2006 VUSSC Tour-Guiding

COURSE GUIDE
Tour Guiding
Commonwealth of Learning (COL)

Virtual University for the Small States of the Commonwealth
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Commonwealth of Learning
(COL) Commonwealth of
Learning (COL)
August 2006
The Commonwealth of Learning

1055 West Hastings St., Suite 1200
Vancouver BC, V6E 2E9
Canada
Fax: +1 604 775-8210

E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www. www.col.org/vussc
Acknowledgements
The Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth wishes to thank the
following for their contribution to the development of this module:
The Commonwealth of Learning Mr. John

Lesperance
Coordinator for
TVET Ministry of
Education Seychelles
The Virtual Centre for Innovative Ms. Elia Grant-Fraser
Learning Project Coordinator
Technologies Distance Education
(VCILT) University of Unit Ministry of
Mauritius Education Trinidad and
Tobago
Paul West, COL Ms. Gwendolyn Medford

Instructor, Rooms
Division/Marketing Barbados
Community College Barbados
Wayne McIntosh Ms. Nokuthula Shabalala
Education Specialist, eLearning & ICT Coordinator
Policy Instructional Materials Development Unit
Commonwealth of Learning Institute of Distance Education
Vancouver, Canada University of Swaziland
Professor Alain Ms. Lu’isa Taufatofua

Senteni Director, Coordinator, Tourism & Hospitality
VCILT University of Studies Tonga Institute for Higher
Mauritius Mauritius Education (TIHE) Tonga
Ms. Sandhya Ms. Linette Smit

Gunness Instructional Coordinator: Hospitality and Tourism
Designer VCILT Namibia Training Authority
University of Namibia
Mauritius
Mauritius
Mr. Gulshan Ms. Sharret

Teeluck Head of Yearwood Lecturer in
Dept. (Ag.) Tourism Tourism University of
Studies Belize Belize
Hotel School of
Mauritius
Mr. Isswar Jheengut Ms. Marie-Paule Havika

Senior Lecturer Tourism Trainer
Mauritius College of the Vanuatu Institute of Technology
Air Port-Vila
Mauritius Vanuatu
Mr. Philip Sarrecino- Ms. Yasmine Cotobally

Inglott VCILT Mauritius
Project Manager
Fondazzjoni Temi Zammit
Malta
Contents
Contents
About this Course 1
How this course is structured ..................................................................................
1
The course modules content
.................................................................................... 1
Resources.................................................................................................................
2
Your comments .......................................................................................................
2
Introduction to this Course 3
Course Structure 4
Margin icons 5
Time Frame .............................................................................................................
6
Study skills ..............................................................................................................
6
Need help?...............................................................................................................
7
Assignments ............................................................................................................
8
Assessments.............................................................................................................
8
Unit 1 – Introduction to Tourism 9
Unit 1:1 The Tourism Industry 10

Definitions .............................................................................................................
11
Forms of Tourism..................................................................................................
12
History of tourism .................................................................................................
13
Niches of Tourism .................................................................................................
13
Types of travellers .................................................................................................
14
Purpose of travel....................................................................................................
15
i
Contents
... Factors that influence travel ..................................................................................
18
Modes of transportation.........................................................................................
19
Tourism Organizations ..........................................................................................
20
Importance of tourism ...........................................................................................
21
Benefits and Costs of tourism ...............................................................................
22
Unit 1:2 Tourism and Me 25

The Services Industry............................................................................................
27
Components of tourism .........................................................................................
29
Careers in tourism .................................................................................................
32
i
Linkages in tourism ...............................................................................................
33
Unit 1:3 Tourism Impacts 35

What is an impact? ................................................................................................
36
Impacts on tourism ................................................................................................
36
Unit 2 – The Tourism System 40
Unit 2:1 Travel Geography and Generating Markets – An Introduction

41
Definitions .............................................................................................................
42
Motivating Factors for Travel ...............................................................................
43
Categories of tourism to motivating factors ..........................................................
47
Popular Destinations visited..................................................................................
50
Unit 2:2 The Tourism System and the Tour Guide

55
Definitions .............................................................................................................
56
The Tourism System and the Tour Guide .............................................................
59
The Tourism System – France as a case study ......................................................
59
Unit 2:3 Current Issues 66

Current impacts .....................................................................................................
67
Unit 2:4 Future Travel Impacts 70

Future Impacts.......................................................................................................
71
Unit 3 Developing Effective Communication Skills for Tour Guides

75
Unit 3:1 Communication 77

What is communication? .......................................................................................
78
Concepts of communication..................................................................................
78
Reasons for communicating ..................................................................................
80
The process of communication..............................................................................
83
Features of effective communication in tour guiding operations..........................
88
Barriers that may hinder effective communication ...............................................
90
Unit 3:2 Types of Communication

95
Forms of Communication......................................................................................
97
Verbal Communication .........................................................................................
99
Non-verbal Communication ................................................................................
100
Types of Non-verbal Communication.................................................................
101
Contents
Targets of communication...................................................................................
101
Tools in communication......................................................................................
103
Unit 3:3 Effective Communication Strategy

107
Communication Strategies ..................................................................................
108
Using effective communication strategies ..........................................................
108
Conversational Skills...........................................................................................
111
Listening Skills....................................................................................................
114
What makes an active listener....................................................................
116
Benefits of active listening.........................................................................
116
Telephone Skills ..................................................................................................
117
Unit 3:4 Handling Enquiries and Complaints

122
Customer Complaints ..........................................................................................
123
Handling Difficult Tourists .................................................................................
126
Unit 4: Customer Care 128
Unit 4:1 Understanding Customer Service Excellence

130
Definition of Customer Service...........................................................................
131
Customer Service Excellence (CSE)...................................................................
133
Quality .................................................................................................................
136
Total Quality Management..................................................................................
137
Quality Systems...................................................................................................
139
Standardization....................................................................................................
140
What is ISO? .......................................................................................................
140
3
Contents
... Customer Service Excellence Systems................................................................
142
What are the dimensions of Service Excellence?................................................
143
CSE – Four Perspectives .....................................................................................
144
Unit 4:2 The Importance of CSE 148

Rationales for the need for Customer Service Excellence ..................................
150
Marketing Perspective.........................................................................................
151
Stakeholder Perspective ......................................................................................
152
Survival Perspective ............................................................................................
153
Duty Principles and Good Governance ...............................................................
153
1. Code of Ethics .................................................................................................
154
2. Customer Charters...........................................................................................
154
Legal Perspective ................................................................................................
156
Unit 4:3 Challenges to Customer Service Excellence (CSE)

159
Who are your Customers? ...................................................................................
160
4
External customers ..............................................................................................
160
Types of customers..............................................................................................
161
Internal customers ...............................................................................................
162
Identifying Customer Needs, Requirements and Expectations ...........................
165
Listening, Questioning and Confirming..............................................................
166
Confirming needs ................................................................................................
168
Providing Information, Advice, Assistance and Help.........................................
169
Accuracy and Reliability .....................................................................................
170
Dealing with Special Needs- types of individual needs ......................................
171
Recognizing customer’s individual needs...........................................................
172
Effective Communication with Customers who have Difficulties with Visual
Communication Methods ....................................................................................
174
Responding to Individual Customer Needs.........................................................
176
Unit 4:4 Importance of Internal Policies and Procedures to CSE

178
Procedures for CSE .............................................................................................
179
What are the effects of these procedures and legal requirements on customer
service excellence? ..............................................................................................
183
Unit 4:5 Planning Customer Service Excellence

185
Your Role in Planning for Customer Service Excellence ...................................
186
Market Research..................................................................................................
187
Gathering Information about Customer Interests................................................
188
The Mission and Objectives as Drivers of the Planning Process ........................
189
Benchmarking - Deciding on Standards..............................................................
190
Unit 4:6 Delivering Customer Service Excellence

194
What is a Service - A Recap................................................................................
195
Key Requirements of Customer Service Excellence...........................................
197
Details of the Client.............................................................................................
197
Thorough Knowledge..........................................................................................
197
Customer Needs and Expectations ......................................................................
201
Effective Communication Skills .........................................................................
203
People Skills and Presentation ............................................................................
203
Responding to different customer behaviour ......................................................
209
Customer Satisfaction..........................................................................................
214
Unit 5 Tour Guiding 218
Unit 5:1 Understanding Tour Guiding

219
Why do people take tours? ..................................................................................
221
Definitions ...........................................................................................................
221
Types of Tour Operators .....................................................................................
223
Kinds of Tour Guides ..........................................................................................
226
Contents
Cruise ship Tour Guides......................................................................................

228
Earning of Tour Guides.......................................................................................
230
Tour Guiding Appeal...........................................................................................
230
Qualities required by a tour guide .......................................................................
231
Training opportunities for a tour guide ...............................................................
232
Unit 5:2 Presentation Skills 234

What is a presentation?........................................................................................
235
Tour Commentaries.............................................................................................
239
Paraphrasing ........................................................................................................
241
Unit 5:3 Delivering methods for City and On - Site Guiding

243
Trends that have liabilities on tour guiding as a career.......................................
245
Tips for using P.A. Systems ................................................................................
246
Walking Tours.....................................................................................................
247
Delivery of a bus tour commentary.....................................................................
249
Tactics to keeping the group enthusiastic............................................................
251
Safety Precautions ...............................................................................................
252
Logistical Management .......................................................................................
252
Unit 6 Health, Safety and Security Procedures

255
Unit 6:1 Health Requirements at work

256
Definitions ...........................................................................................................
257
Procedures for health, safety and security...........................................................
258
Dealing with emergency situations .....................................................................
260
5
Contents
...
Unit 6:2 Health and Tour Guiding
266
Health Concerns ..................................................................................................
267
Surviving the Common Cold or Flu ....................................................................
268
Workplace Stress/Occupational Stress................................................................
275
Health, Safety and Security Concerns for the Community or Sight ...................
276
Ways to counteract ..............................................................................................
279
Unit 7 Legal and Ethical Issues in Tour Guiding

281
Unit 7:1 Legal Requirements in Tour Guiding

283
Contract Law .......................................................................................................
284
Employment Law ................................................................................................
284
Consumer Law ....................................................................................................
285
The Law of Torts.................................................................................................
287
6
What are the legal requirements in tour guiding? ...............................................
289
Unit 7:2 Legal Obligations – Customers and the Law

295
What is the purpose of legislations?....................................................................
296
Contractual Agreement with Customers .............................................................
297
Data Protection ....................................................................................................
299
Equal Opportunities.............................................................................................
300
Unit 7:3 Ethical Obligations of Tour Guides

302
Ethics ...................................................................................................................
303
Code of Ethics .....................................................................................................
304
Reasons for a code of ethics in the workplace ....................................................
304
Code of Practice ..................................................................................................
305
The Code of Guiding Practice .............................................................................
306
Table of Figures
Figure 1 - Taj Mahal in India
................................................................................................................ 16
Figure 2 - Peacock Room at the Smithsonian Museum

........................................................................ 17
Figure 3 - Maslow's Hierarchy of

Needs............................................................................................... 45
Figure 4 - Map of
France....................................................................................................................... 60
Figure 5 - Tourist Arrivals - 1950 -2020

............................................................................................... 71
Figure 6 Groups of persons a tour guide interacts.............................................................................

112
Figure 7 - Quadrant comparison of customer types ............................................................................

161
Figure 8 - Chain of Distribution in the travel business .......................................................................
224
Figure 9 - Tour Guide at work at Swaziland National ........................................................................

226
Figure 10- Hop-On, Hop-Off Tour Bus ..............................................................................................

227
Figure 11 - Radio with P.A System.....................................................................................................

246
Figure 12 - Wireless Tour Guide P.A. System....................................................................................

