a tour guide who gets paid 95

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Tour Guide Compensation

Every year my organization, TripSchool (opens in a new tab) trains hundreds of new tour guides around the world. In our courses we cover every conceivable topic, from storytelling to customer service to handling cultural differences, but there’s one very practical topic that is perhaps most important of all, and on everyone’s mind: how much money does a tour guide earn? After all, beyond our passion for people and travel, guiding is a job. And the answer to this is, of course: it depends. Below I’ll lay out some of the factors that play into how much money you can expect to earn as a tour guide.

Guides are usually freelancers.

If you’re working for a tour operator, you’ll usually be hired as a freelancer (opens in a new tab) , or independent contractor, or temporary worker, whatever term is used where you’re from. The exceptions to this rule are usually due to a certain state or country requiring more official employment status. Guides work seasonally, and only work when the tour operator gets bookings. So you’ll rarely be hired on a salary basis. Some guides do work as employees, guiding part of the time, and working in the office or doing operational activities as well.

Your earning potential largely depends on where you live.

Guiding is often seen as a service sector job, and thus is tied to the hourly wage rates in your region or city. Guides are usually paid much better in larger cities where guides are more in demand and wages and costs are higher. I live in New York City, where a guide might easily expect $40-50/hour for a tour. The same guide might be hired for $20/hr in a smaller market, and of course, pay scales change drastically in different countries around the world.

There are different “kinds” of tour guides, and tour companies.

Not all guides are the same, and tour companies can vary wildly, too, in terms of the kind of customer they’re catering to. (opens in a new tab) Some tour guides are simply university students looking for a little side income, or a retiree with a love for history, practically volunteering their services in a small town. Guides are often hired with the expectation that they’re also doing something else — waiting tables, working as an actor, or working on the weekends beyond their full-time job.

Then there’s the, shall we say, professional guide . The professional guide sees this job as a career, and therefore is investing in extra training, and developing marketing strategies including a personal website, offering their own tours, networking with destination organizations like a DMO or a CVB, making relationships with hotel concierges, and working for several tour operators, in addition to offering their own private tours. (opens in a new tab)

These two scenarios outline the extreme differences in tour companies and guides:

• You’re a college student working at night for a ghost tour company that sells $15 tickets, pays you $30 a tour, and expects you to memorize a script.
• You’re a historian by trade, with a graduate degree, and work for a high-end private tour company that sells a 3-hour private tour for $600, and pays the guide $250 for that tour. The high-end clients are wealthier, and regularly tip you $50-$100 on top of that tour.

These are two very extreme situations, but where you fall will depend largely on how much you invest in the networking, skill building, and ambition you have for this path. It’s ok to treat the job as something to pass the time, but believe me, there’s a whole world of earning potential out there for guides who have the goal of making guiding a career – but it means being entrepreneurial, creative, and ambitious!

What you’ll earn might partially come from tips.

The way gratuities work is different for every country, and is based on longstanding cultural practices. In the United States, where I live, guides often get paid a low hourly wage, with the expectation that guests will add to that with gratuities. When this works, it’s wonderful – a guide might make $15/hour from the operator, but an extra $100-$200 in tips, if a group of 30 people each tip $5 for example. However, the situation isn’t always that rosy. Like restaurant workers, you might have a group that undertips drastically, or doesn’t tip at all. You might have a very small group.

The balance between what the operator pays you, and what your guests pay varies greatly. Here are some example models:

• The “free tours” concept: (opens in a new tab) you’ll pay an operator a small fee for each guest you tour (perhaps $2), and then you’ll collect 100% of the tips on top of that.
• Minimum Wage + large group tour gratuities. You might earn $10/hr, but work for a company that books fairly large groups (20+ people) thus ensuring that some or most of them will tip you.
• In some countries, there’s no culture or expectation for gratuities, and therefore your wage will be paid entirely by the operator, and is therefore higher.

Gratuities also depend on the kind of tour client you have. Someone who pays very little for a tour, might not treat your skills with the same monetary care as a wealthy couple on a private tour with you, where they feel like they’ve received something very special and customized.

Specialty skills, like languages, yield a higher wage.

It’s hard to guide in a foreign language, and the more you speak, the more marketable you are to the niches of foreign visitors (opens in a new tab) wanting a native language experience. If you live in Italy and speak Greek fluently, you may be in demand for Greek travelers looking for the comfort of their own language.

Likewise, some tour operators offer architecture tours, or advanced history tours that require a level of expertise far beyond memorizing a script. These tours often fetch a higher price because the guide is compensated more.

Your wages depend on the number of guides and licensing requirements/enforcement in your region.

Some places, like Venice or Florence, have difficult tour guide license exams, and strict policing of guiding activities in the city. This means the number of guides is limited, and if a company is hiring professional guides, then those guides can command a higher wage. On the converse, a guide working in a completely unregulated market can’t demand the same wages if there’s an oversupply of potential guides. Note that many markets technically require guide licenses, but they’re not enforced at all!

One note is that supply and demand constantly fluctuate depending on how the tourism industry is doing. During the covid pandemic, many guides left the profession, and when demand returned to some countries very quickly, operators were left scrambling to hire guides.

So what’s the surest way to good compensation?

Like any job, your employer wants loyalty and quality. Here are some final tips about how to improve your compensation with a tour operator:

• Be good at your job. Take it seriously. Get quality training, always be learning and growing. (opens in a new tab) Getting excellent reviews for the company you work for is pure gold for that operator, and if you’re consistently better than the other guides, you can ask for better compensation as a result. I know many guides who do the same job as their fellow team members, but are compensated better because they’re… better.
• Be diligent and available. Don’t show up late, don’t flake on tours at the last moment, and don’t treat the job lightly. Your employer will in turn see you as serious. Scheduling guides can be very annoying for companies, so the more you’re available and loyal to the company, the more you have the right to negotiate a better rate.
• Get listed on guide platforms (like ToursByLocals, Travel Curious, or Withlocals). If you’re selling tours direct to customers, without the intermediary of a tour operator, then you’ll simply earn more, since those platforms might simply take a commission of 20-25%, rather than paying you a set rate and keeping the rest of the profits.
• Be entrepreneurial. My organization teaches a class that helps guides start their own tour business. (opens in a new tab) Why? Starting a tour business is a lot of hard work, from creating a website to marketing, to developing your own tours and selling them. You might only be interested in showing up and leading tours. But starting your own business means your earning potential is limited only to your own creativity and ambition, and it’s frankly easier than ever, with online tools for selling and marketing your services. In addition, guides should see themselves as creators — leveraging social media channels, e-commerce platforms, and new platforms like self-guided mobile tours, to take their knowledge and creativity and do everything from blogging to selling merchandise to monetizing YouTube videos. The more income channels you have, the more this can turn into a real career, and a real passion.

