiasm will be the deciding factor in many cases. This can differ per travel organization. In addition, there are also plenty of external training institutes where you can follow a course. Accounting is also important as an entrepreneur.
COMPANIES WHERE A TOUR GUIDE CAN WORK
In general, a tour guide will work for a travel organization or tour operator. In which country a tour leader works for a travel organization or tour operator generally depends on their own preference as a tour leader. Some popular countries as tour guides are Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Turkey and Portugal. Depending on the type of work and holiday country, a tour leader can in some cases be regarded as a temporary tour leader. These are often students who work as tour guides for a certain period of time.
COMPETENCES TOUR LEADER
As a tour guide, you are the business card of a travel organization abroad. In other words, a tour guide should be able to be seen as a host or hostess, who understands how the hospitality sector works. Because a tour leader is responsible for organizing and guiding trips, a tour leader must have organizational talent. Organizational talent also relates to being able to multitask. Being able to multitask as a tour guide is an important competence. Communication in general can also be regarded as an important competence, because a tour leader has to deal with many different holidaymakers and colleagues. As a tour guide, it can sometimes be hard work, which means that a tour leader must be stress-resistant. Another important competence of a tour guide is conflict management. Of course, a tour leader will have to have a lot of motivation and enthusiasm, because otherwise you are not suitable for the profession of tour guide. Finally, it is also important that a tour leader should not suffer from homesickness, because most tour guides work abroad for a longer period of time. Generally important words as a tour guide are inspiration, independence, sense of responsibility, energy, passion, flexibility, adaptability, service, planning, organizing and reliability. If you meet the competencies, the profession will suit you well. Otherwise, it's not the right profession for you. Finding the right profession is of course important. For example, free time is scarce as a tour guide. To do your job well, you have to be full of passion.
LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS A TOUR GUIDE
The labour market perspective of a tour guide is generally fairly good. However, the profession of tour guide occurs at different levels in practice, so that the labour market perspective can differ per position. In other words, it can be important that you have the right training as a tour guide. In addition, there is generally more demand for tour guides during the summer months than during the other seasons of the year. In general, vacancies for tour guides are sufficient to find. The career opportunities of a tour guide are generally highly dependent on the experience and the education received. A possible follow-up position as a tour guide is the profession of hospitality manager. This is generally only the case if there are several tour guides within a certain region. This generally only concerns the busier popular holiday destinations.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY TOUR LEADER
A tour leader will generally fall under the Collective Labour Agreement for Travel Work, in which the employment conditions are regulated depending on the employer. In most cases, the employer will also take care of the housing, flights and insurance. A tour guide will generally earn a salary between 1700 and 2500 euros gross per month depending on age, education and further responsibilities. The salary of a tour guide can also be lower, because the profession of tour guide occurs in practice in different ways. In addition, it is conceivable that a tour leader can earn extra income, because in some cases the tour leader can be regarded as a commercial employee. For example, a tour guide may earn extra income from selling enough excursions.
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