247
About this Course
About this Course

The Tour Guiding Certificate Course was initiated
by Commonwealth of Learning (COL). All modules
produced by Commonwealth of Learning (COL) are structured
in the same way, as outlined below.
How this course is structured

Overview
The overview gives you a general introduction to the course
units and modules. Information contained in the module
overview will help you determine:
if the module is suitable for you;
what you will already need to know;
what you can expect from the
module;
how much time you will need to invest to complete the

module;
We strongly recommend that you read the overview carefully

before starting your study.
The course modules content

The course modules are broken down into major headed units
with subtitled units. Each unit comprises:
an introduction to the Unit
content; Unit learning outcomes;
Module objectives which are meant to help you assess your

learning in terms of what you would be able to do after
studying a particular
Core content of the unit with a variety of learning activities;
1
Activities, assignments and/or assessments, as applicable; which
is to promote active learning. A few of the activities may require
you to draw on past experiences with respect to your daily
interactions with others.
A unit summary which highlights the key points developed in

the
Unit and
New terminology mentioned in the

unit.
Resources
For those interested in learning more on this subject, we
provide you with a list of additional resources at the end of
this module; these comprise books, articles and web sites.
Your comments
An Evaluation Form is included at the end of this module. This
is your chance to give us feedback on any aspect of the content
and structure. Your constructive feedback will help us to
evaluate this module and make enhancements where necessary.
2
Course Structure
Introduction to this Course

This 255-hour certificate course is intended for people who
are already tour guides or who are aspiring to become tour
guides.
Specialty courses are three (3) credits and those involving

a practical component are four (4) credits.
Throughout this course, you will be asked to draw upon

those experiences.
The administering institution will determine how this course

will take place. It may used for self-assessments or teacher-
marked assessments.
Institutions will also determine the length of assessments and

how long learners will be allowed to complete them.
3
3
Course Structure
The following is the structure of the course by
module.
If administered by a reputable educational institution it is

theorized that each theory hour is equal to fifteen (15) hours,
which will be worth one (1) credit.
Each practical hour will be equal to thirty (30) hours, which will
be worth one (1) credit.
Course Module Hours Credit
Unit 1 - Introduction to Tourism 30 2

Theory
Unit 2 - The Tourism System 30 2

Theory
Unit 3 – Developing Effective 45 3

Communication Skills for Tour Theory
Guides
Unit 4 – Customer Care 45 3

Theory
Unit 5 – Conducting Tours 45

Theory
15
Practical
Unit 6 – Health, Safety and Security 15
Procedures Theory
Unit 7 – Legal and Ethical Issues 30 2

Theory
Margin icons
While working through this module you will notice the
frequent use of margin icons. These icons serve to “signpost”
a particular piece of text, a new task or change in activity;
they have been included to help you to find your way around
this module.
A complete icon set is shown below. We suggest that you

familiarize yourself with the icons and their meaning
before starting your study.
Activity Assessment Assignment Case study
Discussion Group activity Help Note it!
Outcomes Reading Reflection Study skills
Summary Terminology Time Tip

Margin icons
Time Frame
This 255-hour certificate course is expected to be over

three months.
As an online, open and distance learning course, study time

How long? is dependent on the time of the learner. However, all
assignments must be completed at the required time for
qualification.
The course is designed for self-study along with some

guided instruction.
Study skills
As an adult learner your approach to learning will be different

to that from your school days: you will choose what you
want to study, you will have professional and/or personal
motivation for doing so and you will most likely be fitting
your study activities around other professional or domestic
responsibilities.
Essentially you will be taking control of your

learning environment. As a consequence, you will need
to consider performance issues related to time management,
goal setting, stress management, etc. Perhaps you will also need
to reacquaint yourself in areas such as essay planning, coping
with exams and using the web as a learning resource.
Your most significant considerations will be time and space i.e.

the time you dedicate to your learning and the environment in
which you engage in that learning.
We recommend that you take time now—before starting your

self- study—to familiarize yourself with these issues. There
are a number of excellent resources on the web. A few
suggested links are:
http://www.how-to-
study.com/
The “How to study” website is dedicated to study
skills resources. You will find links to study preparation (a
Margin icons
...
list of nine essentials for a good study place), taking notes,
strategies for
reading text books, using reference sources, test
anxiety. http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html
This is the website of the Virginia Tech, Division of
Student Affairs. You will find links to time scheduling
(including a “where does time go?” link), a study skill
checklist, basic concentration techniques, control of the study
environment, note taking, how to read essays for
analysis, memory skills (“remembering”).
http://www.studygs.net/distanceed.ht
m
This website looks at preparing for online
study. http://www.howtostudy.org/resources.php
Another “How to study” website with useful links to
time management, efficient reading,
questioning/listening/observing skills, getting the most out
of doing (“hands-on” learning), memory building, tips for
staying motivated, developing a learning plan.
The above links are our suggestions to start you on your
way. However, be aware that Internet addresses change
frequently, so if a website cannot be accessed, use a search
engine. At the time of writing these web links were active. If
you want to look for more go to www.google.com and type
“self-study basics”, “self-study tips”, “self-study skills” or
similar.
Need help?
Related to individual campuses
Is there a course website address?
What is the course instructor's name? Where can s/he be located

(office location and hours, telephone/fax number, e-mail address)?
Help
Is there a teaching assistant for routine enquiries? Where can
s/he be located (office location and hours, telephone/fax number,
e-mail address)?
Is there a librarian/research assistant available? Where can s/he

be located (office location and hours, telephone/fax number, e-
mail address)?
Is there a learners'
resource centre?
Where is it
located? What are
the opening
hours, telephone
number, who is
the resource
centre
manager, what is the manager's e-mail address)?
Who do learners contact for technical issues (computer

problems, website access, etc.)
Assignments
There should be written assignments for this course for each
unit. Assignments should be submitted in accordance with the
rules and
Assignments regulations of the administering institution. This should include
the schedule for submission, the order in which assignments
should be submitted and to whom they should be submitted.
Assessments
The number of assessments as well as when and where the
assessments will take place for this module will be determined
by the administering institution.
Assessments
They could be self-assessments or teacher-marked assessments.
The length of assessments and how long learners will be allowed

to complete will be determined by the administering institution.
Unit 1 – Introduction to Tourism
Unit Overview
Over the years, tourism has become meaningful to all
economies. The need for discovery has caused movement of
people of differing languages and cultures. Generation of
income has led many governments to seek another way
to garner revenues and development employment
opportunities.
As a tour guide in this era, “a dying breed”, you will be

interacting with the people on whom your existence depends.
An answer to what is tourism and the history of this revenue
earner will be the focus of this Unit.
Let us explore the subject of tourism

together.
By the completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Provide knowledge of why tourism is part of the services industry
Outcomes for Unit Outline the components and services that comprise the
1 tourism industry
Recognize the linkages of tourism in the economy
Establish career opportunities available in the tourism industry
Differentiate between service and servitude

Unit 1:1
Unit 1:1 The Tourism Industry

Unit Overview
There are many places of interest in this world. With the
millions of people around, the desire to learn and see more of
the world, people engage in tourism. The tourism industry is
the bedrock of most modern economies for it includes
countless components that influence the survival and livelihood
of the residents. Despite the obvious economic advantages of
the industry, the esthetic benefits to the buyer and service
provider cannot be underestimated.
By looking at the linkages that exist within the tapestry of

this industry, the benefits and development of it is vital.

Define “tourism”, “tourists” and the tourism
Objectives for Unit industry List the reasons for the importance of
1:1
tourism Explain the different forms of tourism
list two (2) means of transportation that is commonly known
Discuss the history of tourism
Discuss one reason why people travel
Explain three (3) factors that influence travel decisions
Explain the importance of the tour guide being

knowledgeable about the push/pull factors of tourism
Identify the various organizations that are involved in the

tourism globally
Analyze the benefits and costs of tourism

Definitions
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes.
In
1976, the Tourism Society of England's definition was: "Tourism
is the temporary, short-term movement of people to
destination
outside the places where they normally live and work and
their
activities during the stay at each destination. It includes
movements for all purposes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism#cite_note-2
Another definition for tourism by the World trade Organization

is that “tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to
and staying in places outside their usual environment for not
more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other
purposes.”
http://pub.unwto.org/WebRoot/Store/Shops/Infoshop/Products/1
03
4/1034-1.pdf
Tourist
The World Tourism Organization (1995) defines tourists as
people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual
environment for more than twenty-four (24) hours and not
more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and
other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity
remunerated from within the place visited”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism#cite_note-2
Tourism industry
This industry is comprised of the group of businesses that
provide the activities in which tourists are engaged in while
away from home. This will be discussed in more detail
under “Sectors of Tourism”. One definition by Goeldner and
Ritchie (2006) Tourism
– Principles, Practices, Philosophies, is that “tourism is
a composite of activities, services, and industries that deliver a
travel
experience.
”
Forms of Tourism
There are many forms of tourism in which persons traveling
can engage. These forms are as follows:
1. Domestic tourism – residents of the country travel

within this country
2. Inbound tourism - non-residents travel in the

given country
3. Outbound tourism – residents travel to another
country. Further to these forms the United Nations also
derived different
categories of tourism which combine the three (3) basic forms
of
tourism. These categories are as
follows:
1. Internal tourism which will comprise domestic

and inbound tourism
2. National tourism comprises domestic and

outbound tourism
3. International tourism – consisting of inbound

and outbound tourism.
In Korea, the Tourism Organization there coined the

term “Intrabound Tourism which differs from domestic tourism
in that the former encompasses policymaking and
implementation of national tourism policies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism#cite_note
-2
So as you would see, there is correlation in the forms of

tourism however you look at it. Hence, the forms of
tourism can be summarized as internal and international.
History of tourism
It may be a stretch to state that the first unofficial form of
tourism occurred with the nomads, as they moved form place
to place in search of a better way of life. True based on the
definition of tourism this would not be accurate, yet it
proves the point of tourism.
For each nation, country or people, the history of tourism

is different. Generally, early times of tourism mentions
the pilgrimages to Rome and Mecca and the Grand Tour
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Each nation has a story, so complete Activity

1:1:1.
Research the history of tourism in your country. What were

the catalysts factors? Who were the pioneers? Why is
tourism so important?
Activity 1:1:1
Niches of Tourism
With the general term “tourism”, there are many
different categories or niches of this industry. There is
ecotourism, sustainable tourism, sports tourism and cruise
tourism, space tourism and LGBT tourism. The list of
adjectival tourism continues. Complete Activity 1:1:2
Research the different niches of tourism. Identify the type

of tourism in your country.
To help you along, go to
Activity 1:1:2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adjectival_touris
ms
Types of travellers
Goeldner et al (2003) wrote that “the underlying
conceptualization of tourism is that of a traveller. A traveller is
someone who makes a trip between two or more countries or
two or more localities within his/her country of usual
residence.” However, he further noted that travellers are
categorized as visitors. For our purposes we will subdivide
these visitors into two general groups.
Tourist is the generic term used for persons, but of course there
are exceptions.
Excursionist – this is the same-day visitor. This visitor spends

less than twenty-four hours (24 hours) in the country visiting.
For example: cruise ship passengers. However, crews of
airplanes or cruise ships are not counted in this classification.
Tourist – these visitors stay in the country for at least one night
but less than one full year. For example: when someone from
Barbados takes a two-week vacation to the Bahamas.
Based on the niches of tourism, there are several types of

tourists that may emerge. The choice of factors such as
amenities, and attractions determine the label, such as:
Naturalist – where travel is not first class,

no accommodation and stay away from catered
tourist attractions.
Organized Mass Tourist – these are usually

vacationers on a packaged tour; there may be
chartered flights and the requiem visit to major
attractions.
Explorer – this type of tourist mixes with the

host community but remain in the “tourist bubble”.
They plan their own trip and avoid organized
tourist attractions.
According to Cohen (1972) the explorer role is where the trip

is organized independently (not part of the mass tourist group)
and is looking to get off the beaten track. However
comfortable accommodation and reliable transport are sought
and, while the environment bubble is abandoned on occasion,
it is there to step into if things get tough”.
Cooper, Fletcher et al (1998) in Tourism

Principles and Practice – 2nd Edition.
Pearson Education Limited . England
Drifter – this type of tourist immerses themselves in
the culture of the host community – avoiding
tourist attractions and may live with the
members of the community.
The drifter role as described by Cohen (1972) notes that

“all connections with the tourism industry are spurned and
the trip attempts to get as far from home and familiarity as
possible. With no fixed itinerary, the drifter lives with local
people, paying his/her way and immersing him/herself in their
culture.
Cooper, Fletcher et al (1998) in Tourism

Principles and Practice – 2nd Edition.
Pearson Education Limited . England
Purpose of travel
Have you ever wanted to get away from the normal
everyday activities of life? If yes, what were your reasons?
People travel for a myriad of reasons; some of these

are:
Health – going to see a doctor for a medical emergency;

going to a tropical country to enjoy the sun and sea for
therapeutic treatments or other medical emergencies.
Leisure – vacations or holidays or just for fun and

relaxation
Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) - part of leisure,

this category may be to attend a reunion at the Alma
Mater University or college. It may also be a spend time
with family after a long time.
Religious reasons- such as for pilgrimages and

religious festivals
Business – to transact some form of business deal or present

a proposal to overseas investors
Meetings, incentives, conventions and events – this

category may be considered under business. It looks at
the different reasons that someone on business may
choose to travel. However, with events, there may be a
segment that is there not on business but pleasure or
leisure. The event may be for a music festival, for
example, St Lucia Jazz Festival or a cultural event such as
Crop Over Festival in Barbados or the Rio de Janeiro
Carnival in Brazil.
To see attractions - a visit to see the beauty of the Taj
Mahal in India or the historical exhibits packed within the
Smithsonian
19 museums may be pull factors for persons to visit
a
destination (See Figures 1 and 2 below). To engage in
outdoor recreation and adventures such as skiing, bird
watching. Even planning and attending various events,
seasonal or not such as the Summer or Winter Olympic
Games is a form of tourism.
Attractions may be defined as:
The facilities, activities, locations or sights that a tour visits,

such as a monument, museum or natural wonder.
(Mancini
2003)
Facilities developed especially to provide residents and visitors

with entertainment, activity learning, socializing, and
other forms of stimulation that make a region or
destination a desirable and enjoyable place. (Goeldner et al
2006)
For the tourist, all this may be considered to be an opportunity

to broaden their frame of reference – education and wanderlust.
Figure 1 - Taj Mahal in India

