It takes a special type of person to be a tour guide or tour director. Skilled, detail-oriented, caring … and perhaps a bit quirky.
Family and friends of these dedicated tour professionals can attest to the lovable idiosyncrasies that many seem to share. After all, when your career focuses on ensuring groups of strangers, family, or friends have a good time exploring new places together, you tend to see the world differently than most.
Here are a few signs that you might be a tour guide or tour director.
1. You give your friends ETAs in one-minute intervals
Your friends call and ask you, “What time do you think you’ll arrive at that amazing Mexican-Thai fusion restaurant?” You tell them 6:57 p.m. When you spend so much time poring over itineraries, you tend to place a lot of importance on time and all its precious intervals.
2. You narrate every single drive
It doesn’t matter if you’re driving to Yosemite or to the dry cleaner. If you’re familiar with the area and already know an interesting historical tidbit about the location of a new car wash, you won’t be able to resist sharing it with your company.
3. You always insist on carrying everything
When you return from the grocery store with your spouse or significant other, you instinctively scoop up every single bag without a second thought. Your tendency toward serving others tends to carry over in most facets of your domestic life. Most partners won’t mind.
4. You regularly check weather forecasts throughout the day
It’s a nervous habit. You might not even have any outdoor plans. Still, there is the possibility that you’ll want to go on a late afternoon stroll. If there’s a chance of rain, you feel compelled to devise a backup activity.
5. You constantly ask your friends if they’re having a good time
You thrive on the smiles and laughter of others. Shared joy is the only real kind. So, when you’re out on the town and notice your friend or seatmate isn’t very talkative, there’s a good chance you’ll try to engage or entertain.
6. You check menus for vegetarian and gluten-free options even though you’re neither
You’ve come across every kind of dietary restriction imaginable on the job. Peanuts, shellfish – you name it. Knowing if a restaurant has an inclusive menu even though you’ll eat anything under the sun is essential.
7. You try to find your microphone when you’re in loud places The mic is the great talking stick on the motorcoach. Whoever holds it commands the attention of the floor. When you have important information to share in a party-type atmosphere, don’t be surprised if you start feeling around for a mic that isn’t there.
8. You plan trips for your friends and family even when they don’t ask for them
It doesn’t matter if your BFF had a baby three days ago and she wants to chill at home for a while. You know that a trip to Rome is just what they need to bond. Babies love the Colosseum.
9. You send away for every tour and cruise brochure you can get your hands on
The struggle is real for your mailman, who must find creative ways to stuff them all into your mailbox. When you get them you’re like a kid at Christmas. You savor them. You dog-ear them. You draw hearts around your favorite excursions like a high school girl with a crush.
10. You can’t sleep on long road trips
Your brain associates extended travel with being “on.” You can’t help it. How can you even think of taking a nap? What if the driver can’t find a good radio station or your friends in the back seat need to make an emergency restroom stop? Your work is never done.
11. You have a mental Rolodex of restroom locations
Whether in your hometown or a new city, you automatically catalog every clean public restroom you encounter. You can recite the exact locations of bathrooms in every major museum, mall, and tourist spot – and you rate them mentally based on cleanliness and accessibility. Oh, and let’s not forget the airports in your hometown or where you travel; you might need to tell someone where they are in that city.
12. Your photo collection is 90% location scouting
While others take selfies, your camera roll is filled with hotel lobby entrances, restaurant exteriors, and parking lot configurations. You can’t help but document potential points and gathering spots where you can take photos with a group of friends for visiting family, all for future reference. Of course, this is only for future reference. Oh yes, you are sitting in a restaurant, and a group of strangers are trying to take a photo; you pop up in the middle of dinner and “Say I’ll do it.”
13. You instinctively walk backward in crowded places
Years of leading groups while facing them have rewired your brain. Your friends are slightly embarrassed when you naturally start walking backward while telling a story in the mall, avoiding obstacles without looking.
14. Your vocabulary includes “hotel time” and “bus time”
You’ve given up trying to explain to non-industry friends why you say, “Let’s meet at hotel time” instead of just giving the actual time. They’ll never understand the strategic padding of schedules.
15. You have emergency snacks stashed everywhere
Your car, office desk, backpack, purse, and home are all equipped with “just in case” supplies. Energy bars, bottles of water, and essential first aid items are within arms reach because you’re always prepared for the unexpected mini-crisis.
16. You’re a human GPS who refuses to use navigation apps
While others rely on their phones, you pride yourself on knowing multiple routes to the same destination. You’ve memorized traffic patterns, shortcut options, and scenic alternatives for nearly every journey.
The question is, why not make money at it? Become a professional tour guide.
How? I’m glad you asked. The International Tour Management Institute (ITMI) has trained professional tour directors and tour guides for over five decades. During ITMI’s Tour Guide and Director Certification Programs, they will help you build the foundation of what you already to pursue a career you never thought possible. It will be the best decision you have ever made.
