Improving experiences on a guided tour

Being a tourist guide is not an easy job. Tourist guides have to be always on time. People from other countries share their valuable time with them that is part of their valued holidays. However, In most cases, their enjoyment does not depend on the guides alone. There are a few non-written rules that help make their experience as fluid and informed as possible.

So, what can you do to improve the experiences of the tourists you assist? Stay with us and find out!

You should make them know where they are

Tourists are always busy; holidays are not cheap for employers and employees all around the world, so there are still few holidays available. Tourists appreciate all those little details that tourism institutions and companies can offer to improve their experience. One of them is informing them about the place they are going to visit. For this, a few things can be done:

-You can put informative banners near critical spots where tourist arrive. This will serve as a reference so that it won’t be necessary to ask the most obvious questions like: Where is the first stage of the tour? Where are the other tours?

-You can dress your tourist guides so that tourists identify them right away. You can give them special uniforms that stand out from the typical clothing in the area; this can be complemented with appropriately identified ID cards and Plastic id card holders with a contrasting color. This will allow tourists to notice earlier and know which person is the tourist guide.

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You should hand out informative flyers

One typical tool for tourist attraction is short flyers with necessary information of the site. They are often not that expensive to make and can be very useful. Tourists can take them to their hotels and check them out carefully when they are not in a rush. We detail next what information you can feature in the flyers:

-You can inform them about the next exhibits and tours ahead of time. A lot of tourism facilities notify people in advance. They go as far as giving the public a complete schedule of the activities programmed for the month. This offers a significant advantage because tourists have their priorities; giving them the schedule for the month can help them organize and come back later when they have more time.

-You can provide flyers with a detailed map of the facilities. A map is always useful, especially in those massive places where people tend to get lost. This will be especially important when dealing with tourism. People that are from abroad tend not to know their way around new places. A map can also serve as a scheduling tool. A tourist can take the map and plan their route for the day, or even the week!

Other tools that may also come in handy:

-Having speakers is a right way of making sure that the people in the tour hear the guides as clearly as possible. Of course, it is important to remember that these tools should be operated at a reasonable volume, especially outdoors. People that are not tourists should not have to deal with very loud speakers disrupting their daily lives.

-Making sure that your tour guide is capable of getting the attention of the group or audience. This sounds like obvious, but sometimes tourist guides need a lot of training. One intelligent tourist guide should be able to keep tourist interested in the visit and sometimes, make sure they behave. An experienced tour guide will not hesitate to correct or remind unruly tourist the norms of the tourist attraction. It is also important that the guides never forget to recommend other tourist spots after the visit. In some places, this is avoided, but it is something that significantly benefits the tourist.

We know that taking care of tourists is not an easy task. Tourists can come from very different backgrounds, and their habits are often not easy to anticipate. Only remember, when you are a stranger in a strange land, you would also expect the best attention from other people to avoid misunderstandings or problems.

Jennifer Winget

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