Subject Outline TOUR GUIDING

NHA TRANG UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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Subject Outline
TOUR GUIDING








NHA TRANG 9/2011

Subject details

Subject name
TOUR GUIDING
Units of credit 2
Study length 15 weeks
Prerequisite / Co
requisite
Introduction to Tourism and Management
Suggested study
Commitment
Approximately 2 class hours per week
Term 9/2011
Subject Coordinator/
Lecturer
Nguyễn Phương Lan
Contact details Tel: 0983729979
Email:

The subject outline contains important information. Please ensure that you
read it carefully. It is also strongly recommended that you keep this copy of
your subject outline for future reference.

Subject aim/rationale

The purpose of this course is to provide an in-depth review of theories and
practices concerning conducting tours. Travel professionals nowadays are required
to gain understanding into guiding, escorting and planning tours. While
international best practices in strategic management are examined, travel strategies
and tour operations in Viet Nam will be discussed substantially in order to
enhance students’ practical capability.

Subject objectives
The specific objectives of this subject are to help students to:
1. Explain why people take a tour and required skills and personality to do
tour related jobs;
2. Identify and negotiate with hotels and staying in hotels;
3. Discuss how to work with railways, restaurants, attractions and
miscellaneous suppliers.

Subject structure
The structure of this subject for on-campus students comprises:
 One 3 periods lecture per week
Subject materials
Lecture notes (mainly from the text books) and essential readings which are
recommended in each topic are key materials for this subject. Additionally, further
readings, discussion questions, exercises and problems solving will help students
understand thoroughly the fundamental issues of tourism management

Prescribed textbooks:
1. SUBJECT HANDOUTS
2. Marc Mancini (1996), Conducting Tours, 2nd Edition, Delmar Publishers.
3. Cook R., Yale L. & Marqua J. (1999) Tourism – The Business of Travel –
Prentice Hall

Proposed schedule

Time Content
Week 1
(2 periods)

Introduction of the subject

Tutorial 1:
- Guiding about Tourism terms
- Group formation and assignment requirements

Lecture 1: Tourism trend globally and in Vietnam

Week 2
(2 periods)

Tutorial 2: (Presentation)
Group 1: - What are the 10 biggest international markets to
Vietnam? Use date and number to talk about them more
specifically?
- Name and describe 3 types of tours that are the most
popular today in Vietnam?
Group 2: Present on Travel agents and tour operation system in
Nha Trang or HCMC
Group 3: Present on major restaurants serving tourists/
entertainment centers/ theme parks in Nha Trang

Week 3
(2 periods)

Lecture 2: What is tour conducting?

Week 4
(2 periods)

Tutorial 3:
Group 4: Building up a professional working manner
(Self-Preparation, Service mind, Standard
for professional working manner)
Group 5: Tour manager’s responsibilities
Group 6: Characteristics Of A Good Tour Guide
Week 5
(2 periods)

Lecture 3: TG job - preparation for guiding the tour

Week 6
(2 periods)

Tutorial 4:
Group 1: Management skills of the tour manager
Group 2: How to deal with customers’ complains
Group 3: How to deal with accidents

Week 7
(2 periods)

Lecture 4: Tour management and problem solving

Week 8
(2 periods)

Topics - Air Travel and Tours
- Dining and Tours
Tutorial 4:
Group 4: Air Travel and Tours
+ Explain how tour operators
negotiate
with
airlines
+ Discuss what tour manager must
do
before a group arrives at
airlines
terminal
Group 5: Air Travel and Tours
+ Describe the procedures that face
a
group and a tour director
upon arrival
at
a
destination
+
Explain a tour member’s
pre-boarding activities

Group 6: - Dining and Tours:
Planning

to meet guest
expectation


Week 9
(2 periods)

TG job - preparation for guiding the tour (Watch the film)
Week 10-12
(6 periods)

On-sight tour guiding examination: Nha Trang city tours
Group 1:
Group 2:
Group 3:
Week 13-15
(6 periods)

On-sight tour guiding examination: Nha Trang city tours
Group 4:
Group 5:
Group 6:

Assessment
Assessment for the subject will be on the basis of:

Contribution Assessment points
20% Attendance
30% Class activity (Tutorial discussion leading and
presentation)

50% Final exam: Tour conducting
CONTENTS
Lecture 1: TOURISM TRENDS AND MARKETING
1. GLOBAL TRENDS
► Tourism will grow faster than other industries
► Traditional markets will grow slower
Western Europe, Americas
► Emerging markets will grow faster
China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia
► Tourism will provide > 10% employment worldwide
2011: 260,000,000 million jobs
► Social changes
► Economical changes
► Political changes
► Travel pattern changes
► Product Changes

