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

Chris Brown
IMTI Graduate and Professional Tour Director

How long have you been tour directing?
I've been tour directing since the end of 2003.

What did you do before tour directing?
It took me and my new, amazing career 31 years to meet and I've never been happier! I had previously spent 11 years in the corporate world wondering if my next 20 years would be spent behind a desk in front of a computer. There was plenty of money to be made but never enough to feed my soul. I much prefer spending my days adventuring with people from all over the world.

Where have you led tours?
I've mostly been leading tours on the west coast, in the National Parks, the Eastern Seaboard and down south.

Some of the best things about being a tour director (beyond the adventure of it all) are that it naturally forces you to adapt to a myriad of situations, to always be thinking ahead, to be organized and to feel comfortable being in charge of as many as 50+ people. I've added many skills to my quiver as a tour director! And to get all of this through the intrinsic magic of travel has definitely changed my life.

What do you do when you are not tour directing?
When I'm not tour directing I enjoy having wine and dinner parties with friends, camping, traveling and spending quality time with the fiancŽe!

What do you like most about tour directing?
What I like most about tour directing is that it really makes me feel alive. Whether it's getting all fired up about meeting a new group and making sure I deliver a fantastic experience for them or just being able to see new things on every trip - no matter if I've been there before. When I bring a group to fly to over the Grand Canyon or into Yosemite Valley or to a Broadway show in NYC, the tears and laughter abound! Who wouldn't like that!

How has ITMI supported you in your career?
ITMI has been a great resource for me in getting in touch with Tour Operators that I think I would like to work with. What's more is that they always provide target advice or direction for you since they know you. I really can't say enough about how they've helped me in my endeavor. It's why I'm always sending people to them!