Tour Directing Video
Interested in learning more about becoming a Tour Director and if it's the right career for you? Watch a four minute video Baby Boomer Lifestyle Video and other insightful tour directing videos.

- Baby Boomer Lifestyle Video
- Other Tour Directing Videos

- 2008 Symposium Brochure for Tour Operators (PDF)
- 2008 Symposium Brochure for Tour Directors (PDF)
- Symposium Photos and Videos
- Preferred ITMI Sponsors Symposium 2006

So, how many trade articles and columns have you read over the years about National Tourism Week? If you are an industry veteran, it's safe to say your answer is "a lot." If you are new to the travel industry, give it a little time.

National Tourism Week, May 6-12, is a time that we quite rightfully extol the economic, social and cultural virtues of our industry. There are far too many people, important people like elected officials, the media and business leaders, who are clueless about the significance of tourism. You know that and I know that. So, for the next little while, let's go at this from a different angle. Let's talk about some of the people who create those economic, social and cultural values.

Let's talk about the front line, the professionals who convert what we call an industry into what travelers call service. These are the heroes who make our businesses look good, and who make travelers feel good.

For tour operators, the critical front line is represented by the tour director. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to make a presentation at the annual conference of the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI), a long-standing NTA member that trains tour directors. My ITMI experience served to remind me of the absolute importance of tour directors.

Consider all the roles a tour director may play on a tour: negotiator, mediator, arbitrator, educator, accountant, lawyer, and therapist. Consider all the "on the ground" jobs the tour director performs for the tour company: quality control, sales, marketing, planning, operations, communications, client relations and even lost and found.

And consider this: a critical issue confronting tour companies now and in the future is having the capability to deliver intensely high-quality service. Who, more than the tour director, determines the quality of service clients receive?

Tour directors, they are vital to our future, and they are my nominees for National Tourism Week heroes.