2. VIETNAM TRENDS
a. Global changes are Vietnam changes
b. Vietnam has chance to learn from developments and apply measures
early
c. Vietnam to strengthen competitive edge, promote attractive brand and
clear message, communicate benefits, standardize and improve services, research
markets, develop and diversify new suitable products

Lecture 2: WHAT IS TOUR CONDUCTING?
OBJECTIVE
After this lecture you should be able to
 Define terms commonly used in the tourism industry
 Explain why people take a tour

 Identify for whom tour guides and tour operators generally work
 Appraise the attraction of tour conducting as a career

MAJOR CONTENT
 Why take a tour?
 Tour guides, Types of Tour guide
 Tour managers
 The tour manager personality
 Employers of Tour Managers
 The appeal and the downside



WHAT IS TOUR CONDUCTING?
The tour industry
- As we journey from place to place, it’s easy to underestimate the
complexity and scope of the travel industry.
- Group travel represents about 4% of consumer travel.
- Group travel is accelerating at a pace that outstrips that of the
general travel industry
- There are now student camping tours, wildness excursion, and even
nostalgic bus tours for aging hippies.
Tourists take a tour because of:
The freedom from hassles and decision making
- Tour help cushion clients from hassles
The desire to save money and time
- A well-designed and conducted tour minimizes wasted time and
the client sees all the essentials in a convenient, efficient manner.
 Tour members enjoy a more upscale travel experience than they
could afford

The companionship of people with similar interests
- The price of a tour, its destination and its activities will
automatically predetermine the socioeconomic level and interests of
group members
- A tour gathers together people with special interests are called
affinity tour
The educational nature of touring
- A tourist can learn many things such as history, geography,
architecture, trees, bushes, birds… from their tour guide on a
tour.
The lack of alternatives
- Tourist rarely have choices when the tour operators corner all the
- A traveler who perceives a destination as especially strange,
foreign, unfriendly, or even dangerous will also find comfort in the
notion of a tour
How people buy tour?
Public or per-capita tours: tours offered to the public in this manner:
- The consumer finds out about it from the company’s brochure,
catalogues, or newspaper -advertisements, and then books the date.
- Tickets are purchase either through the travel agent or by
telephoning the company directly
Customized tours:
- One option is to set aside one of their regularly scheduled
departures for a specific group
- Tour operators create a customized itinerary at the special price.
- This tour is rarely advertised outside the group.
Types of tour guides
On-site guide:
- On-site guide conducts tour of one or several hours at special
building, attraction, or limited area.

- Tour may be given on foot or in some sort of vehicle
- On-site guides rarely do make much above minimum wage except
those employed by the government or by corporations.
City guide:
- City guide points out and comments on the highlight of a city,
usually from a motor coach, minibus or van…
- Driver-guide drivers and narrates at the same time
- City guide often need to have considerable amount of accurate
information about the municipal so that they are sometime tested
and licensed by a local government agency.
Specialized guide:
- A specialized guide is someone whose expertise or skills are highly
unique
- Specialized guide has highly specialized knowledge of the history,
art, and culture of that country.
- Guide’s working places: large local tour companies, cruise lines,
ground operators (land operators or receptive operators)
Employers of tour managers
Tour operators (also called tour companies, tour packagers, tour brokers,
or wholesalers):
Missions:
1. Employ tour manager
2. Contract with hotels, restaurants, attractions and
transportation companies
3. Sell the tour to the public( directly or through travel agents)
Types of tour operators:
a/ Inbound and outbound operators:
Inbound operators:
- Specializes mostly in groups arriving in a special city,
area, country

- Examples: allies tours, American tour international and
GoAmerica tours
Outbound operators:
- Takes groups from a given city or country to another
city or country
- Example: donna franca tours of Boston
b/ Motorcoach and intermodal operators:
Motorcoach operators:
- Create tours, usually of about a week’s duration, that
transport group members via motorcoach to their
destination and back
- Example: Tauck tours of Westport
Intermodal operators:
- Combine several forms of transportation to create a
diversified and efficient tour package
Other employers of tour managers:
- An incentive house:
- Approach a corporation with an overall strategy to boost sales,
service by providing some sort of reward to the corporation’s
most productive employees.
- Meet-and-greet companies:
- Hire guides and escorts to be on hand when individuals or small
groups of travelers arrive at an airport.
- Convention or meeting planners:
- Hire guides and tour managers to operate pre- or posconvention
tours for them

lecture 3: PREPARING FOR TOUR GUIDING JOB
GENERAL VIEW
For Tour Guiding job, the tour guide needs to be professional by:
 Preparing for the working manner for meeting the clients.
 Being aware of the responsibilities of a tour guide
 Collecting the necessary information for the job
LECTURE OBJECTIVES
 Make a list of what to prepare for a professional tour guide
 Implement the job following standard
 Practice
MAJOR CONTENT
 Building up a professional working manner
 Tour manager’s responsibilities
 Tour preparation