Unit 1:1
Figure 2 - Peacock Room at the Smithsonian Museum
Educational reasons – a linguistic class engaging in

language exchanges with students from other parts of
the world or visiting a place of interest in fulfillment of an
internship.
Transit reasons – this is a special count of visitors that do

not stay-over in the country but are passing through onwards
to the final destination. For example: a passenger form
Barbados may stopover in transit to Los Angeles in Miami.
In some countries the statistics for this reason is not counted
in that for tourists.
All these reasons may be categorized into two main categories

– business or leisure. From these two broad categories you
may have a combination of business and leisure in one trip.
These categories are then coalesced into the particular reason for
travel.
Factors that influence travel
We have already seen the reasons why persons may travel; as
their purposes vary so too do the factors that influence the
travel decision.
Factors that influence travel decisions

Climate
Distance between countries
Attractions – natural and man-made
Communications – transportation infrastructure – can it be

traveled by one means of transport or node of transport
Cost
Cultural links / Language
Political factors
Why do tour guides need to know the motivations for

travel?
Tour-guides need to be familiar with the places where
people come, as this affects the ways people behave. Tour-
guides need to be aware of cultural differences and the
expectations and level of service may vary.
Modes of transportation
At one time or other, people desire a change in environment
and culture. The desire to escape from the challenges and
stresses of life and achieve certain personal goals stimulates the
travel desire.
So how do we move from one place to another? It is usually

by some form of transportation. It can be by road, by air or by
water.
 Cars
 Buses
 Trains
 Aircrafts/ aeroplanes - for long distances across
many geographical planes
 Cruise-ships
There is a network of routes along which the vehicles travel

– roads, tracks, air and sea lanes. At times these nodes
become interchanged.
Transportation infrastructure from the generating country to

the destination is affected by the nodes or means of
transportation.
Tourism Organizations
In the history of the world, the need for order has been realized
as a sure fact. Even within tourism, the need is even greater
for in looking at employment issues, revenue generation or
carrying capacity of the island, organization is crucial.
There are many international organizations involved in

tourism. However, before we look at the international
organizations there are national tourist boards/bureaus and
regional agencies that form the structure of tourism.
Some of the regional and international bodies that have oversight

of tourism or development of statutes and other legislation
are as follows:
1. Caribbean Tourism Organization – this

regional organization was established in 1989 after a
merger with the Caribbean Tourism
Association. http://www.onecaribbean.org/aboutus/
2. UNWTO or World Tourism Organization – that

since September 27, 1980 celebrated “World Tourism
Day”. This organization was established
in 1974. http://www.unwto.org/
3. World Trade Organization – established in1995.

It operates a system of rules for trade where nations can
settle disputes and negotiate agreements related to trade
barriers. Its history goes back to 1944.
http://www.wto.org/
4. The World Travel and Tourism Council - this is a

forum for business leaders of travel and tourism. It was
established in 1990. http://www.wttc.org/
Complete Activity 1:1:3
1. Choose any two (2) of the organization that help to

structure tourism.
2. Write brief notes on their history and development.
Activity 1:1:3
These organizations help policy makers develop industry

standards that are vital to sustainability of the tourism industry.
Importance of tourism
Many present and past world leaders know the importance
of tourism. The below mentioned are quotes prepared by the
World Travel and Tourism Council as noted by Goeldner and
Ritchie, J.R. Brent (2003) Tourism Principles, Practices,
Philosophies, 9th
Edition:
“Tourism is a big business in Canada with a unique ability

to create jobs nationwide. It is a people-intensive industry
with a demonstrated ability to create jobs at a faster
rate, more economically, than the economy as a whole.”
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien - Canada.
“The travel and tourism industry in this country has

performed excellently, gaining world market share,
increasing its contribution to GDP and creating one in five
of all new jobs.” Prime Minister John Major – United
Kingdom
“Tourism has exerted enormous impact on the

economic development of the Caribbean region as a whole. It
accounts for
25 percent of the total value of exports or goods and
services, making the Caribbean the world’s most
tourist-dependent
region.” Prime Minister Percival J. Patterson – Jamaica
“… Tourism can contribute substantially to developing

the people of our country as it is a highly labour intensive
industry accommodating a wide spectrum of skilled and
semiskilled labour.” President Nelson Mandela- South Africa
When we look at the quotes we see the following we see

the importance of tourism as:
1. economic advantages to the Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) and national income;
revenue earner; investment
2. employment and job creation
3. social and cultural stability
4. conservation of the environment

and architecture
Benefits and Costs of tourism
As in life, there are many benefits or positives to tourism but
there are also costs or negatives. This is so for the
countries and communities as a whole.
Benefits of tourism Costs of tourism

Employment opportunities Vulnerable to economic
in both skilled and unskilled and political changes
areas.
Increased income for full- Contributes to

time or part-time workers disease, economic fluctuation
and other problems
Diversification of the economy Unbalanced

economic development
Create increased Gross Inflation increases
National Product (GNP)
and Gross Domestic Product
(GDP)
Reinforces the preservation Commercialization of

of heritage and culture culture and arts
Promotes Conflict creation in

international understanding and host societies
peace
Development of local Creates social problems

products and resources
Justifies Degrades the cultural

environmental protection and physical environment
Table 1 - Benefits-Costs of Tourism
Complete Activity 1:1:4.
Add to the list of benefits and costs of tourism mentioned above.
Evaluate your country’s tourism, and identify the benefits and
Activity 1:1:4 costs

to your country.
Read the following excerpt: then review the issues
to tourism discussed in this unit.
Assessment for Unit According to

1:1 http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/w51.doc; “Tourism,
broadly defined, is regarded as the world's largest industry
and one of the fastest-growing, accounting for over one- third
of the value of total world-wide services trade.1 Highly
labour-intensive, it is a major source of employment
generation, especially in remote and rural areas. Tourism
demand, both domestic and international, is directly related to
income levels, and therefore has prospered as global wealth has
increased. The arrival of low-cost air travel has radically
transformed tourism as a whole, but the industry has expressed
serious concern over the current system of bilateral aviation
agreements, arguing that protectionism severely limits tourism
potential.”
Besides economics, what would you say to your government

is the importance of tourism for the upcoming decade?
1
Sections of this Note rely upon the following documentation: Economist,
"Dream Factories: A Survey of Travel and Tourism", 10 January, 1998; Financial Times,
"Survey: World Tourism", 18 June, 1998; UNCTAD, International Trade in Tourism-
Related Services: Issues and Options for Developing Countries, (TD/B/COM.1/EM.6/2,
8 April, 1998) and other papers submitted for the Expert Meeting on Strengthening the
Capacities of the Tourism Sector in Developing Countries, Geneva, 8-10 June, 1998;
World Tourism Organization, International Tourism: A Global Perspective, 1997,
Madrid; World Tourism Organization, Seminar on GATS Implications for Tourism,
1995; and World Tourism Organization, Tourism Economic Report,
1998.
In this unit you defined the terms related to this industry;

these were tourism, tourists, excursionist.
Some key points that you need to remember from this unit are:
Summary for Unit
1:1 People travel for varied reasons including health, business
and
leisure such as seeing attractions.
The importance of tourism is for many countries economic
reasons. There are different forms of tourism such as

ecotourism, mass
tourism and cultural tourism. The type of traveler is
classified
based on the accommodation or amenities they choose.
There was an overview of the history of tourism and of the

various organizations that are involved in the tourism globally
The benefits and costs of tourism to an economy cannot
be underestimated.
Everyone in the community has a part to play in tourism for
its success.
In this unit the new terminology used included:

drifter excursionist explorer mass
tourism naturalist tourist
Terminology for
Unit 1:1
Unit 1:2 Tourism and Me
Unit Overview
After reading the previous unit on the Tourism Industry, it
is important that we look at Tourism and Me. This unit is
about the tour guide being aware that s/he is a vital
instrument to the provision of this product. There cannot be
tourism without the infrastructure or individuals working
together to accomplish the greater goal. This is why
acknowledging the part you play in the service industry is
important.
Tourism and Me is about the tour guide being aware that s/he
is a vital instrument to the provision of this product. There
cannot be tourism without the infrastructure or individuals
working together
to accomplish the greater goal. This is why acknowledge being
part of the service industry.
Tourism is not only about foreigners or strangers coming to

our shores, but it involves locals moving throughout their
homeland to discover and participate in the so-called touristic
activities.
In order to move from one place to another, it is important that

we move from our homes or generating market, to the place to
which we are traveling (destination). The means of transport are
as varied as all the possible places we can visit.
In this unit, you will be exposed to issues that stir up

strong emotions within service personnel; the qualities of
services, career possibilities outside of tour guiding and the
linkages with the community that is generated from tourism.
Unit 1:2

Explain what is a service and servitude
Objectives for Unit List the characteristics of services
1:2
Discuss what is meant by service-driven economies and the
role of the tourism personnel in this tourism sector
Discuss the components of the tourism system
Identify career opportunities in the tourism industry
Identify the linkages of tourism in the economy

The Services Industry
Health insurance is a commodity that cannot be handled or
seen with the naked eye. Yet it is a service that is important
for the average individual. It is paid for and sometimes not used
until some kind of emergency arises. Yet this “product”
cannot be touched. Though it might have financial issues yet its
effects are even more far-reaching.
Tourism is an activity that is considered to be part of the

service industry. Our last definition of tourism shows that
it is an “invisible” export as it relates to the economics and
balance of payments to a country.
What is a service?
There are many definitions for “service”. It may mean to
“do something for someone”, “a process, a deed, a
performance or an effort”. When combined service may be
defined as a process, deed or performance done for someone,
usually within a specific time frame and experienced by the
customer as it is performed.
 (n) service (work done by one person or group that
benefits another) "budget separately for goods and
services"
 n) service (an act of help or assistance) "he did them
a service"
http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=service
Servitude
Depending on your generation, diasporas or heritage, there may
be a history of slavery. A definition of “servitude” is “subject
to a master or forced labor imposed as
punishment.” http://www.thefreedictionary.com/servitude
In tourism, the service providers are brought face to face

with persons of a different race or creed than their own. This
is when based on individual preferences, or history
tempers may be hackled.
However, the offer of service should not be confused

with servitude. Performing a deed for someone is not mastery
over that person.
Service-driven economies
History and quicker revenue generation has been a catalyst to
many societies to move from mining and fishing (primary
sector) and manufacturing (secondary sectors) to the services
sector (tertiary sector).
Examples of service-driven economies are those do not

inherently produce tangible goods/products like shoes,
canned goods or cellular phones, but “intangible
products”. These “products” include content (information),
knowledge, advice, attention and experiences. Examples of
businesses in this sector are insurance, entertainment, tourism,
banking, education, retail and social services.
With service economies there is the need for satisfying

customers as seen in Unit 4 on Customer Care and
identifying the characteristics of contact dependence
and simultaneous consumption and production.
Features of a Service
1. Intangibility
The service product cannot be touched, but it can

be experienced.
2. Contact dependent
Since the features of a service involve performance, then

there must be a human being available to do the action.
Services need people – the service provider and the customer.
3. Perishability
“Tourism is also a highly "perishable" commodity, in the

sense that unsold airline seats, hotel rooms, etc. have no
residual value.”
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e /serv_e/w51.doc
If the hotel rooms are not filled for the specific time period,
the revenue for that period is loss forever. The tourism service
“product” cannot be saved and stored for another day. When a
plane takes off there is no embarking of passengers in the air,
revenues loss when the plane takes off are forever loss for that date
and day.
A service is not like a cabbage that can be refrigerated

and stored for a length of time; it is consumed at the
point of delivery.
4. Simultaneous consumption and
production
Once the time period in which the service was experienced is over
the service “product” is ended. For example, if you go to a
restaurant for dinner with soft lighting, smiling and attentive staff
at the end of the meal and the service personnel gives you the
bill, and it is paid. When you leave the restaurant, the service is
ended.
Based on the definition, a service is usually done within

a specific time frame and experienced by the customer as
it is performed. So the experience of tourism occurs
when the customer is in the dining room eating the tangible
product (fries and salad) while being waited on attentively
by a waiter. There is therefore simultaneous consumption
(by the customer) and production (by the service provider)
of the service.
5. Heterogeneity
There are always differences in people; no two persons are

the same. Hence, in the tourism industry, the type of
service received by two customers is not always the
same. For example, in an airline there are a variant number
of airfares for the passengers. So too in the delivery of
service the service provider tends to behave differently to
two customers even if the same price is being paid.
Hence there is a measure of heterogeneity in services.
Components of tourism
Go to the following website and download the diagram of

the components of tourism. Keep for a reference copy and
discuss with a partner.
Activity 1:2:1 http://books.google.com/books?
id=BobIhKIz4QUC&pg=PA32
8&lpg=PA328&dq=tourism+as+a+composite+of+actiivites...
&
source=bl&ots=2zOF23vVid&sig=AjwEtS4a4dFlgkN2AxEd
s
BuSo8A&hl=en&ei=jcrESvGtBomm8Aab5tQ2&sa=X&oi=b
oo
k_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CA0Q6AEwAA#v=on
ep age&q=&f=false
“The industry is highly infrastructure dependent, and relies
upon various transport services to deliver clients.
Immigration and entry/exit control regulations have a direct
influence on the supply on international tourism services.
Important challenges facing the industry include environmental
and infrastructure problems, as well
as rapid technological change.”
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e
/serv_e/w51.doc
From the above statement and downloaded diagram from