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Tour Guide Pay and Benefits

So let’s get down to the nitty gritty of what land tour guides and tour directors earn. This industry is by far catered to those who have a passion for travel as opposed to becoming rich, but there are some exciting benefits for those who work hard and acquire various skills over the years, including learning new languages, receiving advanced training, and learning some sporting skills for adventure tours.

Generally speaking, tour guides can earn between $50 and $150 per day taking a lot of factors into consideration such as experience, locations, training, type of tour, and others. Aside from this, many tour companies encourage their passengers to tip the tour guides, so this can bump up your salary dramatically. Some of the more experienced tour guides earn anywhere between $30,000 and $60,000 per year. A regular tipping policy offered is explained by this tour operator:

“ Tipping is a big part of the job – the pay anyway. Our policies differ depending on the tour, and we’ve got two types. The first is the all inclusive tour, where the company gives the guide extra pay as tips and the guests are not expected to pay any form of gratuities, as it is added into the price of the tour. The tips are normally $20 per day as a minimum, but you do get benefits, and these types of tours offer a salaried pay. The other type of tour is the one where guides get paid per day instead of a monthly salary, but then the guests will tip you at the end of every day according to how good you were. Customers almost always tip, and this is a great incentive to keep them happy the entire day of the tour. The last tour I worked, I made over $350 in just 5 days !”

Pay and Benefits

Receptor Service: This is where you meet tour groups at the airports or assist them at the train depot. This job normally pays around $10 to $15 per hour.

Tour Guide: An entry level tour guide or tour director without training will make about $8 to $15 per hour depending on the type of tour, and you get a free trip somewhere for the day. The more experienced tour guides will earn about $20 to $25 per hour with extra pay being offered after 8 hours.

Tour Directors/Managers: Trained and experienced tour directors normally earn between $250 and $350 per day and you also get paid time and a half if you lead overnight tour groups. These can last anywhere from 7 days to 27 days, so you are earning a good salary at the end of the tour.

DMC Tour Guides: The experienced highly skilled tour managers working for incentive houses and DMC’s can earn anywhere from $300 to over $400 per day.

Tips are then added to these payments, so the larger the group, the more money you will make. Take note that there are very generalized figures as the pay varies quite a bit depending on where you work, the company you work for, what benefits you get, how the tipping works, and how much experience and training you have.

Benefits: These include travel opportunities, meeting new people, paid board and meals on long tours, free lunch or dinner on day tours, days off. Let’s look at these benefits in more detail:

• Travel opportunities exist for all tour guides. Whether you are leading domestic tours around your home city, or managing long distance or international tours, you still get the opportunity to travel and see new places. Visiting attractions, beautiful villages, restaurants that you wouldn’t normally go to, attending shows and more can be realized as a tour guide.

It can be hard, however to juggle the responsibilities of finding lost luggage, keeping the group happy, organizing accommodation, booking shows and making restaurant reservations, while trying to find the time to travel, but you have to think that you will be doing all of these tasks while in Hawaii or Bali, India or Australia, so both can be accomplished at the same time in many instances.

• Meeting people is an exciting part of being a tour guide for many people. They enjoy hearing traveler’s stories and networking with people from all over the world, whether they are CEO’s, students, families, or retired couples. This is an integral part of being a tour guide and if you don’t get along with people, then this job is not for you. One tour guide explains: 

“Let’s face it. You go to a destination once and you’re nervous and excited, twice and you love it, but three times and you’re already getting bored. That’s why it’s important to really get along well with the passengers and enjoy their company . . .”

Did You Know? Some companies do not allow tipping, so make sure you find out this information when you apply for jobs.

Land Tour Guide Salary Details

The following table highlights the hourly wage and annual earnings for tour guides and escorts in the U.S. per state according to the U.S Department of Labor:

The average hourly wage in the U.S for a land tour guide is $13 per hour, while the average annual salary for a tour guide is $23,000 in America.

Although the pay might seem low, there is a huge incentive to travel to exotic locations and although you’re working long hours, sometimes 12 to 15 per day, you have very few out of pocket expenses. Your meals are free, your transport on the tour, whether by bus, train or ship, is free, and your accommodation, if required, is also paid for.

Quick Summary:

• Entry level land tour guide pay starts at $8 per hour
• Tour Managers earn up to $400 per day
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A tour guide who gets paid 95 for each tour given is an

Last updated: 2/4/2024

A tour guide who gets paid 95 for each tour given is an example of what type of pay OA Vacation pay B Hourly pay O C Salary D Piece rate

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How would you like to travel around the world, visit exotic locales, stay in luxury hotels, meet interesting people, and get paid a good wage for the trouble? Tour directors do just that and gain valuable public relations and work skills at the same time. Also called tour escorts, these positions offer the ultimate in travel-intensive work.

The benefits received from a tour director career are only partially measured in money, though it can be substantial itself.

Travel Opportunities

Tour guides or escorts lead tours all over the United States and abroad. Many of the stories heard from tour guide veterans leave the listener thinking that these jobs are almost too good to be true. This is how one veteran bus tour guide described her job:

"The travel was really incredible. In just three years I visited forty-eight of fifty states and eight of ten provinces, as well as several European countries. It was a lot of hard work, but I doubt any other job could have provided that kind of experience."

Traveling while juggling lodging arrangements, finding lost luggage, and keeping customers happy can be a challenge. But imagine doing those things while visiting some of the most exciting regions of the world, perhaps Costa Rica, Belize, Italy, Hawaii, India, Thailand, Nepal. The list goes on and on.

Meeting People

Tour guides all agree that although the travel is great, you can’t cut it as a tour guide if you don’t really like people. Traveling with customers is what the job is all about. As one escort put it:

"Let’s face it. You go to a destination once and you’re nervous and excited, twice and you love it, but three times and you’re already getting bored. That’s why it’s important to really get along well with the passengers and enjoy their company."

Keep in mind that with many companies, the majority of passengers are retired senior citizens. An experienced escort describes her clientele:

"Most tour companies cater to retired people, since they have money and the time to travel. Some people were exceptionally interesting, really wonderful, and have had really fascinating experiences . . . . The majority of our customers were fun, and one good couple would make up for a coach load of complainers."

Earning and Saving Money

As you might imagine, earnings for tour guides vary depending on the type of tour (over-the-road, student, or adventure), its length (6 days or 18 days, for example), and the number of guests (40 over the road or 15 adventure). The longer the tour and the more guests, the greater the predictable income from daily wages, and the larger the tips from a larger pool of tippers.

Tour guides generally earn from $50 – $150 per day in base pay. In addition, most guides receive passenger tips, which can increase earnings substantially. Between wages and tips, a TD can average $250 – $350 per day of the tour. Non-tour days spent preparing paperwork and commentary are uncompensated, though the quality manner in which TDs perform those tasks can have a great impact on the amount of tips received.

