Tour Guide

No day in the life of a tour guide is the same. You learn so much from the people you are guiding, as well as learning about the amazing country you are in.

Job Responsibilities

Plan the tour you will be taking tourists on, e.g where you will start

Make sure that the tour is safe for all visitors

Plan the whole days, week, and/or months outings for guests.

Welcoming the visitors and explaining the activities that will take place.

Have essential materials such as earphones such as on a bus tour, hair nets or hard hats in a factory tour or brochures to hand out to your tour group.

What to Study

Tourism Management: Comprehensive Course

Enrol in our Tourism Management: Comprehensive Certificate Course and learn exciting yet valuable skills that will make you a skilled employee in the tourism industry.
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Tourism Management: Certificate Course

Our Tourism Management: Course Certificate will teach you how to be a skilled employee in the tourism industry. Enrol with us today and kick-start your career.
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Tourism Management: Short Course

If you love working with people, or enjoy travelling, then tourism is the perfect career for you. This course is perfect if you wish to learn the basic knowledge about tourism.
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What is a Tour Guide?

Tour guides offer guided tours to tourists. These include people who want to know more about a specific location or activity. They tell you interesting facts as well as things most people wouldn’t know.

How to Become a Tour Guide

If you think having a career in tourism would be amazing, you won’t be disappointed. The opportunities in this field are endless, and we can help you get started. Skills Academy offers excellent Tourism courses. These are sure to open many doors for you.

A Tour Guide reading a map

Skills Academy teaches you the basic skills needed to thrive in this industry. Enrol in one our sought after Tourism Courses. This will help you become a successful tour guide.

Some of the valuable skills learnt in our courses: 

  • Customer service skills
  • First aid
  • Business English

Advantages of This job

There are a lot of benefits of being a tour guide in South Africa. Below you can find some of the many perks of being in this field.

Meet Different People Everyday

Tour guides meet different people daily. These individuals can be people living in the next town, to tourists coming from all around the world. Some tour guides even establish lifelong friendships with some tourists.

Become an Expert in your Location

When you’re in this field, you need to have a vast amount of knowledge of the service you are offering. Due to this, you become an expert with knowledge most people may not know.

Learn Customer Service Skills

As a tour guide, you have to work with people everyday. This allows you to gain excellent customer service skills. This is a valuable skill to have in this field. You can also use them when you become promoted and move up to a higher position in the tourism industry.

Excellent Tips

With excellent service, comes excellent tips. In peak season, such as December, you will be able to make more money from tips than your basic salary.

Learn About Other Cultures

When you’re around different people daily, you learn as much from them as they learn from you. Learning about other cultures will improve your interpersonal skills, as you try to fully understand your clients.

What are the Duties of a Tour Guide?

Being a tour guide isn’t only about driving or walking around and talking to tourists. You have a whole range of tasks you need to do on or before the tour starts. Listed below are some of these duties

  • Plan the tour you will be taking tourists on, e.g where you will start
  • Make sure that the tour is safe for all visitors
  • Set up an itinerary
  • Welcoming visitors
  • Have essential materials such as earphones such as on a bus tour, hair nets or hard hats in a factory tour or brochures to hand out to your tour group.

If you run your own tour services, your duties will also include:

  • Scheduling and paying for visits to museum, etc.
  • Finding places close by to rest and or eat
  • Performing first aid, if needed
  • Accepting payment

What Skills Does a Tour Guide Need?

As a tour guide, there are a variety of skills needed to be successful. Some of the skills you learn while on the job, such as improving your customer service skills. Yet there are other skills you need to learn to be able to give your clients the best experience possible.

You Should be Able to Speak Clear

A lot of your clients may not be from South Africa. English is an international language. So you have to have an excellent command of English and speak clearly.

Learn how to do First aid

If a tourist becomes sick on your trip, you should be able to do first aid. This is a valuable skill to have which saves you from any accidents on your tour.

Have Leadership Skills

As you will be leading your tour group, you should be able to take control of your tour. This includes coming up with creative ideas and being confident.

Problem Solving Skills

Unexpected problems may arise in your tour. Some of these include weather changes, traffic delays or problems during scheduling. You should be able to think of solutions without delaying the plans of your tour group.

What is the Average Salary of a Tour Guide?

Salaries of tour guides varies from off peak to peak season. Salaries also depend on the type of attractions and locations you are touring in. The average monthly salary of tour guide in South Africa is R16 000.

Type of Tour Guides

There are so many different types of tour guides in South Africa. With its wide variety of attractions and historical sites, it’s no wonder South Africa’s tourism industry is thriving. Some of these include:

  • City guide
  • Factory tour guide
  • Museum tour guide
  • Safari guide
  • College tour guide

Why is a Tour Guide Important?

Kickstart your career as a Tour Guide with Skills AcademyTour Guides are very important. They show and teach tourists of the many things South Africa has to offer. Tourists are able to learn about the rich culture, heritage and history in our country. They promote the wonders our country has to offer and provide excellent service. By promoting these tours, they also bring awareness to these attractions, locations and activities.

They also help tourists plan their trip. This includes providing security, and finding the best possible deals while on holiday.

Want to Gain Valuable Skills to Become a Tour Guide?

Call us for free on 0800 39 00 27 or fill in this registration form, and one of our course experts will help you shortly.

Author: Charnell Ward

Last updated: May 07, 2020