Activity
1:2:1, you will see some of the components of tourism. These
are
i. Natural resources and the

environment
In the past it was determined that persons traveled for

health reasons. In the winter months persons in temperate
countries went to the tropics for sunny weather and the pristine
beaches. Hence the natural resources and environment, in
particular the geography which will include the climate,
landscape, use of resources and people. Elements of the
natural environment were pull factors for motivating travel.
ii. The Built

environment
As time progressed, there was a demand for more than the

natural resources and environment, which caused the
development of the built environment. In this phenomenon of
tourism there is culture, infrastructure and superstructure.
Culture of the host community reflects the way they live. It

is dependent on the residents of the place and is
permanent. A Chinese will not experience his own culture in
Alaska or vice versa. Culture should not be changed to
suit the tourist, but unfortunately with adaptation, there is this
negative outcome. This is one of the challenges that the tourism
services seek to respond to and solve.
Infrastructure of a destination is likely to be similar to the

country of the generating tourist. Infrastructure is not put in
place for tourism but it helps its development. Basic things
like roads, sewage systems, communication networks and
commercial facilities (banks, supermarkets) exist primarily for
locals. Tourists benefit as a result.
Superstructure is the opposite to infrastructure for its

primary existence is to facilitate growth of tourism. This
includes hotels, restaurants and other demands of the tourist.
Technology and information has become quite influential a
dimension in tourism. It allows for marketing of the country
but getting feedback from visitors and giving information
to those potential visitors. Therefore overall governance of
this tourism system is vital and done through trade agreements,
regulatory bodies and deregulation issues.
iii. Operating
Sectors
Tourism is a complex phenomenon as there are many

components of this system. On a macroeconomic level, there is
reason to view this service as a system, for which it is to
all aspects of an economy. However, on a micro level the
operating sectors are the accommodation sector, food and
beverage service businesses, retail shops, attractions and
entertainment, and transportation.
Accommodations Transportation
Services
Hotels, motels, cruise
ships, camps, parks, Ships, airplanes,
resorts cars, trains, taxi
operators, tour buses
Attractions & Food and beverage

Entertainmen
t Restaurants, vending
Recreational parks, zoos, machines,
bars/taverns, snack
festivals, museums,
bars
parasailing, dinner
shows,
Retail Shops
Souvenir & gift shops,

arts
& crafts stores,
malls, markets
Complete the following activity after a review of your

own country tourism “product”.
Operating Sector Name of business Location
Activity 1:2:2
iv. Planning, development, promotion and catalyst
organizations
These are the hidden components of tourism where

government sectoral agencies and private organizations related
to tourism plan, develop, and promote tourism. These
stakeholders through legislation and mutual consent design
the tourism plan for the country. This would include tourism
services and the travel trade such as local and regional
tourism associations, local and city government tourism
departments, tourism offices and trade industry associations
from travel agencies to tour operators.
In regards to tourism services for a country, it must be stressed

that monitoring and evaluation of this “product” is
important and cannot be left to chance. In structuring the
superstructure and seeking to maintain the natural resources,
appropriate marketing and policies must be legislated and
enforced.
Careers in tourism
With all the operating sectors of tourism, there are
many opportunities for employment within this fast pace and
demanding industry. However careers tend to be based on
company structure and mobility in the labor market. There is a
continuum from entry level staff to management level.
According to the free on-line dictionary, a career

is:
a. A chosen pursuit; a profession or

occupation.
b. The general course or progression of one's working life or
one's professional achievements:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/care
er
So, from line workers to management, there are a plethora

of service personnel in tourism. In this industry, some
service personnel are front line workers – those that have direct
interaction with the customer. Then there are those that are
support workers – these have limited direct interaction with
customers.
Examples of front line workers are receptionists and waiters-

those that must be confronted with the guest complaints and
face to face interactions daily.
Examples of support workers are housekeeping staff and
chefs - those that must be help those that make the revenue
as without them there will be a deficiency in service.
What are some careers or jobs in any two (2) operating
sectors mentioned in Activity 1:2:2?
Activity 1:2:3
Linkages in tourism
A priest was in the church one day and in walked a little boy
who asked him, “Reverend, my mother works in a casino.
Do you benefit from the money she makes?” The Reverend
stopped and thought for a moment before responding. He said, “I
believe I do”.
There are many linkages - many businesses that intertwine,

in tourism from the farmers that produce the vegetables used
on the buffet table, and the fishermen who are concerned with
the natural environment as it impacts the quantity of fish they
catch for the same buffet.
Technicians and engineers who seek to manage the technology

and other resources of the hotels. A banker even have a link to
tourism for it is by this means tat the contribution to Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) is obtained.
The church, along with entertainers, manufacturers of furniture

for the hotel and even casino workers have linkages to tourism
through offerings to sustain the church growth and buying of
food and personal items for the family respectively. This is
known as the multiplier effect. As noted in the following
extract, “the multiplier effect describes how an increase in some
economic activity starts a chain reaction that generates more
activity than the original increase.”
http://www.investorglossary.com/multiplier-effect.htm
However if the revenues made from tourism are saved, the

import bill is high, and expatriate workers send the income
earned back to their homeland, then this will be the leakage
effect of the tourism dollar. “The leakage effect is a
concept within the study of tourism. The term refers to the
way in which revenue generated by tourism is lost to other
countries' economies. Leakage may be so significant in some
developing countries that it partially neutralizes the
money generated by tourism.”
http://www.answers.com/topic/leakage-effect
Within 30 minutes, answer the following questions:
Assessment for Unit a. What is the difference between service and servitude?
1:2
b. Name three (3) characteristics of services. Explain any one.
c. Discuss what would happen if one of the components of

the tourism system is missing.
d. What industries form direct linkages with tourism?
In this unit we discovered the definition for service and the

history of servitude.
Some further key points that you need to remember from this
Summary for Unit unit are:
1:2
Tourism is an industry that has many components. One of these
is operating sectors which will include food and
beverage, accommodations, transportation and other tourism
services.
The characteristics of a service include intangibility

perishability, contact dependence, heterogeneity, simultaneous
consumption and production, List the characteristics of services
For a service-driven economies of which the tourism sector

is one, the need for good service and service personnel is
critical for its greet and development.
There are many components that comprise the tourism

industry, One of these is operating sectors and as such a
plethora of career opportunities exist, leading to many
linkages of tourism in the economy.

heterogeneity leakage effect multiplier
effect perishability service
Terminology for servitude
Unit 1:2
Unit 1:3 Tourism Impacts
Unit Overview
As there are linkages within tourism, there will be impacts
from this industry. This unit looks at the economic, social,
cultural and environmental impacts of tourism.
The effects of tourism are not only on current issues but will
extend to the future. During this unit, our investigations take
us to the future after briefly looking at current economic and
physical issues.

Discuss the economic impact of tourism to a country
Objectives for Unit Discuss the socio-cultural impacts of tourism
1:3
Explain the environmental impact of tourism to communities
and globally
Investigate economic, socio-cultural and

physical/environmental forces on tourism
Unit 1:3
This Unit begins with an Activity 1:3:1.
Think of the reason that you travel. List three (3) factors that
would influence where you go and when.
1. to see a particular historical sight
Activity 1:3:1 2.
What is an impact?
An impact by definition
is:
 "a forceful consequence; a strong effect; "the book had
an important impact on my thinking";
 impingement: influencing strongly; "they resented
the impingement of American values on European
culture"
 affect: have an effect upon; "Will the new rules affect me?"
http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=impact
So for the purposes of our study, we will be looking at the

current effects of tourism and the strong influence that it
has on the industry.
Impacts on tourism
There are many impacts to tourism – both positive and
negative and they may be divided into various trends:
economic – this relates to the factors of income generation or

impact of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and job
creation. For tourism is the economic force that provides
employment, foreign exchange, income and government
revenues from taxes.
“Gross Domestic Product.- the total market value of all final
goods and services produced in a country in a given year, equal
to total consumer, investment and government spending, plus
the value of exports, minus the value of imports. GDP includes
only goods and services produced within the geographic
boundaries of the U.S., regardless of the producer's nationality.”
http://www.investorwords.com/2153/GDP.html
Gross National Product (GNP) - is the total value of all final
goods and services produced within a nation in a particular
year, plus income earned by its citizens (including income of
those located abroad), minus income of non-residents located
in that country. Basically, GNP measures the value of goods
and services that the country's citizens produced regardless of
their location. GNP is one measure of the economic
condition of a country, under the assumption that a higher
GNP leads to a higher quality of living, all other
things being equal.
http://www.investorwords.com/2186/GNP.html
GNP doesn't include goods and services produced by

foreign producers, but do include goods and services
produced by U.S. firms operating in
foreign countries.
http://www.investorwords.com/2153/GDP.html
physical or environmental – this is the effect on the natural

environment – sea, and, land use. The focus is on the
carrying capacity of tourism on the natural environment.
“Ecology: the maximum number of individuals that a
given environment can support without detrimental
effects.” http://www.answers.com/topic/carrying-capacity
socio-cultural – this category looks at the impact of tourism on

the socialization and culture of the community. It
investigates the effect of tourism on the community in terms
of community based tourism and on the country in general.
technological – the effect of the development of new

technologies – computerization of reservation
systems, transportation, human resources capacity
through higher education
When we speak of positive impacts we are referring to those

that are good; those factors that enhance or benefit the
country or community. Whereas, negative impacts do the
opposite, they degrade or cause loss of something that is
valuable for the nation, district or burro. The impacts whether
short-term or long-term, must be considered in a macro or
micro environment. See Table 2.
Trends Positive Impact Negative Impact
Economic employment creation importation of skilled
labour by expatriates
infrastructural
development higher imports with
strain on
increase in government foreign exchange
revenues
Physical/environmental Development and Degradation of the

extension of coastal marine habitats
national parks
Destruction of natural
Protection of flora and environment
fauna (ecosystems)
Water quality is by construction of
improved through hotels and other
better planning buildings in coastal
areas
Hotels contribute to the

release of CFCs
into the
air/environment
Socio-cultural Revitalization of local Increase in crime and

values prostitution
Conservation of local Emergence of tourist-
architecture consumption
attitudes by locals –
Improvement in the (cultural penetration
quality of life – loss of indigenous
through educational culture and values)
programmes
Inconvenience to locals
with privatization of
beaches
Technological Development of better With migration the

reservation systems more educated
in hotels and by the persons leave the
travel trade country
The evolution of Job loss by people
technology makes through the
better investment introduction of
opportunities in technology
training
Table 2 - Impact on factors of tourism
Complete a positive and negative evaluation of your
country’s tourism in the areas of tourism discussed –
economic, socio- cultural, technological and environmental.
Assessment Unit
1:3
In this unit we looked at the economic, technological, physical

or environmental and socio-cultural trends that impact tourism.
These trends can have positive or good impacts or negative
Summary for Unit impacts in the short or long-term on the country or community.
1:3

cultural penetration economic impact environmental
impact technological impact
Terminology for
Unit 1:3
Unit 2 – The Tourism System

Unit Overview
Welcome to this unit on "The Tourism
System!"
This second unit builds on the previous unit entitled

