Nag and Blag
People often ask about working in the tourist business - not long ago I gave some advice to a friend of a friend who was in the middle of redundancy and was interested in guiding.
Basically it boils down to three different approaches, at least one of which you must negotiate. They are not mutually exclusive, however, and many people travel two or even all three.
These are:
1. THE PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION
For many guides this is the only acceptable way to enter the profession, by studying for and passing the Blue Badge exams and then accepting work - at the published fee & as a freelance. This is how I entered tourism and I have no regrets about becoming qualified before I started guiding. although I did a year as a driver-guide (a glorified taxi driver with some historical facts) before I was fully blue-badged. Most new guides, in fact, have had some experience in the business as tour managers, drivers, reps or in a tour company office before qualifying.
Getting onto the course can be a big hurdle in itself as you have to satisfy the course conductor that you are a suitable person to hold the badge. Some people are smart enough to make a living but not clever enough to qualify to do so. They may take:
2. THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ROUTE
Quite a few backpackers have taken a year out to travel and then decided that actually they did not want to work in an office for the rest of their lives so they have decided to extend their vacation into their vocation (just thought of that one). They do this by becoming travel writers, overland escorts or by setting up on their own in a small way. If you have the knowledge and the skill you can sell your services to customers who are willing to part with their cash. This might take the form of setting up a walking tour - the chap who does the Beatles walk is a good example of someone who makes a decet living out of what was a hobby/interest/obsession. The more obscure your knowledge the less likely it is to have been covered already but, by the same token, the less likely it is to provide you with a living. I suggested to my visitor (who was of Indian origin) that he could organise a walk covered Indian interest in London - 'In the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi' maybe (just thought of that one as well) but at £5-£10 per head there might not be enough takers to make ends meet. Anyone with a top hat and a few gruesome stories can do ghost walk (most places have those nowadays) or a Jack the Ripper tour ut they will face a lot of competition from other top hats. Which brings us to the last option which is
3. NAGGING AND BLAGGING
We all need to do this to a certain extent. A qualification and an entry in a list of guides will probably not bring much work in itself (unless you have some useful language skills) so you need to start contacting operators and selling yourself. With luck they will offer you some work if only to shut you up. They are looking for someone who is both available and reliable - ie who will meet their group at Heathrow at six am and see that they get to their hotel ok. You do not need to be a genius to do this but you may need to get up at four in the morning which takes a certain amount of willpower. Speaking as a landlord I am always impressed by people who really seem to want to live in my house and rent one of my rooms. Likewise an operator will be taken with someone who is as keen as mustard to work for him/her - rather than just to enter the business. The few minutes/seconds you have to introduce yourself and impress your potential operator are critical (more important than all the time youhave taken earning your qualifciation) and you have to seem both keen and competent. Most of us have invented a skill or talent which we can master after it has been offered. Fluent Serbo-Croat is probably not a good one to promise if you don't know a syllable but most of us have promised first and produced afterward.
So get ready to nag and blag in order to make a living. Most of us do it to a degree...
Basically it boils down to three different approaches, at least one of which you must negotiate. They are not mutually exclusive, however, and many people travel two or even all three.
These are:
1. THE PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION
For many guides this is the only acceptable way to enter the profession, by studying for and passing the Blue Badge exams and then accepting work - at the published fee & as a freelance. This is how I entered tourism and I have no regrets about becoming qualified before I started guiding. although I did a year as a driver-guide (a glorified taxi driver with some historical facts) before I was fully blue-badged. Most new guides, in fact, have had some experience in the business as tour managers, drivers, reps or in a tour company office before qualifying.
Getting onto the course can be a big hurdle in itself as you have to satisfy the course conductor that you are a suitable person to hold the badge. Some people are smart enough to make a living but not clever enough to qualify to do so. They may take:
2. THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ROUTE
Quite a few backpackers have taken a year out to travel and then decided that actually they did not want to work in an office for the rest of their lives so they have decided to extend their vacation into their vocation (just thought of that one). They do this by becoming travel writers, overland escorts or by setting up on their own in a small way. If you have the knowledge and the skill you can sell your services to customers who are willing to part with their cash. This might take the form of setting up a walking tour - the chap who does the Beatles walk is a good example of someone who makes a decet living out of what was a hobby/interest/obsession. The more obscure your knowledge the less likely it is to have been covered already but, by the same token, the less likely it is to provide you with a living. I suggested to my visitor (who was of Indian origin) that he could organise a walk covered Indian interest in London - 'In the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi' maybe (just thought of that one as well) but at £5-£10 per head there might not be enough takers to make ends meet. Anyone with a top hat and a few gruesome stories can do ghost walk (most places have those nowadays) or a Jack the Ripper tour ut they will face a lot of competition from other top hats. Which brings us to the last option which is
3. NAGGING AND BLAGGING
We all need to do this to a certain extent. A qualification and an entry in a list of guides will probably not bring much work in itself (unless you have some useful language skills) so you need to start contacting operators and selling yourself. With luck they will offer you some work if only to shut you up. They are looking for someone who is both available and reliable - ie who will meet their group at Heathrow at six am and see that they get to their hotel ok. You do not need to be a genius to do this but you may need to get up at four in the morning which takes a certain amount of willpower. Speaking as a landlord I am always impressed by people who really seem to want to live in my house and rent one of my rooms. Likewise an operator will be taken with someone who is as keen as mustard to work for him/her - rather than just to enter the business. The few minutes/seconds you have to introduce yourself and impress your potential operator are critical (more important than all the time youhave taken earning your qualifciation) and you have to seem both keen and competent. Most of us have invented a skill or talent which we can master after it has been offered. Fluent Serbo-Croat is probably not a good one to promise if you don't know a syllable but most of us have promised first and produced afterward.
So get ready to nag and blag in order to make a living. Most of us do it to a degree...
posted by tourguideddie at 6:11 AM
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