A guide for a large tour company describes her company’s rather typical tip policies:

"Our company runs two types of tours when it comes to tipping. First is the ‘all inclusive’ tour, where the company tips the guide and the guests aren’t expected to tip, since it’s included in the price of the tour. The company tips a minimum of $20 per day, but you’re salaried and get benefits. On the other tours we get paid by the day, and the tour members tip you at the end of the tour. Customers almost always tip, and it can be a real incentive to keep them happy. On my last tour, I worked only five days and was tipped over $350."

On deluxe and all-inconclusive tours, guests do not tip at the end of the tour; they already did that in paying the tour fee. The tour operator pays the TD a higher wage to include tips, or disburses them separately at the end of the tour.

Commissions

Some TDs receive commissions on sales, which has the potential to encourage TDs to take guests shopping at locations which benefit the TD more than the guests. Many tour operators do not allow TDs to accept commissions. Others require TDs to report commissions and share them with the tour operator. It’s a touchy subject in the industry, and it is worth some discrete investigation to see what the guidelines are for a particular tour operator.

Another area of possible income is the sale of optional tours and activities to guests. Many companies, especially those that run economy tours, offer guests additional activities on the tour, at additional expense. Some TOs pay TDs commission on sale of these tours, others simply expect the sales to be part of the job requirements for TDs. Again, asking a few questions of prospective employers will clarify that particular issue.

Tour guide wages

Local tour guides and step-on guides usually earn $8 – $12 per hour, more in particular locations, perhaps more as they become more experienced. Tips are in addition to this. Tour guides who provide local services in a language other than English can expect to be paid more. And tour guides with a license, in New York, Washington DC, and New Orleans, typically earn $50 or more per hour.

General Tour Guide Salary Information

Even though wages and salaries can seem low when the position may require working up to 12-14 hours a day, keep in mind that guides’ out-of-pocket expenses are minimal. An escort’s lodging and meals are nearly always provided free of charge, and a guide can often work an entire season without any large personal expenses.

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Hourly Wage for Tour Guide Salary in the United States

Hourly wage for tour guide salary.

How much does a Tour Guide make hourly in the United States? The average hourly wage for a Tour Guide in the United States is $32 as of March 26, 2024, but the salary range typically falls between $28 and $37 . Hourly rate can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education , certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target.

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What is a Tour Guide ?

A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized tours and individual clients at educational establishments, religious and historical sites, museums, and at venues of other significant interest, attractions sites....

Source: Wikipedia (as of 04/17/2019). Read more from Wikipedia

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Tour Guide Salary in The United States

The average Tour Guide Salary in The United States is $33,600 per year . Salaries range from $26,900 to $58,700 . The average Tour Guide Hourly Wage is $10.50 per hour . Hourly wages range from $8.40 to $19.43 . Salaries and wages depend on multiple factors including geographic location, experience, seniority, industry, education etc.

What is the Average Annual Salary of Tour Guide in The United States ?

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What does a tour guide do?

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What is a Tour Guide?

A tour guide provides assistance, information, and guidance to individuals or groups of tourists during their travels. Their primary role is to enhance the travel experience by sharing knowledge and insights about the destinations, attractions, and cultural aspects of the places being visited. Tour guides are well-versed in the history, geography, culture, and traditions of the locations they cover, and they use their expertise to educate and entertain the tourists.

Tour guides are responsible for organizing and leading tours, ensuring that the itinerary is followed, and the group stays on schedule. They may work in various settings, including cities, historical sites, natural landscapes, or cultural landmarks. During tours, guides provide commentary, answer questions, and engage with the tourists, creating an interactive and immersive experience. They may also assist with logistical matters, such as arranging transportation, coordinating entry to attractions, and recommending places to eat or shop.

What does a Tour Guide do?

Tour guides bring destinations to life by providing valuable expertise and insights. While guidebooks and online resources can offer information, tour guides offer a unique and personalized experience that cannot be replicated.

Duties and Responsibilities Tour guides have a range of duties and responsibilities to ensure a smooth and enjoyable travel experience for tourists. Some of the key responsibilities include:

• Planning and organizing: Tour guides research and plan tour itineraries, considering factors such as the duration of the tour, the interests of the group, and the availability of attractions. They arrange transportation, accommodation, meals, and any necessary permits or tickets, ensuring that everything is well-coordinated.
• Providing information and commentary: A primary role of tour guides is to offer informative and engaging commentary about the destinations being visited. They share historical facts, cultural insights, and interesting anecdotes to educate and entertain tourists. Guides should have a deep understanding of the locations, including their history, architecture, local customs, and traditions.
• Leading tours and managing groups: Tour guides are responsible for leading the group throughout the tour. They ensure that the group stays together, follows the itinerary, and adheres to any safety guidelines. Guides should have good organizational and leadership skills to manage groups of varying sizes and diverse backgrounds.
• Assisting with logistics: Tour guides handle practical aspects of the tour, such as coordinating transportation between sites, arranging entry to attractions, and managing timing to optimize the itinerary. They provide directions, answer questions, and offer recommendations for meals, shopping, and other activities.
• Ensuring safety and security: Guides prioritize the safety and security of the tourists. They inform the group about potential risks or hazards, and they take necessary precautions to prevent accidents or incidents. In emergency situations, guides should be prepared to provide assistance and follow appropriate protocols.
• Interacting and engaging with tourists: Tour guides create a welcoming and interactive environment for tourists. They foster a positive and friendly atmosphere, encourage questions, and actively engage with the group. Guides should be approachable and adaptable, catering to the needs and interests of the tourists.
• Resolving issues and addressing concerns: Tour guides act as a point of contact for tourists, addressing any concerns or issues that may arise during the tour. They handle complaints, resolve conflicts, and provide assistance or alternative solutions when needed.
• Promoting responsible and sustainable tourism: Guides play a crucial role in promoting responsible tourism practices. They educate tourists about local customs and cultural sensitivities, encourage respectful behavior towards local communities and the environment, and advocate for sustainable travel practices.