“Introduction to Tourism”, yet it is separate. The concept of
a system is the interactivity of one component on another. This
is the idea behind the tourism product.
As a tour guide much of your time will be spent on

understanding and being immersed in the system of tourism.
The success of your interactions will depend a lot on how you
understand the culture and motivation for travel. This module
is meant to empower you with the necessary knowledge and
skills that will help you be a satisfied worker in this vital and
evolving industry.
In Unit 2:1 you will be introduced to the basic concepts

and vocabulary of tourism relevant to this particular module,
and your specific job.
Once you are equipped with the basics of tourism, you will
move on to Unit 2:2. Here we will look at the ways
individuals move from place to place and are motivated to
travel. As a Tour Guide you will continuously need to interact
with persons from various countries, cultures and backgrounds.
This diversity influences the needs that individuals have and
demand.
Units 2:3 and 2:4 look respectively at the current issues and
future impacts of tourism.
Good luck with completing your course

module!
Assess the major factors influencing travel
Outcomes for Unit Determine factors which limit or enhance global movement
2 of people
Explain the various aspects of the tourism system –

geographically and physically
Explain the importance of transit routes within the travel network

...
Discuss the issues in
tourism which may
affect future global
travel trends
Unit 2:1 Travel Geography and
Generating Markets – An Introduction
Unit Overview
In the movement of people around the globe, the travel trade
is busy suggesting, combining client needs with the
appropriate destination and booking the trip. It is so simple a
feat? Except for reasons of business the potential for matching
the wrong vacation package to the client is probable.
In this unit, the discovery of what is actually meant by

travel geography, the tourism system and the most popular
places to visit is the focus.
Travel Geography is something of a hybrid. It looks at two

aspects to the travel and tourism industry, travel along with the
discipline of geography. In some academic circles you will find
this topic for study under “Recreational Tourism”. However it
is termed, this topic of travel geography falls within one of the
basic approaches to the study of tourism which is the
geographical approach mentioned by Goeldner and other.
For our study travel geography will not be the examination

of routes and maps. That will be in the next unit (Unit 2:2); in
this unit the main thrust will be on the motivating factors that
cause people to engage in travel.
By the completion of this module, you should be able to:

Describe “travel geography”
Objectives for Unit Identify major factors that influence travel
2:1
Relate the category of tourism to the motivators for tourism
Identify the names of popular countries for travel on the globe

Unit 2:1
Definitions
To begin our study of this blend let us look at setting
certain parameters to the description of these terms.
Travel
One definition is “to go from one place to another, as on a
trip;
journey”.
http://www.answers.com/topic/travel
Another from Collins (2006) is “to go from one place to
another, through an area, or for a specified distance”.
Hence, there is movement of people from one place to
another.
Geography
The lexicon definition of geography is “the study of the
earth’s physical features, climate, population etc” –
Collins Pocket Dictionary (2006). However there are a
burgeoning amount of definitions
according to
http://geography.about.com/od/studygeography/a/geog101.htm
in the extract below:
Divisions of
Geography
Today, geography is commonly divided into two major

branches -
1) cultural geography (also called human geography) and
2)
physical
geography.
Cultural geography is the branch of geography dealing with

human culture and its impact on the earth. Cultural
geographers study languages, religion, foods, building
styles, urban areas, agriculture, transportation systems,
politics, economies, population and demographics, and more.
Physical geography is the branch of geography dealing with

the natural features of the earth, the home of humans.
Physical geography looks at the water, air, animals, and land
of the planet earth (i.e. everything that is part of the four
spheres - the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere,
Unit 2:1
...
lithosphere.) Physical geography is closely related to
geography's sister science - geology
- but physical geography focuses more on the landscapes at
the surface of the earth and not what is inside our planet.
For the purpose of our study, travel geography will refer to
the movement of people, and its effect on the landscape and
climate and culture of the people in the place visited.
Generating Countries/Markets
The definition to be used will be “the place or country where
the visitors originate”.
Destination
The definition used will be “the place to which one is going
or directed.” http://www.thefreedictionary.com/destination
Throughout our study these are the working definitions that will
be used.
Motivating Factors for Travel

In Unit 1:1 we read of the reasons for travel and the factors
that influence travel. Let us recap that portion of the unit.
Factors that influence travel decisions

We have already seen the two broad categories fro why
people travel – business or pleasure (leisure). However in the
particular decision for leisure there are many factors that
influence the travel decision.
Climate
Distance between countries
Attractions – natural and man-made
Communications – transportation infrastructure – can it be

traveled by one means of transport or node of transport
Cost
Cultural links / Language
Political factors
Motivation
“Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy
in people to be continually interested in and committed to a job,
role, or subject, and to exert persistent effort in attaining
a goal. Motivation is the energizer of behavior and mother of
all action. It results from the interactions among conscious
and unconscious factors such as the (1) intensity of desire or
need, (2) incentive or reward value of the goal, and (3)
expectations of the individual and of his or
her significant others.”
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/motivation.html
Motivation then comes from within an individual or from

an outside source. It is a desire or an incentive that causes a
reaction. Most academics look to Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs to understand the motivation for actions that people
take. This is one insight into satisfying the visitor needs and a
tactic that may be useful for marketing purposes. Let us look
at another insight into motivation for travel such as the push/pull
factors.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The American psychologist, Abraham Maslow developed the
Hierarchy of Needs model that looked at the five (5) levels of
basic needs that motivate people. It was erroneously believed by
Maslow that until one need was satisfied man did not move on to
fulfillment of the other needs. In life it is never that clear cut, because
life is not in separate boxes that are mutually exclusive. Below is a
diagram of Maslow’s Hierarchy.
Unit 2:1
Figure 3 - Maslow's Hierarchy of

Needs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maslow
%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg
In order of satisfaction, the five needs are – physiological needs,

safety needs, social needs (love /belonging), esteem needs
and self- actualization.
As seen in Figure 3 the physiological or biological needs are –

air
(breathing), food, drink (water), warmth, sex, sleep,
etc.
Safety needs – protection from elements (security of the body),

security, order, law, limits, stability, (security of resources, family
and property) etc.
Belongingness and Love needs - family, work group, affection,

(friends), relationships, (sexual intimacy) etc.
Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence,

status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, (respect of
and by others), etc.
Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-

fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences
(creativity, acceptance of facts).
http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.ht
m
How does Maslow or any other motivation theory fit into travel and
tourism? It comes down to knowing what drives the desires of the
Unit 2:1
... prospective traveler. These will be categorized into the push/pull
factors.
Push/Pull Factors
Graham M.S Dann (1981) in relation to motivators of travel wrote that
“travel is a response to what is lacking yet desired”. This is an
interesting point for why people travel. It implies an emotion or need
within the person traveling. At the same time, it suggests that there
may be an external factor that creates that need or desire within the
individual.
Read the article below and create working descriptions of

push factors and pull factors.
“Dann and others state in the tourism literature that

Activity 2:1:1 travel motivation can be classified as two forces, push and
pull. Push factors refer to the tourist as a subject and deal with
those factors predisposing him/her to travel (e.g. escape,
adventure, and relaxation). Pull factors are those which attract
the tourist to a given destination (e.g. opportunities to engage in
activities in preferred settings) and whose value is seen to reside
in the object of travel.”
http://www.caf.wvu.edu/afmdp/disciplines/rec_parks/abstracts/Z
on gxiang.pdf
Push Factors will be the internal motivators - physical

or emotional reasons - that stimulate the tourist to want to
travel. It may be for health rejuvenation, relaxation, or a
chance to see someplace else, like a new attraction, to broaden
my knowledge or to be adventurous.
Pull Factors will be the external motivation for traveling.

On hearing of a new attraction or tourist spot, the
individual is interested and desires to see and encounter
first-hand the sight (product) or experience.
If we were to relate some of the motivating factors to influence

the travel decision to the push or pull factors what would be
found?
Climate -
During the winter months this is a pull factor for visitors to a

sunny country.
The warm weather of a sunny or tropical country will be the

pull for the visitor
Cost
There is a special (cheap) fare offered by a chartered flight for
the weekend to my family home and I have not seen the family in
three years. This will be both push and pull factor.
The cheap fare is the pull

factor
The opportunity to VFR after three years the push

factor
Political factors
For an American before the lifting of ban to visit Cuba and

wanting to go to a Caribbean island, a visit to Barbados over
Cuba for a two-week holiday will be a push and pull factor.
Seeing somewhere new – Barbados – will be the push

factor
The safety of the country and no possible repercussions

on returning home is the pull factor
Complete Activity
2:1:2
Categorize the following reasons for travel according to push

and pull factors.
a. Minister of Education for the island of Anguilla is to attend
a Symposium on tourism education in secondary schools
Activity 2:1:2
for Commonwealth countries. It is held in Mauritius in the
Indian Ocean for three-days.
b. Going to the Bahamas in December for the Junkanoo Festival.
c. Opportunities to increase one’s knowledge
d. Outstanding scenery
e. Going to places my friends have not been
f. Visiting places where my family came from
Categories of tourism to motivating factors

In Unit 1 the different categories of tourism were mentioned
under
“niches of tourism”. Some of these are:
Eco-tourism – “a style of travel in which an emphasis is placed
on unspoiled, natural destinations and on disturbing
the environment as little as possible.”
http://www.hometravelagency.com/dictionary/ecotourism.ht
ml
“The International Ecotourism Society (TIES)
defines ecotourism as, “Responsible travel to natural areas which
conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local
people.”
So, to understand this view people need to first understand

the definition of responsible travel. See the problem? It’s not as
easy as it looks.
T IE S says, “Ecotourism is about connecting

conservation, communities and sustainable travel. This means
that those who implement and participate in responsible
tourism activities should follow the following ecotourism
principles:
 minimize impact
 build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
 provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
 provide direct financial benefits for conservation
 provide financial benefits and empowerment for
local people
 raise sensitivity to host countries’ political,
environmental and social climate”
http://www.ecotourismlogue.com/about-
ecotourism
Cultural tourism – “(or culture tourism) is the subset of

tourism concerned with a country or region's
culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those
geographical areas, the history of those peoples, their
art, architecture, religion(s), and other elements that helped
shape their way of life.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_tourism
”Travel for essentially cultural motivations, which

may include travel for specific purposes, for example, to
attend festivals or to visit sites or monuments, or may
be more broadly motivated by the desire to
experience cultural diversity or to immerse oneself in the
culture of a region.”
http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/2001/publications/the
me- reports/heritage/glossary.html
“Life- seeing tourism” – as coined by Axel Dessau, former
director of the Danish Tourist Board. Some of the features
of this category are;
Life-seeing tourism
Tourists see the “high points” of an area
They feel they have “seen” the area as a whole
Focus on areas of specific interest to the tourist
not normally associated with tourism
Profession or personal interest
Includes opportunities for families to host visitors
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~benbow/tcult.html
According to Goeldner and Ritchie (2003) this is

“about purposeful activities that match the traveler’s
interest; suggestions made through a travel agent and
machinery provided to make such experiences come
about are of growing importance to successful tourism.
In Denmark, the visitor usually a graduate student or
other person who is technically familiar with the field
of interest to the visitor acts as guide and arranges
for purposeful visits in a schedule suited to the
visitor.”
Relativity of factors
Despite the category of tourism the motivation may be either
or both a push factor or pull factor. For example: wanting to see
first a cultural festival that my friends have never seen can be
a push factor as it also allows me to have an edge on my
friends this (internal motivation). However, if I only wanted
to see the new place this will be a pull factor.
Complete Activity
2:1:3
What is the major type of tourism that exists in your country?