1. TOUR MANAGER

Definition:
A tour manager is the person who runs the show when a band is on tour. The tasks
a tour manager undertakes can vary, but they typically include things like:
 Checking in with promoters and venues to make sure everything is in place
as planned, from accommodation to equipment.
 Keeping everyone on schedule - dragging the band out of the bar to get
back on the bus, making sure the driver is there on time, etc.
 Handling the money from shows and paying out P.D.s
 Checking in and out of hotels
Generally speaking, the tour manager is the go-to person for everything that
happens on a tour, and it's their job to make things run as smoothly as possible.
They are also the point of contact for the band when they are on the road, and so
they field calls from local media and radio stations that want to set up interviews

as the band passes through town, and they may also deal with the guest list.
Like many jobs in music, there is a big divide between the work done by tour
managers on smaller tours and tour managers on big budget tours. On a small
indie tour, the tour manager may be the same person as the band manager, may
double as the driver and the road crew, may be the most responsible member of
the band, or may even be a friend who is along for the ride. These kinds of tour
managers often take one a work horse/everyman kind of role, reacting to whatever
comes up. On big budget tours, there may be a team of people in place running the
tour, and the tour manager's job and responsibilities become more defined. For
instance, if there is a full road crew in place, the tour manager simply makes sure
they are doing their job and are where they're supposed to be when they're
supposed to be there - but they don't actually have to look after the gear
themselves. These tour managers act more as supervisors to the team working for
the band.
2. Tour Guide Tips for On-site Presentations

When a tour guide stops to introduce a scenic spot, here are some tips for a better
presentation. Besides the spot introduction you communicate to your clients
(which shall be knowledge preparation in advance), your on-site control matters.

Choose a place capable of holding all your clients. Then you can present with less
disturbance. If you stop at entrance or narrow sidewalk, your group will need to
make way for passers-by. Both your clients and you are less focused. If you have
to stop at such location, make your words brief and elaborate in the following
places.

Start your introduction after your clients all gathered in front of you. This is to
avoid people missing your major points. Also, it saves your efforts to repeat same
information. You may raise your voice a bit higher to catch the attention of all.

In small-space popular sites like temples or museums, it often happens that several
tour groups stop at similar time. Try to keep a distance from other tour guides, so
that your clients can hear you clearly. Leave your back to the other guides and
make yourself heard. But remember, do not shout.

When your stop is outdoors, take notice of the natural environment. It’s ideal to
have clear weather without wind. But these elements are not in the control of a
tour guide. What can you do then? Find a sheltered stop when possible. Do not let
your clients facing the sun (makes dizzy and turn away). Have your clients stand
downwind, and your voice can be carried by the wind.

Small details make big difference. What do you feel is most important to rember
during an on-site presentation?
A few more points that I teach guides I train:

1. Stand between what you are talking about and the group, so the point of
interest is behind you. That way, everyone can hear you clearly, see you
AND see what you are talking about.

2. Never turn your head away from the group and look at what you are
talking about. Your voice will project away from the group and people will
miss what you are saying. If you have to look at the object, pause look,
then turn back to the group and continue.

3. Slow down when you talk. Many guides speak WAY too fast.
Take your time. Pause. Make your words count.

4. Encourage the group to move in close. Explain to them at the start of
your tour that you want to avoid shouting so people at the back can hear. I
also ask that taller people let shorter people (especially children) stand in

front of them.

lecture 4: TOUR MANAGEMENT AND PROBLEM SOLVING
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
 Besides providing information for the tourists during the tour, the tour
escort is also a tour leader who manages the tour program and deal with any
possible problems
OBJECTIVE
 Handle all principles in the jobs as a tour manager
 Apply all effective tour managing methods
MAIN CONTENT
1. Managing skills of a tour manager
2. Problem solving skills
1. Tour Manager - Skills and Knowledge
 the ability to get on well with people of all ages and backgrounds
 self-confidence
 a polite, tactful and tolerant approach
 excellent 'people' skills
 an interest in geography and historical sites
 good working knowledge of one or more foreign languages
 safety-consciousness
 the ability to deal calmly with emergencies
 good organisational and time-management skills
 a smart appearance.
2. Problem solving skills
a. Dealing with customers’ complains
b. Dealing with accidents
c. Approaching the accidents
d. General requirements
 Predict the situations before it happens

 Keep calm and never be panic
 Try to find way to control the condition
 Determine the right time to interfere
 Never avoid dealing with the problem because of personal reasons
 Identify the right person to entitle for the problems
 Make a report to the travel company for future reference