Types of Tour Guides There are various types of tour guides, each specializing in different areas and catering to specific types of tours. Here are some common types of tour guides and a brief description of what they do:

• City Tour Guides: City tour guides specialize in providing tours within a specific city or urban area. They are well-versed in the history, architecture, landmarks, and culture of the city. Their role is to guide tourists through popular attractions, historical sites, and local neighborhoods, offering insights and commentary along the way.
• Cultural Tour Guides: Cultural tour guides focus on highlighting the cultural aspects of a destination. They provide in-depth knowledge about local traditions, customs, festivals, and arts. These guides may accompany tourists to museums, art galleries, cultural events, or religious sites, helping them understand and appreciate the cultural significance of these places.
• Ecotourism Guides : Ecotourism guides are responsible for designing and planning itineraries that are environmentally and culturally responsible, researching the destination, developing educational materials, preparing necessary equipment, and coordinating logistics such as transportation, accommodation, and meals.
• Adventure Tour Guides: Adventure tour guides lead tours focused on outdoor activities and adventure sports such as hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, or skiing. They possess skills and knowledge in the specific activities offered, ensuring the safety of participants while providing guidance and instruction. Adventure guides may take tourists to remote and challenging locations, coordinating logistics and providing a thrilling experience.
• Historical Tour Guides: Historical tour guides specialize in providing detailed insights into the history of a destination. They are knowledgeable about specific historical periods, events, and significant landmarks. These guides often work in historical sites, monuments, or archaeological sites, sharing historical context and stories that bring the past to life for tourists.
• Specialized Tour Guides: Specialized tour guides cater to niche interests or specific types of tours. Examples include food tour guides who focus on culinary experiences, wine tour guides who provide expertise on vineyards and wine tasting, or art tour guides who lead tours in museums and art galleries, offering interpretations of artworks.

Are you suited to be a tour guide?

Tour guides have distinct personalities . They tend to be social individuals, which means they’re kind, generous, cooperative, patient, caring, helpful, empathetic, tactful, and friendly. They excel at socializing, helping others, and teaching. Some of them are also enterprising, meaning they’re adventurous, ambitious, assertive, extroverted, energetic, enthusiastic, confident, and optimistic.

Does this sound like you? Take our free career test to find out if tour guide is one of your top career matches.

What is the workplace of a Tour Guide like?

The workplace of a tour guide can be quite diverse and dynamic, offering a mix of indoor and outdoor environments. One aspect of their workplace involves cultural and urban settings. City tour guides, for instance, operate within bustling cities, leading tourists through streets, squares, and iconic landmarks. They may work in vibrant neighborhoods, historic districts, or cosmopolitan areas, immersing tourists in the local culture and urban atmosphere. These guides navigate through crowded streets, interact with locals, and provide insights into the city's history, architecture, and vibrant lifestyle. They may also lead tours in museums, art galleries, or cultural centers, where they can showcase the city's artistic and cultural offerings.

Another significant aspect of a tour guide's workplace is outdoor settings. Nature and wildlife tour guides find themselves working in breathtaking natural landscapes, such as forests, mountains, or coastal areas. These guides lead groups on hikes, nature walks, or wildlife safaris, sharing their knowledge about the local flora, fauna, and ecosystems. Their workplace is characterized by stunning scenery, serene environments, and opportunities for visitors to connect with nature. Adventure tour guides also operate in outdoor settings, taking tourists on thrilling activities like rafting, rock climbing, or skiing. They work in adventurous and often remote locations, ensuring the safety of participants while providing an adrenaline-pumping experience.

Additionally, the workplace of a tour guide can extend to various modes of transportation. They may lead tours on buses, boats, trains, or even walking tours, utilizing different forms of transportation to explore diverse attractions and destinations. This allows guides to provide a comprehensive experience, showcasing various facets of a region while offering comfort and convenience to tourists.

Tour Guides are also known as: Tourist Guide

Travelling Without a Passport

How to Become a Tour Guide

So, you want to get paid to travel the world? Being a tour guide means you get to travel  while working, be the envy of all your friends, and visit dream destinations all over the globe! You’ll meet people from everywhere, wake up in a different city every other day, and truly become a citizen of the world. But do you know what you are getting yourself into, and what it takes to land one of the best jobs ever? Read on to find out how to become a tour guide! 

Travel to: Europe

Important to note: Though a lot of people living on the road are referred to as tour guides, in some countries, they’re tour leaders, managers, directors… the list goes on! It’s important to know that when you’re looking for travelling job opportunities, many tour guide job advertisements will be looking for licensed city tour specialists, who unlike you will be looking to stay put in one city

See Also: Every Question You've Ever Had About Group Tours

How to become a tour guide

If you’ve decided this is the life for you, but don’t know how to go about getting your foot in the door, here’s a behind-the-scenes sneak peek into what it takes to become a tour guide! 

The pros of this job can’t be counted on just one hand, but becoming tour guide doesn’t mean a permanent vacation. It’s a competitive field, and you’ll have to work hard to keep your coveted role. You need to be dedicated, but you also need to know how to have fun.  You’ll live out of a suitcase, answer hundreds of questions every day, and work with many different personalities and cultures from all over the world. A tour guide is at the heart of a tour and can make or break the experience. Translation: there is no such thing a “bad day.”

Your passengers have saved long and hard to come on your tour, and you need to do everything in your power, every day, to make sure they have the trip of a lifetime (no matter how challenging it might be).  You need to be patient, fierce, tenacious, and most importantly possess a genuine passion for your passengers and profession. Still up for the challenge? Here’s what you need to do next! 

Step 1: Research tour operators in advance

Do your research! It’s important to find a tour operator that aligns with your interests. Are you a history lover that enjoys a relaxed pace of travel with a more mature audience? Or do you prefer non-stop adventure and fast-paced city hopping with today’s youth? No matter the operator there’s a tour style that will fit your own, it’s just a matter of doing your homework to find them. And of course, different operators will require different levels of experience and external certifications depending on where their tours travel and what type of experiences you’d be facilitating as their guide. 

You should also find out how much experience you need for the tour operator you have your eye on. Some tour operators won’t require you to have any previous experience and will instead invest huge amounts of time and money in “auditioning” you. These jobs are highly sought after by many young, enthusiastic adventurers, so the stakes are high. You’ll be looking at 2-3 months without an income, travelling through potentially expensive European cities and without any guarantee you have the job until you’ve passed the finish line! Pretty soon into the process, you’ll find out if you are up to the challenge and whether you have the necessary skills, personality and expertise to make it or break it as a tour guide.

Other tour operators may have much shorter training periods, but will need you to know a lot about the region you want to work in: maybe you’ve lived there for an extended period, or speak the language, or you have a degree related to the culture or history of the region. Your speaking skills will be tested in an interview before training, and finally, some operators will look for individuals that have been  guiding or tour leading for at least a couple of years before they will even consider you. If you’re starting out, wait until you’ve got some solid experience under your belt before reaching out to these companies! 

All in all, it’s important to choose an operator that fits your personality and travels to destinations you feel passionate about! 

Step 2: Remember that it’s both a job  and a lifestyle

Living a life on the road is both a lifestyle and a job. You need to have a consistent passion for learning, relentlessly optimistic outlook and dedication to hard work. If you’re one of the lucky few that lands the job you need to be prepared to give up everything about your old life. You will be on call 24/7, your own needs will always, always,  be the last priority and you’ll find yourself with little to no time to speak with your friends and family back home. If you can make peace with all of the above, then focus on crafting the perfect application, preferably one that touches on your passion for learning, relentlessly optimistic outlook and dedication to hard work.