What evidence can you give to support this claim? Describe
the type of tourism.
What are two (2) places of interests that visitor to the country
Activity 2:1:3 visit?
From your interactions with the visitors to your organization
and/or country, what do you think are the motives for the trip?
Popular Destinations visited
When discussion is held on travel geography, a glimpse
of destinations visited is fundamental to the debate. The
World Tourism Organization reports the following ten
countries as the most visited in between 2006 and 2008 by
number of international travelers.
International International Inte

UNWTO tourist arriv als tourist arrivals tour
Rank Country Regional (2008)[7] (2007)
[4][7]
(2006
Market
1 France Europe 79.3 million 81.9 million 78.9
U nited North
2 States 58.0 million 56.0 million 51.0
America
3 Spain Europe 57.3 million 58.7 million 58.2
4 China Asia 53.0 million 54.7 million 49.9
5 Italy Europe 42.7 million 43.7 million 41.1
Unite d
6 Europe 30.2 million 30.9 million 30.7
Kingdom
7 Europe 25.4 million 23.1 million 18.9

U kr a i ne
8 T ur ke y Europe 25.0 million 22.2 million 18.9
9 Germany Europe 24.9 million 24.4 million 23.5
North
10 Mexico 22.6 million 21.4 million 21.4
America
Table 3 – Top Ten most visited countries by international

tourist arrivals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_industry
What do you think were the reasons or motivating factors

that influenced persons to choose these countries? Was it
historical, VFR, cultural or cost?
If we looked at the first two countries visited – the United

Kingdom and the United States, one might guess that for
persons from the Caribbean it was to Visit Friends and
Relatives (VFR) and also to shop. However if we said the
persons were from Europe one might base the decision on the
value of the Euro to the US dollar. Overall the reasons will vary
and that is what the statistics gathered from the surveys at
airports and by tourist offices will disclose. With the increase in
cruise travel the advantage of home porting or value for money
to take a Mediterranean cruise may have been a push and pull
factor.
Complete Activity
2:1:4.
i. From what countries do the majority of your visitors

come?
Rank in order of quantities.
Activity 2:1:4 ii. Create a diagram or graph (pie chart, or bar chart) to present
the figures and places found in (i).
iii. What are some of the reasons that visitors give for visiting
your country?
iv. What are three (3) reasons locals give for traveling
overseas than staying at home for vacations?
Limiting factors for generating markets intra-regional

or domestic travel
For some persons the least known place visited is the country
in which they live. The generating markets for the United
Kingdom or the United States of America may be the
Caribbean. Yet the data for intra-regional or domestic travel
within the Caribbean region may be low. Why? Some possible
answers may be:
The traveler’s perception of value of the travel experience
The curiosity to see someplace far
The travel trend that is being marketed by international markets

(destinations) and not in the local market (at home in the
generating
markets)
T
h
e
m
o
t
i
v
a
t
i
o
n
f
o
r
t
r
a
v
e
l
.
Cost
To enhance domestic or intra-regional travel the following

may need to be considered by governments and the trade
industry
Promote “staycations” – an alternative for vacationing at

home than going overseas. Some “staycation” ideas may be
found by googling the term or
at http://blogs.consumerreports.org/money/2009/05/tips-for-the-
best- staycation-ever.html
Create packages among the travel partners for

airfare, accommodation, and an attraction or two.
Give incentives for vacationing domestically or

regionally- (discounted airline flights or packages)
The travel industry needs to determine the factors that would push or
pull not only international visitors but regional and domestic
visitors to the attractions or countries. At this time of cost-value
relationships in this sensitive but crucial industry, each individual
must play their part. If you have any ideas send them to your Minister
or Tourist Board.
Complete Activity
2:1:5.
i. What are three (3) reasons locals give for traveling

overseas than staying at home for vacations?
ii. Write a letter to your Minister of Tourism or
Activity 2:1:5 Tourist Administration stating five (5) ideas for a
“staycation” plan for next summer.
1. Are travel benefits linked closely to the travel motives?
Explain clearly your views.
Assessment Unit 2. Below is a short list of travel motivations, suggest a

2:1 travel experience or product (by name) to match each
motivation.
- rest and relaxation
- lots of nightlife and entertainment
- adventure activities
- shopping
- unspoiled natural environment
3. Link the answers to question 2 according to the top

two countries the visitors to these products or experience
mostly originate. (Research by visiting, googling or
calling these places)
For example:
Motivation: Interesting countryside and wildlife

study opportunities
Travel experience: Academic Filed Study Safari Tour in

South
Africa
Mostly visited by: Germans, Austrian, English
Additional Clasification - Category of tourism:

Adventure
Tourism, Educational Tourism, Eco-tourism
In this unit we proposed a description rather than a definition
for “travel geography”. Along with the major factors that
influence travel, a look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was
Summary for Unit identified with an in-depth look at push and pull factors as
2:1 motivators for travel decisions. If a brief study the relation of
the category of tourism to the motivators for tourism was
surmised.
Categorize the following reasons for travel according to

push and pull factors.
a. Pull Factor – business trip.
ANSWERS to b. Cultural tourism. Pull or push factor
Activity 2:1:2
c. Push
Factor d. Pull
Factor e.
Push Factor f.
Push
Factor

generating countries geography
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs motivation pull factor
Terminology for push factor travel
Unit 2:1
Unit 2:2 The Tourism System and the
Tour Guide
Unit Overview
As a system, there are many interrelated parts to the
phenomenon of tourism and in particular the travel network.
As a result, it is important that the tour guide has a knowledge
of the system within the career exist. In earlier units the
importance of tourism to economies was discussed.
In this unit we will be discussing the travel network and how

it relates to the tour guides duty of reading itineraries.

Explain what is meant by the system of tourism
Objectives for Unit Evaluate the importance of the travel network for travel
2:2 and tourism
Identify major international scheduled carriers and their

routes
Examine the role of the tour guide in the tourism system

Unit 2:2
Definitions
Charters/ Chartered flights
Http://www.hometravelagency.com/dictionary/charter.html
defines charter as:
1. (Verb) -to lease an aircraft or other mode of transport for the
use of a group.
2. (Noun) - any craft so used or any trip taken by such
means.
Map
In referring to http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/map.html, a map
is a geographic diagram. Really it is a visual representation of the
earth’s surface, geographical features, roads, particular areas or
locations with other details. A map outlines routes to different places.
Route
This term is used in reference to a journey. One definition is
“a sequence of roads or paths taken, or places passed
through in travelling from one place to another, or a
plan of these.” http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/
%2520route.html
Scheduled/Routed air carriers

One definition is “an airline or other carrier that operates
according to a regular and published timetable”.
http://www.hometravelagency.com/dictionary/schedule
d- carrier.html .
In speaking of air carriers, mention must be made of

the International Air Transport Association (IATA). As noted
in their website, http://www.iata.org/about/mission.htm “air
transport is one of the most dynamic industries in the world.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is its global
trade organization.
Over 60 years, IATA has developed the commercial standards

that built a global industry. Today, IATA’s mission is to
represent, lead and serve the airline industry. Its members
comprise some
Unit 2:2
...
230 airlines - the world’s leading passenger and cargo
airlines among them - representing 93 percent of scheduled
international air
traffic. “
Examples of these international air carriers that cross time
zones and enter many countries will be American Airlines
(AA), Air Canada Air France, Delta Airlines, British Airways
(BA), Easy Jet, Iberia, and Virgin Atlantic.
Complete Activity
2:2:1.
What are the names of three (3) scheduled air carriers to

your country?
From where do these carriers bring their passengers?
Activity 2:2:1
In addition, when we think of air carriers, airports must be next

in the line of thought. An airport is a place where passengers
(persons traveling) board or disembark. Some airports are hubs.
A hub is a center of activity and in travel and tourism will
refer to a central airport where passengers can fly from
smaller local airports in order to catch an international
or long distance flight.
http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/hub.ht
ml

Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_hub
and http://www.iata.org/about/
Read about the merger between BA and Iberia -
Reading Activity
2:2:2 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sector
s/t
ransport/article5849685.ece
System
The usual definition is that a system is a group of inter-related

parts that function together.
Http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/system.html has
several definitions for the word “system”; however let us review
those that are most relevant to our purpose:
1. Complex whole formed from related parts: a combination
of related part organized into a complex whole
2. Set of principles: a scheme of ideas or principles by

which something is organized
3. Computer; set of computer components: as assembly

of computer hardware, software, and peripherals
functioning together.
So the point of a system is that these parts though they can

operate on their own, inter-relate and function together to
achieve a common goal.
Travel network
Therefore a travel network would refer to all those
businesses involved in the travel trade. The aspect of a network
is similar to a system. According to
http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861683065/network.html
a network may be defined as:
1. A system of lines: a pattern or system that looks like

a series of branching or interconnecting lines
2. A system of people or things: a large and widely

distributed group of people or things such as stores,
colleges, or churches that communicate with one
another and work together as a unit or system.
The importance of the travel network to ensure the customer

has a smooth transition and that money flows between the
entities to keep everyone in business. With a network there is
communication and connectivity; this will be with ground
and air transport, accommodations and car rentals that may
exist on or be linked to the same computerized system.
Travel trade
A term describing the full range of organizations
that operates as intermediaries in the travel and
tourism industry. These typically include tour
operators, wholesalers, receptive operators, group
leaders and travel agents.
Receptive Operator - A person or company
that specializes in particular destinations, providing
services at the destination to group travel
organizers and tour operators. Some limit their
services to the community and
area in which they are based; others provide services
to entire regions.
http://www.traveltradesmart.com/newbrunswick/glossary.h
tm
Includes those organizations, firms, and individuals
that provide various elements of the total travel
experience.
- Goeldner and Ritchie
(2003)
Hence the travel trade includes travel agents,
transportation personnel, tour operators and tour guides.
The Tourism System and the Tour

Guide
It is useful to remember that the earth is divided into
continents - Africa, the Americas, Antarctica, Asia, Australia
together with Oceania, and Europe.
Continent
The term continent is used to differentiate between the
various large areas of the earth into which the land surface is
divided. So, a continent is "a large, continuous area of land
on Earth". All continents together constitute less than one-
third of the earth's surface that means more than two-thirds of
the earth's surface are covered with water. Two-thirds of the
continental land mass is located in the Northern Hemisphere.
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/continents.h
tm
The Tourism System – France as a case study

The tourism system is about how each component in the
travel trade work together. The purpose of which is to
achieve high economic returns for the country and business, and
maximum guest satisfaction.
Tourism system will begin with transport or travel to

the destination, ground transport, tour operators and guiding
services.
Research showed that France was one of the top ten places
visited in 2008. How would knowing about the tourism system
help a tour guide in France with customers coming to visit that
city?
Things the tour guide should know and consider would be:
 History of France
 Places of interest – what there is to see in the country
 Major airports or hub – how the visitors come to

the country
 Itinerary of tour group – next stop for tour group
Some of these areas will be looked at in-depth in Unit 5

– Conducting Tours.
FRANCE
Figure 4 - Map of France
For this component the resource website

is http://www.mapsofworld.com/france/france-political-
map.html .
Scheduled/Routed air carriers in France
In France, there are many international scheduled air carriers.
The national airline is Air France – the hub of Paris Charles de
Gaulle. Air France serves 183 cities in 98 countries around
the world. However, there are other carriers that would fly into
this country.
A visit to http://www.mapsofworld.com/international-
airports/europe/france.html shows that there are many airports in
France. Hence a possible plethora of international air carriers – that
would make transportation easy to different parts of the world/globe.
Carriers: What Company to

Fly?
The following airlines provide regular service from major U.S.

and
Canadian cities to
Paris:
Air France
American Airlines
Continental Airlines
Air Canada
Delta Airlines
British Airways
Lufthansa
US Airways
For air travel to Paris from within continental Europe and the
U.K., most of the companies listed above offer service to Paris
from other major European cities. In addition, the following
companies fly
into Paris
daily:
KLM/Royal Dutch Airlines

EasyJet (low cost)
Ryanair (low-cost)
http://goparis.about.com/od/planningyourtrip/ss/Getting_to_Pari_3.
htm
Ground transportation
In getting around Paris, there is always the use of train, bus, taxi
or car .
History
Why is knowledge of the history important to the
visitor?
Remember that there are different types of visitors and

the motivating factors influence the choice for leisure travelers.
Hence the political stability of the continent and country will
be a major decision maker. Of consequence then will be
the tour guide knowing the location of France and the countries
that it borders.
“France, located on the western parts of Europe, is the land

of culture, fashion, food and fun. Sharing its borders with
Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Belgium, Luxembourg,
Andorra and Spain, France covers a land area of 211,209 sq.
miles. Some of the important cities of France are Marseilles,
Paris -France, Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux, Nantes, Strasbourg and
cities in Normandy - France.
France lies on the coordinates of 46º North latitude and 2º

East longitude. It is located between Spain and Belgium
bordering the English Channel and Bay of Biscay. Corse, a
small island between Italy and Spain in the Mediterranean Sea,
above Sardinia, is also a territory of France. As shown in the
France maps online, the country also has territorial authority
on several tiny islands in Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and in
the Oceania region. France is located in the southeast of the
United Kingdom. It lies on the latitude of 46º North and
longitude of 2º East. The area covered by France is 547,030 sq
km. France political map, besides showing the locations of
cities of France and outlining its administrative divisions,
also shows the countries and water bodies bordering France.
Bordering countries and water

bodies
France maps show the following countries surround

France:
 North Sea and the Strait of Dover lie in the north.

 Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany are located in
the north-east.
 Switzerland and Italy are located in the east.
 Ligurian Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Gulf of Lion
are located in the south-east.
 Spain lies in the south.
 Atlantic Ocean and Bay of Biscay is located in the west.
 English Channel falls in the north-west of the country.”
Places of interest
Eiffel Tower Champs-Élysées

d’Arc de
Triomphe
River Seine at night
Why is this information

important?
This is a core part of tour guiding, pointing out places of

interest, called attractions. This is the backbone of the pull
motivating factor the visitor engaged in the travel network.
Airports
Paris, capital city of
France
Paris is located on the coordinates of 48° 52' North latitude and

2°
19' 60" East longitude. It is situated at an altitude 34 meters
above sea level. The city of Paris can be accessed from the
airports of Orly, Velizy, Le Bourget and Bretigny Sur Orge.
Paris, the capital
city, is represented on the France Political Map by a red
square.
Why is this information important?
This knowledge is important so that the tour guide can point

out particular ports of entry.
Visit the following website for further information on

international airports for France:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/internationa
Activity 2:2:3 l- airports/europe/france.html
Visit
http://www.francethisway.com/regions/parisiledefrance.php
and plan a tour of Paris for the visitor.
Highlight places of interest that the tour guide should point out and
the reason why this should be highlighted.
Itinerary
The importance of knowing the itinerary is to gauge the amount
of time that the visitor can stay at any one sight. Hence the tour
guide must liaise with the transportation personnel to ensure
smooth transitioning from place to place.
Remember that the tourism system involve knowledge and liaison
with multiple partners in the tourism business. It may not be
convenient to know all there is to know about a location or country,
but the tour guide must be the “sage on the stage”.
Tip
Assessment for
Unit 2:2
Tourist arrivals
Tourist expenditure and
Places of interest in that chosen locale.
Choose a
Caribbean country
and find out Visit http://www.onecaribbean.org/content/files/SEPT18Lattab09.pdf
In this unit we explained what is meant by the system of tourism.

