Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz
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Travel Guides
Travel Guides plan, organize, and conduct long-distance travel, tours, and expeditions for individuals and groups.
Table of contents
What they do
Travel Guides plan, organize, and conduct long-distance travel, tours, and expeditions for individuals and groups.
- Plan tour itineraries, applying knowledge of travel routes and destination sites.
- Resolve any problems with itineraries, service, or accommodations.
- Sell travel packages.
- Arrange for tour or expedition details such as accommodations, transportation, equipment, and the availability of medical personnel.
Typical day
On a daily basis, Travel Guides sell travel packages. They give advice on sightseeing and shopping.
A typical day for a Travel Guide will also include:
- Set up camps, and prepare meals for tour group members.
- 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.
- Arrange for tour or expedition details such as accommodations, transportation, equipment, and the availability of medical personnel.
Other responsibilities
Besides their typical day, Travel Guides also explain hunting and fishing laws to groups to ensure compliance. They may also pay bills and record checks issued.
On a weekly to monthly basis, Travel Guides plan tour itineraries, applying knowledge of travel routes and destination sites. They might also evaluate services received on the tour, and report findings to tour organizers.
In addition, they sell or rent equipment, clothing, and supplies related to expeditions.
Although specific duties may vary, many of them arrange for tour or expedition details such as accommodations, transportation, equipment, and the availability of medical personnel.
To some Travel Guides, it is also their responsibility to resolve any problems with itineraries, service, or accommodations.
What is the job like
Job satisfaction
Is this job meaningful
69% said they were satisfied with their job and 60% said they found their job meaningful.
I’m the Owner of Secret Scotland Tours, a small company that specializes in writing travel guides and assisting visitors with planning their tours of Scotland
The service we provide at Secret Scotland doesn’t fall into a conventional tourism category as we created a new service back in 2005 when we launched the business. We recognized that there was a gap in the Scottish tourism sector for visitors, particularly American, who needed the assistance of a local to help plan a trip to Scotland, but who didn’t have the budget to employ a Travel Agent to make bookings or a Travel Guide to accompany them around the country.
So we created a new style of travel guide that is a complete package of information laid out in an easy to follow itinerary format with all the details you need for planning and booking your holiday by yourself.
We offer 2 levels of service:
- “Ready To Go” tour plans which can be bought and downloaded directly from our website. We have a page on our website where you can identify the best fit tour plans by selecting how long you wish to stay, ticking the places you wish to visit.
- Customised Tours – If clients have a specific wish list of places to visit or a special requirement to cater for, they can request a customized tour. We discuss with the clients what they are interested in and then create tour proposals that we adjust until we have tailored them a holiday that ticks all the boxes. These are more time-consuming for us as we have to create the tour plan manually for each client.
I realize that is a lot of background, but this is so you can understand that our working day is not a conventional tourism job where we are sat around booking flights or accompanying visitors as a chauffeur tour guide.
My working days are very varied. One week I can be out on the road visiting tourist attractions, accommodation, and restaurants to review them for the guide. The next week I may be back in the office developing a new tour plan, or writing up a customized tour itinerary for a client that I was communicating with whilst on the road.
The website is key to our business model and there is a constant cycle of activities that go into keeping it up to date. We have lots of information on the website about tourist attractions and this is reviewed twice a year to make sure that opening times and prices are current. I also spend 3 months every autumn/winter doing a review of the information in our travel guides. So a large chunk of my time in the office is spent in front of a screen and it helps to have good IT skills.
One thing that is a constant in the work routine, be it in the office or on the road, is email correspondence and a large part of any day is spent responding to customer inquiries. Fortunately, with mobile phone technology, a lot of these emails can be quickly replied to and I just need to take a short break every 2 hours to make sure that messages are dealt with.
I realized I had found the right vocation a few years ago when I was sat outside the Crinan Hotel having lunch on a sunny summer day with a pint of beer and a smoked salmon sandwich whilst working on my laptop updating the details in one of our tour guides. At that moment, it dawned on me that I had found the perfect work/life balance.
Pros
I love being out on the road and even after 15 years of exploring Scotland there are still new places to be discovered.
Cons
The downside of the job is that you are working your hardest in Summer when everyone else is knocking off work early to enjoy the sunshine. Modern technology also makes it hard to switch off work. Our customers are international and the different time zones mean that you can’t call it a day a 5 pm, but I enjoy sharing my love of Scotland with foreigners so it’s never too much of a chore.
Pros
Suitable for people who like to start and carry out projects.
