Tour guiding as career option
Ranjan K Baruah *
People are fond of travelling and they travel from places to places. Some are travellers in domestic places while many travel abroad. Interest of the tourist also varies as some are interested in art and culture while some are interested in nature.
Whatever the interest may be but as tourist they need people who may guide them during their travel. In this regards comes the opportunity of the people who wanted to be tour guides.
The main task of a tourist guide is to make each and every trip valuable, enjoyable and memorable for the visitors or tourists. An efficient tourist guide can make any place look eye-catching or attractive to the tourists by upholding the cultural traditions and heritage of the place along with social customs.
Tourist guides may work with local tourist or international tourists. People who can speak foreign languages have more opportunity to deal with international tourist.
One must be polite, gentle and expert in communication to become successful as tour guide. There are some formal courses and also special training programme who wants to be tour guides.
There are some free and sponsored training programmes from tourism departments or ministries in different parts of the country. Aspirants may join courses in tourism or short term courses if they want to become tour guides.
Approved tour guides can find job openings with India Tourism Development Corporation and State Tourist Development Corporations in the respective states.
Both the Union and State government tourism departments hire tour guides on a need basis. In the private sector, tourist guides can take-up full time/ part-time employment with tour operators, travel agencies, hotel and transport industry, airlines, cruise lines etc. Apart from these one may work independently as an entrepreneur.
One might have to struggle in the initial stages but with patience and strategic planning young people may easily become successful as tour guides. Young people from Manipur might take it up as career as there is potential in the state related to tourism.
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* Ranjan K Baruah wrote this article for The Sangai Express
The writer can be contacted at bkranjan(aT)gmail(dOT)com
This article was posted on February 03, 2016.
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