After some definitions, we explored the importance of the travel
network for travel and tourism. Though different for many
Summary for Unit countries, we did a case study of France and sought to identify
2:2 major international scheduled carriers and their routes. Throughout
this study the role of the tour guide in the tourism system was the
decisive component.

charter flights continent map
routes scheduled/routed air carrier system
Terminology for travel network travel trade
Unit 2:2
Unit 2:3
Unit 2:3 Current Issues

Unit Overview
The tourism “product” exists in a macro and micro
environment. Therefore the realities of the world cause impacts
on it.
In this unit we will be exploring some of the current issues

related to tourism. For each country there will be provincial
differences but he focus of this unit is to examine the global
impacts on this industry. There will be a link to the forces
discussed in Unit 1:3.

Examine the current impacts on tourism from a macro level
Objectives for Unit Discuss major events which impact global travel and tourism.
2:3
Current impacts
Let us investigate some of the current impacts of tourism that
are issues globally. If these impacts were classified according
to the forces of economic, physical/environmental,
technological and socio-cultural forces, then a full picture of
the impact on tourism will be realized.
Health pandemics
History says that persons began to travel for health reasons-

visits to the therapeutic baths in Bath in the United Kingdom
and late tot tropical islands. However, as the world shrinks due to
technological advancements, people’s concern for their
health is more in prevention than cure.
Over the years with HIV/AIDS and the Influenza AH1N1

Virus (commonly known as Swine Flu) in 2009 and the Avian
Influenza Virus (or Bird Flu) in 2004 and Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 in Asia, there is quite a
stir in the global community about health concerns. This
influences if persons chose to travel or stay at home. The World
Health Organization (WHO) has a constant job of informing
and creating solutions to these pandemics.
Stability and security
Political stability or instability - changes in the governance of

the country and its effects on its administration definitely
have an impact on tourism. On the negative side, political
unrest causes advisory messages to be put out to residents
warning against or dissuading travel. On the positive side, a
stable government lends calm reasoning and choice of holiday
venues.
Remember the September 2001 terrorists’ attacks and how

they changed the relative freedom with which people traveled to
stricter security measures and longer queues at airports. People
refused to engage in international tourism for leisure.
Financial crisis
In 2009 the financial meltdown that occurred around the world in
one way or another, impacted the livelihood of many workers; for
remember that tourism is the largest industry in modern
economies providing employment and foreign exchange earnings
to payoff national debts. Hence, when people choose to use their
discretionary income in other ways besides traveling, and over a long
period of time, crisis occurs.
Uncontrollable environmental issues and climate
change
Tsunamis, hurricanes, floods are all environmental impacts

that cannot be controlled by man. Remember the tsunami in the
Asian countries (Maldives in particular) (2004), flooding in
Manila (2009) and the seasonal threats of the hurricanes
in tropical countries.
However, scientists are blaming mankind for the problems

of climate change such as global warming and greenhouse
gases. It is purported to be due to the choices made due to our
way of life.
With the G8 Summit in 2008 and 2009 answers and

agreements will be sought so that countries can collaborate to
bring solutions to the problem.
Technological advancements
Over time with new developments in technology we have

seen travel speed increased and the journey time decreased. So,
travelers arrive earlier and have more time and inclination to
spend more money in the destination.
Complete Activity
2:3:1
For your country, classify the current issues of tourism by
the economic, socio-cultural, physical/environmental and
technological forces discussed in Unit 1.
Activity 2:3:1
Add any other ideas to the factors listed as pertaining to
your particular country.
Go to the speech Global Problems, Global Solutions:

Towards Better Global Governance made by the World Trade
Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy at the
Reflection for Unit WTO Public Forum
2:3 2009.
With a partner, share your thoughts on the issues
raised.
Visit
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/sppl_e/sppl136_e.htm
What are the current issues of tourism for your country?
Present evidence from local newspapers and journals.
Rate the effect of tourism for your country in the global

Assessment for perspective after reading
Unit 2:3
http://www.unwto.org/media/news/en/press_det.php?id=4421&idioma=E
In this unit we examined some of the current issues that are

impacting on tourism. Of course, what is current today is past
Summary for tomorrow, however some of the sentiments remain current in
Unit 2:3 financial, technological and environmental.

health pandemics financial
crisis technological advancements
Terminology for
Unit 2:3
Unit 2:4
Unit 2:4 Future Travel Impacts

Unit Overview
This unit is a continuation of the issues discussed in Unit 2:3
except that it looks to the future of tourism.
In this unit we will be proposing some future impacts of

tourism based on imagination and some current issues that may
evolve. For each country there will be provincial differences
but the focus of this unit is to examine the global impacts on
this industry. There will be a link to the forces discussed in Unit
1:2.

Discuss some of the possible future impacts on tourism,
while simultaneously hypothesizing on the future.
Objectives for Unit
2:4 Determine main issues that will affect travel in the future
Future Impacts
According to the WTO and diagrammed in Figure 4
below: “Although tourism always experiences temporary
drawbacks for example because of wars (2001 terrorist attack
in New York, Iraq war), diseases (SARS in Asia) or crisis in
the energy supply (oil crisis in the 1970s), an exponential
growth world wide is again expected for the period
2010 – 2020.”
http://www.atmosphere.mpg.de/enid/Nr_9_Jul 6_Air_traffic/C_
y
_Tourism_5rw.html
Figure 5 - Tourist Arrivals - 1950 -2020
The current trends that impact the tourism industry will

be intensified in the future.
Technological developments
Since 2001 we have seen the advent of space travel. With time
the cost of such a means of transport will be reduced; the same
as with air travel in the 1950s with the advent of the first jet
aircraft to make a non-stop transatlantic flight. If space travel
becomes more reasonably priced there will be a move from niche
travel among the wealthy but more middle income earners
traveling by this means. Cruising may be reduced and so too jet
air travel.
Since travelers are able to book flights on the internet from
their homes, then there may be less need for travel agents.
With the increase use of technology, there is a rise in virtual

tours. This means of experiencing a country or built attraction
from the comfort and security of your own home through a
measure of interactivity will significantly have an impact on the
definition and practice of tourism. Yes, “travelers” will have
more opportunity to see the country and pay for the “trip” but
the experience will be superficial and dictated by the company
presenting the virtual tour. There is not much room for
creativity and individualized tours- it would be a step back to
packaged tours. There will be no engaging of the senses of smell
and taste.
Demand of more to the

“experience”
Even with the increase use of technology in everyday lives and

its potential to impact drastically tourism, there is a paradox of
what the true tourist will demand. As travelers become more
know-savvy and book travel for themselves, there will be a
demand for more interaction in communities that the traditional
package of tourism. There may then be an increase in
community-based tourism.
In the demand for more “experience” in tourism, and

possibly greater wanderlust – “a desire to
travel”,
(http://www.hometravelagency.com/dictionary/wanderlust.html)
just as in the days of the Wild, Wild West, there may be
new
frontiers to
travel.
Financial implications
With the global recession in 2009, there are job loss and as a
result less discretionary income available. Results will be more
domestic tourism and less international travel which will reduce
government revenues and employment within the
tourism/hospitality industry. In addition, the attractions may
undergo financial challenges and have to close. Hence the
superstructure will be loss and the pull factor removed. For the
tourist, as discretionary income is reduced there may be less
tourism related activity.
Job loss + discretionary income = tourism activity

Table 4 - Financial implication on tourism future
Air travel alliances can cause serious financial concerns for
these mergers cause possible job loss of air crew. A resultant
outcome may be increased airfares which will affect the potential
traveler. If there are too many mergers in this industry,
policy makers and workers need to be vigilant.
Airfares + discretionary income = tourism activity
Table 5 - Air travel impact on

tourism
The circulation in 2002 of the Euro (€), the common currency

in
59% of the member states of the European Union has
affected travel. For citizens in these member states travel may
have become more cost effective, as countries become
“borderless countries”. On the other hand, this may mean a
reduction of international travel.
With more privatization of accommodations, there will be

more branding occurring in countries that will affect
development and growth.
With borderless countries and political moves by governments

to allow more movement of nationals, there will be more job loss
or a decrease in human capital through migration.
What do you foresee as the future impacts of tourism on your

country? Present evidence or trends to support your points.
OR
Assessment for
Unit 2:4 With the demand for more of an “experience” in tourism,
how successful do envision virtual tours on tourism will be?
Go to the Trade and Climate Change WTO-UNEP Report at
the World Trade Organization (WTO) webpage listed below.
With a partner, share your thoughts on the issues raised.
Reflection for Unit
2:4:1 http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/trade_climate_change_e.
pdf
OR
Google the phrase “future of tourism” and research the views
of others on this topic.
In this short unit, our focus was on the future for this industry.
The areas considered were in the technological, political and
Summary for economical forces.
Unit 2:4

technological developments
Terminology for
Unit 2:3
Unit 3 Developing Effective
Communication Skills for Tour
Guides
Unit Overview
You will agree that most of your time as a Tour Guide will
be spent interacting with your customers. The success of
your interactions will depend a lot on how you communicate
with them. This module is meant to empower you with
the necessary knowledge and skills that will help you
communicate effectively as a Tour Guide.
This module is meant for self-study. It comprises three units,

each of which has been designed and structured in a consistent
manner to ease navigation and study.
In Unit 3:1 you will be introduced to communication and

the communication process, the key concepts and the
reasons for communicating. You must have surely heard
"There was a communication breakdown". Why then does
communication fail? Well, you will also be given the
opportunity to explore some of the barriers to effective
communication.
Once you are equipped with the basic communication

concepts, you will move on to Unit 3:2. Here we will look
at the ways individuals communicate namely verbally and non-
verbally.
As a tour guide you will continuously need to

respond appropriately to diverse situations such as queries
or difficult customers. How will you deal with them? In Unit 3:3
we shall look closely at basic strategies for effective
communication strategies such as presentation skills,
conversational skills, active listening skills, telephone as
well as techniques for handling queries, complaints and
difficult customers.
Good luck with your

unit!
Unit 3 Developing Effective Communication Skills for Tour Guides
Define communication
Outcomes for Unit Explain the communication process

3
Identify the elements of the communication process
State the key features of effective communication
Identify and overcome the barriers to the

communication process
Select the appropriate way of communication for

specific purposes
Explain the importance and ability to develop and use

listening skills
Outline how to demonstrate the ability to listen effectively

and give relevant feedback
Apply appropriate strategies for effective communication
Discuss how to demonstrate a courteous, cheerful and

helping attitude when communicating through the telephone
Summarize how to operate effectively as a Tour Guide

by providing the right information in the right way to Tourists
Unit 3:1 Communication
Unit Overview
In this Unit, we introduce you to effective communication skills
as being the main tool of a tour guide. Do you think it is
important for a tour guide to acquire effective communication
skills? You will agree that as a tour guide such skills are
necessary if you are to perform your job well.
In the first section, we begin by presenting you with a

general definition of communication. This is then followed by
the main reasons you may have for communicating with your
customers. We will then explain the process of
communication through a communication model and from
this we shall draw out the main features of effective
communication. Often in the communication process, the
message is not clearly received. This is because barriers to
communication may exist. This is dealt with in the final section
of the unit.
We hope that you will find the issues we raise in Unit 1

very stimulating and that you will be keen to contribute your
views and even share your personal experiences.