Spend plenty of time tailoring your application letter and resume to fit the role and the company you’re applying for. Experience with travel, being able to talk about history, culture, art and much much more at a moment’s notice and charisma will help, but  you also need to think about who their audience is! What can you offer this company (that thousands of other applicants can’t) to convince them they are placing their valued customers in the right hands? 

Be confident in selling your skills, especially the ones essential to successfully running a tour. Highlight any professional experiences like being able to perform under pressure, working with groups, and any relevant language or academic knowledge that will help you to stand out. Give examples of past experiences and anything else that will make your application jump off the page.

Step 3: Prepare for the interview process

The interview round depends on the company’s recruitment process. It could be one meeting or a series of meetings. The tour operator wants to see if you are the right fit for them and the real deal. It’s time to convince them that you can put your money where your mouth is. Come prepared with examples in your head, and be prepared for seemingly-random questions that will test your character, initiative, and even your general know how.

Tour operators invest a huge amount in their tour guides. There are very few other jobs in the world where people work so independently of their managers’ presence from the beginning of their employment. Their brand and their customer’s experience is the most important thing to them, and they should have no doubts that you are a superstar who can do the job professionally and support their goals. Get a good night’s sleep before your interview and enter the room calm, confident, and personable.

See Also: Everything Your Tour Guide Wants You to Know Before You Travel

Step 4: Study, study, study!

You’ve been accepted to progress beyond your application submission. Now’s time to get stuck into preparing yourself to become the rookie tour guide of the year! While organisational and personal skills probably come naturally to you, no one, no matter how much they have studied, is prepared for the questions you will face while on your first tour or training trip. And if you hate studying, you may as well peace out now! 

Where is the closest cash machine? What kind of tree is that? When was that building built? What’s the major industry of that little town we just passed?

The more you know about history, culture, food, language, geography, politics, economy, and flora and fauna before heading out on your training trip, and hopefully your first tour, the better. You will never know all the answers, but you’ll learn smooth ways to own up to that, or find out and provide a helpful response shortly after (hello Google), or direct the passenger to where they might find out.

If the company you’ve applied to work with has a training trip before you embark on your first adventure with real, paying clients, they will be doing all they can to replicate every single possible tricky scenario you could come across on tour. Given that you’re applying for one of the most popular jobs in the world, it’s going to be intense, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get maximum satisfaction out of it. Making it to the end of your training is a huge accomplishment in itself. So p repare well, work hard, keep your wits about you and sleep now, because if you do become a tour guide, you can kiss more than six hours of shut-eye per night goodbye! 

Step 5: Preparing for your first tour as a tour guide

You did it! You may have shed blood, sweat and tears to get here but you can finally call yourself a tour guide! It doesn’t matter if you’re  new to this because everyone has to start somewhere. Celebrate the fact that you’re here because experienced touring professionals believe you have what it takes to take passengers on the trip of a lifetime. So have some confidence in yourself. Your colleagues and peers can help you when you need it but focus on the most important thing of all, your passengers! If you gain their respect and they can see you know what you’re doing, you’re well on your way to being a roaring success.

Now that you’re a tour guide, there are a few other things to keep in mind. Your life will change. This isn’t a run of the mill 9 to 5, but if you’re leading a group of tourists towards the pyramids of Giza then you already knew that! Irregular hours means keeping in touch with loved ones or having a routine isn’t easy, but standing at the foot of the world’s greatest wonders will outweigh the crazy hours and lack of routine. If you love what you do, then none of it will feel like a sacrifice, in fact, you might even say all of the above is the best feeling! Not many people can call the world their office or say their day job includes visiting incredible sights and attractions that the rest of us dream about.

Requirements to become a tour guide

Work permits and passport.

Before you begin your application, do a solid check on the work permit requirements. Are you legally able to work in the country where you’ll be touring, or is there a visa or work permit you’ll need?

Before investing your time, heart, and soul in a solid job application, make sure you’ve got the legal parts covered.

See Also: Most Difficult Countries to Get a Visa

When to apply

Most tour operators will hire in preparation for their peak season. If you’re interested in working in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s best to apply around September, as applications will usually close before the new year to have training arranged in the first months of the year.

If you want to work in a region with year-round tourism (such as South East Asia, for example), check with the company to see when they run their training trips, or when is the best time to apply. If you’re lucky, they’ll tell you they can take an application anytime!

If you’d like to work in Australia and New Zealand, applications are generally taken around mid-year in preparation for the summer. As there is more demand for tour guides in summer months in most regions, the operators hire and prepare new tour guides for the peak season. Those tour guides may then apply or request to also have some winter work.

If becoming a tour guide is for you, maybe it’s time to start doing your research on which companies you’d like to apply to! It may seem like a daunting task, but for those suited to the job, it’s a dream come true.

Have any questions about the process? Ask us in the comments below! 

Finally settled down in Vienna after 9 years of leading tours in Europe, Leona first joined TourRadar in 2016. She speaks four languages and enjoys cooking authentic traditional recipes, walking in the hills around Vienna and arranging beer coasters so they're all facing the same way.

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One More Cup of Coffee

Can You Really Make Money as a Tour Guide?

Ever been on vacation and taken a tour? You may have felt a twinge of envy, thinking about how great it would be to make money while showing people the unique and fascinating features of your hometown. 

Are You Ready To Work Your Ass Off to Earn Your Lifestyle?

Are you tired of the daily grind? With a laptop and an internet connection I built a small website to generate income , and my life completely changed. Let me show you exactly how I’ve been doing it for more than 13 years .

If so, why not consider becoming a tour guide? Being a tour guide can be a great side hustle or full-time job, especially if you don’t like being stuck in an office or factory all day under the watchful eye of a supervisor or two. 

If you like sharing experiences with other people and helping strangers see what makes an area or activity special, maybe you should look a bit closer at how a tour guide career that might suit you. 

And being a tour guide isn’t confined to just walking around a downtown area looking at bridges and art museums. You can also escort people on bikes, rafts, and even snowmobiles. If you like the sport of fishing, being a fishing guide might be in your wheelhouse. 

How big is the tour guide industry? In the United States alone, it’s worth over  $10 billion annually . That means for every American, $30 is spent on tour operator fees per year.

You don’t have to be originally from the area to guide a tour about it. You just need some expertise. As with languages, learning something as an adult can make it easier to teach other people.  

But tour guides probably don’t make much money, do they? 

Wrong! Tour guides can make excellent money, both on a flexible and full-time basis.

Table of Contents

Can Tour Guides Really Make a Lot of Money?

