Tourist Guide as a Career Option

A travel / tourist guide's job is both delightful and challenging. A tourist guide has to make the tourist spots aesthetically appealing, whether it the narrow and filthy lanes of a historical city or the striking landscape of Himalayas.

He has to uphold the cultural traditions and heritage of the place being visited and also talk of social customs, even local superstitions. In this job, it's important to satisfy the curiosity of a tourist, especially the first - timers.
 

Tourist Guide Eligibility Criteria

• Age - No maximum age limit.

• Educational Qualifications - Preferably graduation degree in any discipline, preferably art, archeology, history and culture.

Tourist Guide Personal Attributes

An outgoing, friendly personality; ability to handle people, verbal fluency, aptitude for languages are the skill set required to be successful in the field. You need to have a thorough knowledge relating to traveling and tourist destinations, business tactics and social etiquettes.

Lastly, the ability and patience to help and provide hospitality is a must. One should also have an up-to-date knowledge of available facilities and services in the field.

Tourist Guide Recruitment Procedure

The tourism department holds examination which consists heavily of general knowledge, history and culture etc. The candidate should possess good linguistic skills especially verbal along with a pleasing personality.

Knowledge of foreign language is an added advantage. The candidates are selected generally on the basis of a written test. The pre-requisite for the test is a graduation degree in any discipline.

Ministry of Tourism provides licenses to the tourist guides and also organizes Regional Level Tourist Guide Training Programmes. Many of the states in India have made registration of tourist guides mandatory.The Goa Registration of Tourist Act 1982, for example, makes it mandatory for the tourist guides to register themselves with the zonal Officers.

Job opportunities are also with the various State Tourist Development Corporations in the respective states like M.P. State Tourism Development Corporation, U.P. State Tourism Development Corporation, and ITDC (India Tourism Development Corporation).

 

Tourist Guide Job Prospects

This is a growing field which offers excellent opportunities in the field of tour operations, tour-packages, sight-seeing etc. Many employment opportunities exist in this industry. Travel services including tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers, restaurateurs transport service providers, adventure and leisure tourism providers, heritage sites and their conservation, manufacture and sale of handicraft items, marketing of souvenirs- all of which needs a degree of professionalism. Besides the specialized services, there are the support services: administration in the offices, secretarial and clerical jobs. The Government of India has recognized the tourism sector as an industry thereby boosting the career prospects

Tourist Guide Institutes

• IATA/UFTAA 4-level career development programme.

For details and list of training centres, refer to the website:www.iata.org

• University of Delhi, New Delhi.

• Kurukshetra University, Haryana.

• Agra University - Agra.

• Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.

• Bangalore University, Bangalore.

• University of Madras, Chennai.

• University of Calcutta, West Bengal.

• Goa University, Goa.

• University of Mumbai.

• University of Pune.

• Himachal University, Shimla 171005.

• Skyline Business School

Laxman Public School Campus
Hauz Khas,New Delhi 110016

• Sita Academy

M-135 ,Connaught Circus
New Delhi 110 001.
(Travel & Tourism Management 1 year course)

• Sri Venkateshwara University

Tirupati 517502, Chitoor (AP)
(Tourism and International Ticketing).

• Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management

New Delhi.

• The Ministry of Tourism & Delhi Tourism

New Delhi.

• Young Women's Christian Association

New Delhi.

• Sita World Travels

New Delhi and Mumbai.

• Sophia Polytechnic

Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai.

• Trade Wings

Mumbai