Suitable for people who value relationships between co-workers and customers and want to work in a friendly non-competitive environment.
This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors.
It is not too difficult to get into this career. Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for this career.
Normal working hours (40 hours per week).
Cons
Not suitable for people who like to solve problems mentally.
Salary is below average.
How much do they make
Average salary
Average hourly wage
Entry-level Travel Guides with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $20,430 to $24,200 per year or $10 to $12 per hour.
| Salary by experience | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $47,660 | $23 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $37,730 | $18 |
| Median | $29,460 | $14 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $24,200 | $12 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $20,430 | $10 |
This table shows the top 10 highest paying industries for Travel Guides based on their average annual salary.
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation | $60100 | $28.89 |
| Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores | $47760 | $22.96 |
| Gambling Industries | $44920 | $21.60 |
| Other Schools and Instruction | $42070 | $20.22 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools | $40760 | $19.60 |
| Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations | $38650 | $18.58 |
| Employment Services | $38520 | $18.52 |
| Other Support Services | $38090 | $18.31 |
| Federal Executive Branch | $38010 | $18.27 |
| Inland Water Transportation | $37080 | $17.83 |
View more salary by industries here.
Where can they work
Where can Travel Guides work? Here is a table showing the top 10 largest employers of Travel Guides including the average salary in that industry.
| Employers | Total Employed | Annual Salary | Hourly Wages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions | 13710 | $29440 | $14.15 |
| Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services | 6480 | $36960 | $17.77 |
| Other Amusement and Recreation Industries | 4350 | $32320 | $15.54 |
| Local Government | 1540 | $29790 | $14.32 |
| Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land | 1330 | $34130 | $16.41 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | 1040 | $29030 | $13.96 |
| Amusement Parks and Arcades | 940 | $31640 | $15.21 |
| Federal Executive Branch | 880 | $38010 | $18.27 |
| State Government | 870 | $28930 | $13.91 |
| Beverage Manufacturing | 530 | $33990 | $16.34 |
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What is the work day like
Working hours
Working schedule
How often do you use email in this job?
Telephone
How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Group discussions
How often do you have group discussions in this job?
Public speaking
How often does this job require you to do public speaking?
Level of competition
How much competitive pressure is in this job?
What is the work environment like
Office-style environment
Indoors in an environmentally controlled condition
Warehouse-style environment
Indoors in a non-controlled environmental condition such as a warehouse
Outdoors
Outdoors exposed to all weather conditions
Outdoors – Under Cover
Outdoors but under cover (e.g. structure with roof but no walls)
How to become one
Difficulty to become one
Required level of education
What level of education do you need to perform the job?
Relevant majors
Tourism and Travel Services Management
Relevant work experience
How much related work experience do you need to get hired for the job?
On The Job Training
How much on the job training do you need to perform the job?
Should you become one
Best personality type for this career
People with this personality likes to start and work on projects. They also like leading people and making many decisions.
People with The Builder personality type likes practical and hands-on work. They prefer working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
People with The Thinker personality likes to work with ideas that require an extensive amount of thinking. They prefer work that requires them to solve problems mentally.
People with The Artist personality likes to work with designs and patterns. They prefer activities that require self-expression and prefer work that can be done without following a clear set of rules.
People with The Helper personality type likes to work with people and in teams. They prefer work that allows them to build relationships with others.
People with The Leader personality likes to start and work on projects. They also like leading people and making many decisions.
People with The Organizer personality type likes to follow set procedures and routines. They prefer working with data and details more than with ideas.
You can read more about these career personality types here.
People who are suitable for this job tend to like starting up and carrying out projects. They like leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk-taking and often deal with business.
They also like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas.
Take this quiz to see if this is the right career for you.
Work Values
Which values are the most important to a person’s satisfaction for this job?
You are someone who is results oriented. You prefer work that allows you to utilize your skills and abilities while at the same time giving you a sense of accomplishment.
You are someone who values job security, steady employment, and good working conditions. You also prefer work that keeps you busy all the time with something different to do every day.
You are someone who values job advancement and leadership roles. You prefer work that receives recognition for the work you do and jobs that are looked up to by others in the company and your community.
You are someone who likes to provide a service to others. You prefer a work environment where you can work with your co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.
You are someone who values a company that stands behind their employees. You prefer a work environment where everyone is treated fairly and is being supported by the company.
You are someone who likes to work on your own and make your own decisions. You prefer work that requires little supervision and are allowed to try out your own ideas.
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