Tour guides have ultimate control over their profit potential. Your compensation will directly reflect the value you give your customers as a tour guide, making it the perfect job for the avid self-starter and independent-minded entrepreneur. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the  median wage  for a tour guide is $14.16. This does not count gratuities, which can add 10-20% to your compensation per person on your tour.   

In a case where you are operating a tour for ten people, your gratuities might dwarf your hourly compensation by 100% or more. The more they like you, the more your clients will pay you.  

Here are some questions to explore if you think you might like being a tour guide:

1. What types of tour guides are there?

2. What kind of training do you need as a tour guide?

3. Employee, self-employed, or independent contractor?

4. How much can you make as a tour guide?

What Types of Tour Guides are There?

There is at least one type of tour guide for every possible tourist activity. Here is a list of some of the types of tour guides:

• Historical guide
• White water rafting guide
• Hiking/backcountry guide
• Snowmobile guide
• Fishing guides
• Horseback riding guide
• Nature preserves guide
• Driver guide
• Hunting guide
• Diving guide

This is not an exhaustive list. If it’s something people will pay to do, chances are, they will also pay a guide to help them do it.

Using Your Interests to Become a Tour Guide

This presents an excellent opportunity because if you have a hobby that might interest others, like art history, photography , or skiing, you can bolster your income as a guide on tours incorporating these activities.  

Maybe you weren’t an art history major, but you’ve always liked art. Perhaps you grew up loving fishing so much you became an expert at it. Or maybe you just like walking and meeting new people. 

We’ll get into how much money you’ll make below, but a top reason you might want to become a tour guide is it could give you a chance to earn your living by doing something you love. 

You’ve heard the saying, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” When you do what you love, you are less likely to be stressed,  positively impacting  your mental and physical wellbeing. 

What Kind of Training do You Need as a Tour Guide?

You might think it’s easy to jump right into tour guiding, but you should consider taking some training courses first. Training can help you develop the hard and soft skills to maximize your success and income as a tour guide.

First Aid Certification

Becoming certified in first aid is essential for every tour guide. Tours are not necessarily an inherently dangerous activity, but accidents can happen. In an emergency, you could save someone’s life by rendering medical aid at the right time. 

You might be 20 years old, but when you step up to guide people on a tour, they look to you as a leader.

The sheer number of first aid courses can be overwhelming, but depending on what type of guiding you decide to do, here are some American Red Cross  first aid courses  and certifications to consider:

• First aid training and certification
• Swimming and water safety
• Wilderness and remote first aid
• First aid for severe trauma
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

Many of these classes are available online, and there are also hybrid classroom/online options. 

Knowing what to do enables you to act appropriately in emergencies and boosts your overall confidence on the job.

First aid is a hard skill that can deteriorate over time, so periodic refreshers may be necessary to stay proficient and current on the latest techniques. 

Tour Director and Guide Certification

In the U.S., you are often not required to have any sort of certification to be a tour guide, but it certainly helps. Training and certification can help you do the following:

• Start a tour business
• Design a particular tour
• Master the art of tour storytelling 
• Engaging with a tour group

Trip School offers would-be tour guides courses on all  these soft skills  you need to become an effective tour guide and more. 

Marketing yourself as a certified tour guide will also add to your credibility. 

Check with your municipality to see if they have other certification requirements for tour operators.  

Professional Courses

No matter how much you know about fishing, hiking, or art, you can always brush up on these skills and learn more. Even if you pursue guiding as a side hustle or a part-time gig, the better you are at the chosen activity, the more money you will make.

If you can’t find many professional classes in your area, you can always hire an independent trainer to brush up on these skills. Check local outdoor outfitting stores to get a list of trainers and teachers in your area. 

Employed, Independent Contractor, or Self-Employed?

You can go about becoming a tour guide in highly varied ways. You can apply as an employee, independent contractor, or even start your own tour company.

Getting Hired as a Tour Guide

The most straightforward way of becoming a tour guide is to  browse tour guide listings  on local employment sites. For example, on any given day, Indeed.com advertises nearly 2,000 and sometimes more tour guide jobs all over the United States.

Working directly for a tour company is a great way to start as a tour guide. It allows you to get training and experience in the field on someone else’s dime. You can learn a lot this way, not just how to be a tour guide, but how the overall market works. 

Even if you decide to strike out on your own later, being trained and working as a tour guide will give you professional experience and contacts, all of which will be useful as your career progresses.

Becoming an Experience Host

If working for someone else is not for you, and you are not quite ready to set up your own business, you can consider being an independent contractor. As a contractor, you work on behalf of another company that assigns you leads or even tours. 

This is an excellent middle path to becoming a tour guide, allowing you to taste a little of what it’s like to be independent while still having the security of someone else finding customers for you.

You can take various routes to become an independent tour operator. One way is to become an  Experience Host  with Airbnb. As an Experience Host, you will guide guests on an activity that “goes beyond the typical tour or class.”  I’ve done this before with a local in Peru, and it was pretty awesome to walk the streets of my host’s home town, tasting food from his favorite barbecue places and drinking at his local pub.

Being an Experience Host is an opportunity to craft a unique activity for your guests. You can take them surfing, teach them to make pizzas, show them how to build furniture, or even take them on a hiking excursion with rescue dogs. 

You can also turn your cause into an “experience.” For example, if you are into environmental sustainability, why not guide people on a wilderness excursion, while highlighting to your guests the need for good stewardship and conservation efforts? 

You will not only love what you do and make money doing it but also contribute something positive to the world.

As an Experience Host, you do not need to allow guests to stay in your home. 

Starting Your Own Tour Company

Starting your own enterprise is always difficult but can be more fulfilling than any other activity. 

If you intend to start your own business, you will have some additional requirements, such as  getting a business license . As a business owner, however, your profit potential is unlimited. 

Starting your own company can be ideal if you live in a popular tourist destination. Marketing your services and finding customers is a lot easier in tourist locales.

How Much Money Can You Make as a Tour Guide?

Working as an Employee

At the median wage of $14.16 per hour, you can make $283.20 working 20 hours per week as a part-time tour operator. Full-time at 40 hours per week, you can make $566.49. This adds up to annual wages of $29,457.48. 

But your wages are only part of what you’ll make as a tour guide. As a tippable professional, you can make significant additional income through tips.

Tour guides can make 10-20% per person for a tour. Assuming you take eight people on a five-hour walking tour who each paid $15 for the tour, you can make an additional $24, and even more if you deliver exceptional service.

If you make $24 extra per working day as a tour guide, tips can supplement your income by more than $6,240 per year, resulting in a total annual income of $35,697.48 or more.

Making Money as an Independent Contractor

Whether you get paid by the hour or the day, you can make good money as a guide. For example, you can earn  $500 a day as a fishing guide.

One thing to keep in mind is that outdoor guides can’t work every day of the year. Weather, seasonality, and even customer availability can impact the number of chargeable days you have in a year. If you plan to start a career as a wilderness guide or other outdoor outfitter, keep this in mind. 

