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Travel Guides

In the Travel Guides occupation, workers plan, organize, and conduct long-distance travel, tours, and expeditions for individuals and groups. Expect to arrange for tour or expedition details such as accommodations, transportation, equipment, and the availability of medical personnel. On the six-type interest model it reads SEC, meaning helping, teaching or caring for people comes first, followed by leading, persuading and making business decisions. Plan on a few months to a year of learning on the job; O*NET labels this some preparation. Strength in service orientation, speaking, and social perceptiveness helps most here. You may also need to plan tour itineraries, applying knowledge of travel routes and destination sites. People who want helping, teaching or caring for people usually fit better here than those who need research, analysis and working through hard problems.

What they do

Plan, organize, and conduct long-distance travel, tours, and expeditions for individuals and groups.

Main tasks

  • Arrange for tour or expedition details such as accommodations, transportation, equipment, and the availability of medical personnel.
  • Plan tour itineraries, applying knowledge of travel routes and destination sites.
  • Resolve any problems with itineraries, service, or accommodations.
  • Attend to special needs of tour participants.
  • Sell travel packages.
  • Evaluate services received on the tour, and report findings to tour organizers.

Skills

  • Service Orientation
  • Speaking
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Active Listening
  • Persuasion
  • Coordination

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You get energy from helping other people move forward.
  • You like taking the lead and making the call.
  • You want to start work after a short stretch of training.
  • You are comfortable relying on service orientation and speaking.

May not suit you if

  • You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
  • You want to spend most of your time analyzing and researching. Investigative rates 2.3 out of 7 here.
  • You want a career built on years of advanced study.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SEC takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.

Preparation

Some preparation. Most people start with a high school diploma, then learn from experienced coworkers over a few months to a year.

Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED). This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.

Also called

  • Cruise Counselor
  • Guide
  • Naturalist Guide
  • Tour Coordinator
  • Tour Escort

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.