The Joy of Starting Your Own Tour Guide Business
You love the place you live with a passion and want to share its magical qualities with others. Maybe your special place is your entire city or a unique corner of it, a whole mountain range or a secluded valley, there is something there that you think is important for people to see, and you feel you are the right person to show it to them. If this sounds like you, why not consider becoming a tour operator? This is the perfect way to combine your love of your locale with your desire to show it off, and, best yet, make a career of it so you never have to do anything else but the thing you love!
As a tour operator, it’s you who are running the show, deciding when and where to take your guests and curating their experience so it will be the very best you and your special location have to offer. You can choose to play the part of guide yourself, hire like-minded people to work for you, or, as your business grows, do a bit of both. Thanks to the Internet you can accomplish this dream job as practically a one-person show by using tour booking software to accomplish all the busy work of booking, payment, and scheduling for you so you can meet your customers feeling fresh and excited instead of frazzled by all the tedious aspects. Your focus will be on making this a great experience for you and your customers while the software takes care of everything else!
To get started it’s vital that you really do know the area you intend to guide people to like the back of your own hand, your knowledge must be intimate so you understand exactly what aspects of this wonderful place you want to share. Take a stroll around the grounds whilst imagining it’s your first time there, experiencing it with all your senses tuned in as if it were all new to you. For example, if you intend to lead people into Australia’s fascinating Glow Worm Tunnel, a place you know and love, put your mind in the role of a first-timer. I guarantee you will discover some new, previously hidden aspect, and you will reacquaint yourself with the excitement you felt the first time you experienced the place, making you all the more ready to share that thrilling feeling with others! The best guided tours are those in which the guide is emotionally invested in the locale and has a sincere desire to share that wonderful passion with others.
Now that we have established the formula that will drive your tour business to great success, you still have some work to do to get it all set up. It will be necessary for you to obtain all the proper government licenses and understand any regulations regarding your proposed business plans. Then comes your brand, logo, website, advertising, and the other necessities, but the most important thing is your passion.
