Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes.

Like other businesses, tourism is

highly perishable. Hotel with no booking, buses and airlines with no passenger, lose their value.
Promotion of tourism, therefore, I necessary to sustain the industry. This is where tour guides
contribute best.

Tour guides, to be effective, must possess good communication skills. In fact, communication is
their main tool.

Communication Goals in Tour Guiding

1. Inform, remind and advise

This goal includes giving directions and commentaries, explaining itineraries, reminding
tourist of safety tips and security, describing weather conditions and situations, challenges in
their place, etc.

2. Promote and persuade

One of the tour guide’s main responsibilities is to sow interest in people to visit places
especially that his/her own. The power to persuade people to visit a certain place depends on
several factors which may include the promoter’s choice of information to give, the connection
he as with clients and his attitude toward the place.

3. Clarify

Misinformation often leads to misunderstanding and confusion. Problems may arise

during travel due to circumstances beyond the tour guide’s control. These problems may force
the tour guide to alter original plans. Such changes should be communicated to the tourists to
avoid confusion.

4. Build rapport and relationship

Good conversations with tourists lead to good rapport. Good rapport reinforces more
business transactions and business network.

5. Gather feedback for improvement

Open communication with tourists is an avenue of evaluating the service provided.

Constructive feedback is used as basis for changes to improve tour guiding services while
positive feedback tour guides to sustain the quality of their work.

Communication Tasks for Tour Guides

1. Receiving telephone calls

 The way one hands a telephone may be the first impression that a company makes on a
prospective client. The tips below will help create a good impression.

 Always have a notepad and a pen near the telephone.

 Pick up the phone after two to three rings
 Give the caller and identify yourself and your enterprise.

Example: “Hello. Good morning. This is ( your name) of Leisure Travel and Tours”

 Ask what you can do for the caller.

Example:” How may I help you?”

 Listen attentively.
 Write down the message for completeness and reference especially if the message is
long.Express your joy of having answered the caller’s query.

Example: “It’s my pleasure to have answered your questions.”

“You are welcome.”

“ Do call us if you have more questions.”

2. Preparing an itinerary

Itineraries are prepared primarily to estimate the time to be spent in each site and to
systematize the whole tour experience. With an itinerary, unnecessary delays will be avoided.

An itinerary includes the following information: the time, places, and activities.

3. Giving tour commentary

A tour commentary is delivered while tourists are riding on a tour bus. The commentary provides
descriptions, history, trivia, anecdotes and any relevant and interesting information about the
place being visited. A tour commentary enhances tourist interest in and appreciation of the site.
A tour guide, therefore, needs to master all information that will make a tour commentary a very
informative and effective one.

Preparation of the tour commentary requires a thorough knowledge and understanding of

the place; delivery requires practice.

Here are some suggestions for the effective tour commentaries:

 Deliver tour commentaries at the right time. For example, while the bus is approaching a
site of interest, you will say, “Coming up on the right is the…where…”
 Keep your commentaries light as tours are primarily for leisure.
  Adjust your pace according to the speed of the vehicle.
 Extend the commentary if necessary. Anecdotes and humor add life to the travel
experience of the tourists.
 Add personal and positive comments about the place.
 Do not write or read what you will say. Reading will make you an unprofessional tour
guide.

Communication Techniques in Dealing with Complaints

Although unpleasant, complaints signal to the service provider that he or she has a chance
to clarify, explain, apologize, and/or make up to the tourists what might have gone wrong in the
service.

The suggestion below may be of importance when the need arises.

 Acknowledge the tourists’ right to complain.

 Express you empathy. Listen attentively and understand where they are coming form.
 Act on their complaints as soon as possible.
 Offer an alternative plan/solution for problems.

(Tour guides should foresee possible tour problems so that an alternative plan is always ready.
Common tour problems include delays, vehicular malfunction, unfavorable weather conditions,
health issues, etc.

Follow through on the solutions.

Effective communication is integral component of successful tour guiding. Good communication

bridges almost all the gaps arising from differences; it mitigates and solves problems; it builds
genuine relationship among people of diverse cultures; and lays the foundation of understanding
among people of both business and personal relations. Effective communication reinforces
customer satisfaction which generates patronage.

Example of Tour Guiding

Tour guide speech – Budapest

Good morning everyone. My name is Anna. I am one of the two guides that will accompany you
during your stay in Budapest. The other guide is Christina and you will be meeting her at the
hotel tomorrow morning. We would like to welcome you all to Budapest. We will arrive at the
hotel in 10 minutes, therefore I would like to ask you all to check if you have all your baggage
with you, please do not leave anything unattended on the bus because we cannot take
responsibility for it. Now I’d like to take some time to inform you about brief safety precautions.
Firstly, during the next 7 days the temperature will be above 25 degrees, so you should make
sure that you drink enough water and we also recommend you to use sunscreen to avoid sunburn.
Secondly, you should always take care of your belongings while walking in the city.

Now let me say a few words about the famous sights and tourist attractions Budapest has to
offer. You should pay a visit to the famous Buda Castle, which is part of the Budapest World
Heritage Site. It is definitely worth going up there, because from the top you get a beautiful view
of the city to the Danube, especially to the Chain Bridge and the Clark Ádám Square. To go up
to the castle you can either walk or you can also use the furnicular.

Another famous sight you should explore is the Heroes’ Square. This is one of the major squares
of the city and it is rich with historic and political connotations; you can find statues of the
leaders of the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century and other outstanding figures
of Hungarian history. Moreover, this is not the only attraction here, the square is located between
the Museum of Fine Arts and the Palace of Art, and it faces the iconic Andrássy Avenue. It was
recognized as a World Heritage Site in 2002 and also it is one of Budapest’s main shopping
streets, with fine cafes, restaurants, theatres, and luxury boutiques.

Last but not least I have to talk about Széchenyi thermal bath. If you feel like you need some
recreation, this is the place to be. The Széchenyi bath is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. Its
water is supplied by two thermal springs, whose temperature is 74 °C and 77 °C. The bath can be
found in the City Park, and was built in 1913 in Neo-baroque style to the design of Győző
Czigler. The complex has 3 outdoor and 15 indoor pools. Towels and swimsuits can be rented or
bought in the spa. You should keep in mind that on weekends and holidays the entrance fee is
higher than on weekdays.

Thank you for your attention everyone, and on behalf of Hungarian Tours we wish you a
pleasant and memorable vacation here, in Budapest!