Independent Contractors such as Airbnb Experience Hosts 

The amount of money you can make as an independent tour contractor depends on your charisma and how interesting you make your experience. For example, the median income for Airbnb Experience Hosts in 2019 was $2,500, but some people have made  more than $150,000  per month.

Crafting a tour experience is much more art than science, and the more creative you are, the more money you can make.

Making Money as a Tour Startup

Entrepreneur Media reports that the startup costs for tour guide companies can be under $2,000 and can generate an after-expenses income of  more than $50,000 . To reach these heights and continue to grow your business, you must provide valuable experiences and continually market your business.

Partnering with the concierge desk in local hotels is an excellent way to get your business on the map without paying tons for advertising. Try bringing the concierge a cup of their favorite drink when you drop off your tour brochures. This tactic will undoubtedly help move you to the top of their most recommended tour operator list.  

Related Questions

1. Are there professional tour guide associations I could join?

Joining a professional tour guide association can be a great way to get access to and share information about tour guiding best practices and other issues that will help you grow as a tour operator and put your business on the map. The National Federation of Tour Guide Associations has a  list of member associations  located throughout the country. 

2. Could hosting a tour or experience help me build other businesses?

Absolutely. If you are a writer, an artist, a chef, a designer, or a photographer, consider building a tour or experience to promote your other businesses. If you’re an author, make sure you have signed copies of your book on-hand to sell to your clients.  

There are a lot of ways to make money online. Some are good, some not, but ALL of them are still just trading hours for dollars.

Starting your own affiliate website really is the best way to build passive income and "make money while you sleep". Affiliate websites earn income in every timezone, and can be instantly accessed by billions of smartphones across the globe!

What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. My name is Nathaniell and I'm the owner of One More Cup of Coffee. I started my first online business in 2010 promoting computer software and now I help newbies start their own businesses. Sign up for my #1 recommended training course and learn how to start your business for FREE!

About Nathaniell

I’ve been building profitable affiliate blogs for more than a decade, and built six-figure blogs in a wide variety of niches, including computer software, self help, and home & garden topics. I do things a bit differently, and I hope you like my perspective and my style of teaching.

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Team Wanderlust | 31 July 2018

Get paid to travel: become a tour leader.

Do you have what it takes to become a travel guide? It can take you all over the world, but you'll need buckets of passion, endless knowledge and a big dose of patience...

Let’s get this straight: it is a ‘proper job’. Sure, you’ll lose your fear of Monday mornings. And yes, your ‘office’ may be a Kenyan national park, a Himalayan valley or a large area of Amazon jungle. Your friends will think you get paid to go on holiday again and again – a kind of Groundhog Holiday, if you will.

But don’t be deceived: tour leading for an adventure travel company is very much a proper job. The hours are long (when have you worked nine months without a day off?), you’re on call 24/7 and, while it may look easy, behind the scenes it’s a huge amount of work. Your job could be described as being like a swan on water - graceful and calm on the surface, with your legs frantically paddling underneath.

What jobs are there?

Tour leading is not a single job – there are many different kinds of tours, like driving overland trucks from London to Cape Town, or leading rambling groups around the vineyards of Tuscany. There are jobs touring the general sights of countries, sailing the Nile in a dhow, guiding safaris, mountain biking, doing European cultural tours, riding horses, carrying out conservation work, or leading family trips.

Some are more extreme than others – the skills needed for leading a centre-based holiday in the Pyrenees are very different from those required to climb a Himalayan peak or lead a jungle expedition.

What's in it for you?

A lot of travel, of course. You’ll find that leading gives your travel a new depth – when you're working alongside locals, they'll see you as an equal, not as a customer. What other job would let you build a deep friendship with a Vietnamese waitress or a Berber muleteer? Ask most leaders what they most like about the job and the answer won’t have anything to do with travel. You'll learn a lot about yourself, developing your interpersonal and leadership skills in ordinary and extraordinary situations. It's also a job with real autonomy – your boss may be 12,000 miles away!

What are the downsides?

All of these plus points have their down sides. You might repeat the same two-week itinerary ten times, yet you have to be as fresh on the tenth as you were on the first. Whatever goes wrong, you have to deal with it, whenever it happens. Your clients might be rude, your transport connections could be late, or not turn up at all. Yours and your clients' personal belongings can be stolen, or worse, your clients could get ill - and that's all your responsibility to deal with. As well as all of those negatives, it can also be lonely work - having to spend long periods away from your close friends and family.

How to get a job as a travel guide

• Don’t apply unless you are well travelled. Ideally you’ll have explored some unusual parts of the globe and been on some extended trips, such as a career break. But remember, the most important thing isn’t travel – it’s people.
• Stress your people and leadership skills. Anything you can do to prove that you have experience of a service industry, and of leading or teaching people, will be a great benefit.
• Get an understanding of what is required. Research the job thoroughly by checking out all the web-links listed, and getting to know the style of the company you are applying to.
• Visit travel shows and exhibitions. Prove that you’ve done your research and that you aren’t just acting on a whim. Companies will need to see that people are serious about the job.
• Go on a trip with the company you are applying to.  It'll give you a great insight into what it's like to be part of a group on holiday and see a real-life tour leader in action. While you're there, ask the tour leader exactly what they're doing on a day-to-day basis.
• Make sure you have specialised skills, such as a foreign language or a PCV driving licence. While they aren’t essential for all jobs, they are for some, and give you a great advantage. Knowledge of first aid, or specific country knowledge, is also good.
• Be ready to answer the question: “What would make you a good tour leader?” It’s an obvious question, and if you can’t answer it fluently, you shouldn’t be applying.

A word from a pro: Nick Nikolsky

Nick worked as a full-time tour leader over many years, covering everywhere from the faroe islands to cambodia. so how did he do it.

“In my gap year I worked abroad teaching English, then after uni as a diving instructor. I saw an advert for a tour leader in Wanderlust (honest) and applied for the job, expecting to do it for a short while. I ended up doing it full time for five years.

“My first trip was a walking tour in Slovakia. I had been trained in the UK and abroad on an actual walking trip and knew roughly how leading worked, but I was nervous at having to look after 16 people for two weeks all on my own. Needless to say I didn’t let the group know it was my first trip! By the end of the fortnight, I knew this was what I wanted to do as a job.

“You start getting a lot more than just travel experience when you’ve done the job for a year. You build up your people-handling skills, you encounter and solve strange new problems – all of which are great skills for whatever you do in life.”

Top tip: “Be yourself at the interview and if you are enthusiastic about travel and a people person, you should sell yourself without having to try.”

With thanks to Nick Nikolsky, Andrew Aitcheson, Matt Leggett and Debbie Crawford for their help with this guide.

Check out Wanderlust's job site for job opportunities in the travel industry.

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• Walking Tours

Ep. 26 — How Free Tour Guides Get Paid and Why John O’Sullivan Wants To Disrupt the Model.

How free tour guides usually get paid..

We lost some important audio on episode 25 with John O’Sullivan of Walks 101 . So we tracked it down and I added it here because John talks us through how tour guides of free walking tours traditionally get paid and how he is trying to pay his tour guides a full-time salary.

Here is an edited transcription of our conversation.

Shane Whaley 0:26 So how are you compensating your tourguides? How does that all work?

John O’Sullivan 1:49 Yeah, it’s pretty interesting question right now, because I am at a bit of a crossroads, the way that free tours work throughout the world is pretty similar, most free walking tours, work with independent contractor tour guides, and they all are freelance guides. At the end of the tour, they say you’re welcome to give a tip. However, the company is actually a marketing agency, and they charge for every lead, they charge for every person who showed up on that tour. And the charge will vary. It’s usually somewhere in kind of the like in Australian dollars, like $3 to $6 range. So you can convert that to whatever currency you like.

Shane Whaley 2:28 So if I understand that correctly, so you charge the guide a fee for everyone who shows up.

John O’Sullivan 2:33 Yeah, so up until two months ago, I was charging guides $4 for every person who came on a tour. And so if a guide had 30 people on a tour, the guide would pay me $120 for the benefit of having given that tour. Now, any guide who’s worth their weight would be able to make roughly around $10 per person. So 300 people on a tour, you make $300, as the tour guide, you pay the company $120 out of that, and everybody’s happy that’s in a utopian landscape, that works great. And it’s also the thing that made me really fired up about free tours before I was talking about starting a business. And then I did free tours in the background. turned out I made better money as a free tour guide in London than I ever made in my career before or since it’s including the cost of the marketing fee on there. It’s one of those things, a rare skill, being able to do free tours, you have to be able to combine theatrical ability, with guiding ability with a little bit of school teacher vibes as well. And also not being afraid to talk about money and not being afraid to talk about sales . Anyway, that’s how the business model developed back in 2005. And to my knowledge, that’s how the vast majority of the world is doing free walking tours. There are some really big problems with it, though. Namely that you have two parties with two different interests, the guide is interested in making as much money as possible, the company is also interested in making as much money as possible. And the way they do that is difference. The guide only wants to get people who are likely to tip them lots of money. The company has no disincentive, just throw anybody on the tour or even if they maybe don’t even have mastery of language. And so that’s one of the pain points that happens with these tour companies. And also there’s all sorts of other things, guides know that if it’s rainy, people going to tip this much, it’s sunny, they’re gonna tip this much, it’s June, they’re gonna tip this much. Guides who lead these free tours, we really get to know what like, it’s humans are remarkably predictable. And so especially when you get large scale, you can get to know what your expected earnings are going to be. And you can get pretty good at forecasting that. We understand how much people are probably willing to spend on the tour. And so what we’re going to do is we’re going to take all that money, and have that be ours as a company, and we’re going to pay the guides a competitive salary. That’s what I’m doing. So I’ve just now hired my first two full time tour guides. And so they’re on 38 hours a week contracts, they get superannuation, that’s Australian for retirement funds, they get paid annual leave, they get all the benefits you would have in a normal job. And that’s something that’s really hard to come by not just in free tours, but throughout the industry. I think that we have a problem in this industry, of commodifying guides of having all of our guides be freelancers, it’s really great in the summertime when I really need them, but good luck in the winter. And I understand the need for it. Because we have a seasonal industry. But come on. Most companies have some degree of predictability even in the winter. And so what can we be doing to look after some of our best performing guides? That’s a question that I haven’t quite figured out yet. But I’m actively trying to fix it. And the way that I’m trying to fix it is by taking on the risk as a business owner, because all the stuff that we talked about, about what the industry is doing about putting risk on the operators, I realized that I myself, was doing the same thing to my guides, I was putting the risk on them. And that wasn’t fair. They just want to go make their money. And so I pay them a good wage, I pay them well above industry average. But it’s something that very much remains to be seen because I just started doing it two months ago. And I would be curious to check back in with you and share with you about how it goes after we get through our first season.

Shane Whaley 6:17 Yeah, I’d be fascinated to learn more about it. Because first of all, I take my hat off to you, I think it’s the right thing to do. But it’s a huge, huge risk, I guess the question I have is why you wouldn’t move to just paid tours. So you know exactly what you’ve got coming in, and you can budget and are sure you make a profit.

John O’Sullivan 6:34 I’ve had that advice from many, many business advisors. And I get it, it’s a good piece of advice. But it’s not what I’m fired up about. Free tours are transformational. I think that free tours are doing a service for the industry. Because without free tours, people will never experience how great a walking tour can be. They’re going to go to the hop on hop off bus, they’re going to go on to the river cruise are going to go to the sex museum or whatever thing is getting tourists excited, and they’re not going to really sink their teeth, into the city, I get this 18 year old German to come on my tour. And they love it. They asked questions the entire time. And they’re really fired up. And at the end, they come up to me they shake my hand and say, I’m really sorry, I’m a backpacker, I only can give you $2. But you’re worth so much more. And that is the best I will take that over $50 note because it means that I’ve meant something to that person. And you see the result of this because free tours have been operating for nearly 15 years now. And so now those people who started in 2005 who are 18 years old, are coming back to their families. And they’re the ones giving the $50 notes. And so I’m not interested in running a traditional tour business. If I wanted to do that it would have been a much more direct path to success, but it’s not the thing that gets me fired up, we are accessing a group of people who never would have done a free walking tour and we’re serving them.

Shane Whaley 7:47 I’m taking my hat off to you because I can hear the passion in your voice for walking tours. And I can only wish you all the very best and what you’re trying to do because you’re trying to do this the right way, which is tough.

The Tourpreneur Daily Brief – never miss out on the tours, activities and experience companies who are making the news. Daily free email from the host of the Tourpreneur Podcast Shane Whaley .

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Course Detail: PER825 - Get Paid to Be A Tour Guide & Travel Free - NEW!

• The qualifications needed to become a tour guide
• The "Five Easy Ways To Get A Job In the Tour Industry"
• How to start your own tour company (with little investment)
• How to design excellent tours & negotiate group discounts
• Tour director salaries
• "101 Ways To Promote Your Tour & Make It A Success"

Fee includes Gina's 100-page digital book, "Get Paid to Be A Tour Guide & Travel Free" (valued at $39.95).

About the Instructor: Visit Gina's website for more information. Click Here

This course will be delivered online. The class will be facilitated by a live instructor, Gina Henry, during the scheduled course time. Several days prior to the start of your course, you will receive an email with information on connecting to the session.

Available Sessions - Click on date(s) below.