Define communication
Objectives for Unit Explain the communication process
3:1
Identify the elements of the communication process
State the reasons for communication
State the key features of effective communication
Identify the barriers to effective communication

Unit 3:1
What is communication?
First, let us look at how other people have defined
communication. You may identify the different key words
used to define communication in the above entry. In this
course we define communication as the act of sending
and receiving intended messages. Effective communication
implies verifying that the receiver has understood the
message as intended and that a subsequent response is
observed. It is something that tour guides do every day, so how
a tour guide communicates is very important. We will now
briefly define other concepts that are specific to
communication in a tour guiding context.
Think about the

 last
Wastime
youryou chattedclearly
message with aunderstood?
friend.
Reflection Activity  What do you think effective communication means?
3:1:1
 Take a few minutes to jot down your ideas.
 At the end of this section, try again to explain in your
words, what you think effective communication means.
 Compare your initial definition with your new response
observe if your ideas have changed
Concepts of communication
Let us now look at some key concepts related to communication
in tour guiding operations:
Effective communication: Is a reciprocal sharing of information

and ideas of written, oral and non-verbal information
according to a common set of rules (e.g. language, non-
verbal communication, symbols). It includes the use of
active listening skills and displaying openness to other
people's ideas and thoughts. When the process of exchanging
information between sender and receiver is successful, it means
they use a common set of symbols to which they both attach
the same meaning throughout the process of encoding,
transmitting, and decoding intended messages.
Tourist: Someone who travels for pleasure and recreation, to

a place other than where they normally live. The purpose of
the travel and stay elsewhere could be for health, sport, holiday,
study, religion, business, family, mission or conference reasons.
Tour guide: A professional whose job is to lead or direct visitors
in a country, while pointing out and explaining to the travelers
and tourists different places of interest.
Tour commentaries: are the narrations a tour guide prepares

and uses in order to explain and describe tourist attractions to
a tour group, which includes giving facts and answering
questions from tourists, as well as explaining local rules and
taboos about the sight.
Barriers of communication: are a range of physical, mental

or emotional hindrances that can prevent messages from being
passed on successfully between sender and receiver during the
process of communication}}
Now complete Activity 3:1:2 to begin your journey on

Developing
Effective Communication
Skills
We have developed a crossword puzzle for you. See if

you can draw it using these instructions, and then
use the information we have just discussed, to
complete it. Have fun!
Activity 3:1:2
Instructions for drawing your own 'communication
concepts' crossword puzzle:
Draw a table in which you have 15 columns down and 12
bars across. Now in the 1st column: color the first 3 and
the last 2 blocks in the column. Mark the first block no. 1
(down).
Column 2: color the first 3, skip (leave blank) 1 block and
color another 5 squares. Skip 1, color the last 2 again.
Column 3: Color 2, skip 3 (number the first of these 7), color
4, skip one, color one, skip one.
Column 4: Color 3, skip 1, color 5, skip 1, color 1, skip 1.
Column 5: skip 4 (mark the first block 10), color 5, skip
1,
color 1, skip
1.
Column 6: color 3,
skip 1, color 5, skip
1, color 1, skip 1.
Column 7: color 2,
skip 10 of which
you mark the first
block 2. Column 8:
color 3, skip 1, color
5, skip 1, color 1,
skip 1. Column 9:
color 3, skip 1, color
5, skip 1, color 1,
skip 1.
Column 10: skip 9 (and mark the first block 3), color 2, skip
1. Column 11: color 3, skip 1, color 7, skip 1.
Column 12: skip 9 (and mark the first no. 9), color 2, skip
1. Column 13: color 3, skip 1, color 8.
Column 14: color 1, skip 8 (and mark the first block 4), color
3. Column 15: color 3, skip 1, color 8.
HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS:

1. What do we call someone who travels for pleasure
and recreation, to a place other than where they
normally live? (7 down)
2. What do we call a person who leads and directs visitors
at tourist sights and attractions? (10 down)
3. What do we call communication which involves
successful sharing of information and ideas according to a
common set of rules? (9 down)
4. What are the hindrances called which prevent
successful communication? (8 down)
5. What is the narration called which tour guides use in
order to explain attractions and answer questions? (15
across)
6. One of the major activities of a tourist in another country.
(9 across)
7. Tourists often use this mode of transport. (3 down)
8. Some tourists visit another country for this purpose.
(10 across)
9. An important part of effective communication. (9 down)
10. Tourists often carry their personal belongings in this.
(3 down)
Reasons for communicating

As a tour guide, communication will be your main tool
in informing and guiding guests around sights and keeping
their
interest. Below, we have some suggested reasons
why communication is so important in a tour guiding
context. After reading through them, why don't you tackle the
activities which follow, which are based on some of the
main reasons for communicating in tour guiding.
To inform, remind and advise
You will use communication to present your country to tourists.

As a tour guide you will have to answer many questions,
handle queries and present information to tourists. Among these
types of information will be:
 giving directions and commentaries;

 explaining procedures and itineraries;
 providing advice on safety and security; and
 describing tourist attractions.
This information to guests can be: helpful suggestions to
prepare themselves for a tour, advice about personal
belongings to take, medical advice on preventative medicines,
and information about available services at tourist destinations.
To clarify, and to avoid confusion and misunderstandings
Communication helps to clarify facts so that there is no confusion

or misunderstandings. Also, sometimes there are unexpected
events during a tour which can force the tour guide to change
plans, and
these changed plans have to be communicated to the tour group
as soon as possible, to get consensus on alternative itineraries.
To promote and persuade

Communication is also the tool you’ll use to promote the
tourism products and services of your country, such as the
destinations and events they will visit and enquire about.
Remember, tourists visit your country in order to see what
attractions the country has to
offer and to perceive and experience the country from your
perspective. As a tour guide, therefore, it will be your
responsibility
to motivate and reinforce the tourist’s interest in your country.
Your commentaries are the « eye » through which tourists will
see
the country and you are the representative of the people of
your country.
To build relationships
How well you communicate with your tour group will determine
the success of the tour and how successful you are in your career
as
a tour guide. Conversations help to develop rapport which will
build interpersonal relationships. This is important for
sustaining the tourism activities.
To evaluate your services
Communication will enable you to collect relevant feedback

from the tourists with a view to gauging the interests and
expectations of the tourists. This feedback obtained can be
communicated to all concerned. From this you will be able to
explore ways of
improving subsequent tour activities.
Now take some time and reorganize the above reasons as

you regard them important, from the most to the least
important.
Activity 3:1:3
Did you find that difficult? Those tasks are all important and it
is often hard to prioritize. When you are ready, let's move on
to Activity 3:1:4.
Below is an excerpt from a conversation a tour guide had
with a tourist in his group. Read it carefully and answer
the questions that follow.
Activity 3:1:4 Satish: Hey Sue. Are you enjoying the tour?
Sue: I am! I found the visits to the sugar museum and
botanical gardens this morning, both very interesting. But it
must be hard for a tour guide like yourself, to try and please
so many people at the same time. I mean, here we are, 13
tourists from different countries around the world. And we
all do things differently!
Satish: Where are you from again?
Sue: Oh I’m from Trinidad and Tobago…a beautiful
place... like yours.
Satish: Do you know that today is a national holiday here? It
is a Christian holiday celebrating the assumption of the
Virgin Mary. ‘Cause we are multicultural, we celebrate
numerous religious festivals.
Sue: Oh really? So do we! In my country since we have lots
of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians we have a whole host of
religious festivals as well. For example we have something
called Hosay – a Hindu festival. Do you know it?
Questions:
1 Does the above communication form part of the job of
a tour guide?
2 What do you think were the reasons for the above
communication? List at least 2 reasons and justify
your response
The process of communication

Communication can be very complex, as there are
countless opportunities for sending or receiving the wrong
message. You may think you understand a tourist’s request
only to hear, “But that’s not what I meant!” You may also
have received or given directions you thought were clear, yet
still, you lost your way or misled someone in the process.
In order to understand the complexity of the communication
process you have to be familiar with the following terms we
refer to as elements:
 Sender
 Receiver
 Encode
 Message
 Channel
 Decode
 Feedback
The figure below shows the key elements in the process
of communication. The communication process is not very
complex. It consists of nine elements, two of which involve the
major players in the communications process namely, the
sender and receiver. Then major communications tools are
shown, which are the message and channel/media. The
process by which we communicate involves the
transmission of a message from the sender to the
receiver, through a channel or medium. Communication
is a two-way process, because the receiver then responds to
the message (we call this giving feedback) and in this way
he/she becomes the sender again, and the person who first
spoke/wrote, becomes the receiver (of the
feedback communication).
The descriptions that follow will help you understand the
diagram.
Sender: A person sending a message to another person.
This person begins the communication process. The sender
has a responsibility to formulate a message that will
communicate exactly what he/she means. This involves
the use of communication symbols that will convey this
meaning. The sender in tour guiding operations can be both the
tour guide who presents tour commentaries and explain
attractions, and the tourists who ask questions or make
comments.
Receiver: The receiver is the person (for example the colleague

or tourist) to whom the message (or communication) is
directed. In tour guiding it can both be the tourists who are
being addressed by the tour guide, or the tour guide receiving
questions from the tour group.
Message: The reason for the communication process. It is the

idea or information that the sender wants to pass on to the
receiver. This is the encoded set of symbols that is conveyed
by the sender and which consists of both verbal and non-
verbal symbols that the sender wishes to transmit. The sender
must formulate the message with clear language or symbols
which will be easily understood by the receiver and which the
receiver will be able to interpret accurately and respond to.
The sender should also provide room for feedback in the
message.
Channel: The channel is the medium through which the message

is sent – for example whether it is sent verbally (by word in
face to face or telephonic conversation), written (by writing
such as memos, letters, faxes, e-mail) or signaled (by
hand or other symbols). The channel carries the message
from the sender to the receiver. In tour guiding operations the
channel can be verbal (for
example tour commentaries or tourist questions), non-verbal
(the tour guide or tourist’s body language supporting the
messages) and print and electronic media (newspapers,
television, internet, magazines, maps and brochures used to
develop the tour guide’s commentaries).
Then there are four communication techniques and these

are:
 encoding,
 decoding,
 response, and
 feedback
Encoding: This technique is when the sender puts the message

into language, symbols or signals, which may be understood
by the receiver. The process of formulating the ideas of the
message into meaningful symbols, words or signs, is known as
encoding. It is important that the sender must encode the
message in a way that it will be recognized and understood by
the receiver, in order to make sure the receiver gets the message
as intended by the sender.
Decoding: Decoding is when the receiver interprets the

message and its meaning. Decoding is the process by which
the receiver translates the symbols or words of the message
into information that is meaningful to themselves. The
process and success of decoding can be influenced by
several factors, including a difference in perception and
experiences between the sender and the receiver, as well as
their different attitudes and what they already know about
the topic of the communication. Different receivers could
decode the same message differently, because of each one’s
unique perception.
Responding: This is when the receiver or even the sender of

the message performs an action and responds to the message
received.
Feedback: The message has an effect on the receiver in terms

of how they think it was intended, and they give a response
(reaction) back to the sender based on the meaning they
attach to the message. This response is called feedback. The
feedback can be verbal, written or non-verbal. Even silence is
non-verbal feedback, although it is often hard to interpret and
can be misunderstood because it can either mean indifference,
acknowledgement or a lack of understanding of the message.
Because of all the different ways silence can be interpreted, this
is known as negative feedback. It is important for tour guides to
design feedback methods in a way that would encourage
understanding and positive feedback. These can be done by
encouraging comments and questions from tourists
during a tour and feedback questionnaires or other
evaluation methods following a tour.
The last element is a factor that can hinder the process at any
stage, and that is noise.
Noise: Noise hinders effective communication throughout

the communication process. Noise can be from the
external (surrounding) environment, such as from too many
messages at the same time or background noise that
interferes with a clear understanding of the message. We
also refer to some receiver characteristics as ‘noise’, and this
is where their emotions, ethnic background, age, education level
or disabilities may distort or make a message misunderstood.
Noise in communication, is any distraction that interferes
with the proper transmission of communication, so that the
message from the sender cannot reach the receiver as it was
intended by the sender to be understood. It is a major
communication barrier, as we will see further on in this
discussion. In tour guiding for example, noise can be
the background sounds of animals at a sight while the tour
guide is explaining the attractions. It could also be the accent
of the local tour guide, which may make it difficult for
the tourists to understand the message he/she is trying to
convey.
Activity 3:1:5
What do we call the following key players or elements in

the communication process?
1. A person sending a message to another person.
2. The person for whom the message is intended.
3. An encoded set of verbal and non-verbal symbols
4. The process of formulating a message into meaningful symbols.
You must have identified the key players as follows:
1. Sender
2. Receiver
3. Message
4. Encoding
WELL DONE! You are now able to explain the communication

process that tour guides and others use. You may now attempt
the next Activity 3:1:6.
Study the model illustrated above, and the explanation of

each of the elements. It is your turn now to draw
your own communication model. Show prominently any
three of the elements which you find to be important
Activity 3:1:6 for effective communication in the tour guiding context
Remember! It is important that all senders of communication

must keep in mind who their target audience is, so that they
can focus the message accordingly. The sender should
know what the receiver’s perception is, so that the encoding can
be in line with the receiver’s experiences. The sender should also
use the appropriate communication channel to reach the receiver
and invite feedback, so that they can confirm that the message
was understood and appropriately responded to.
Features of effective communication in tour guiding
operations
Do you know the saying, "Communication is as much a matter
of human relationships, as it is about transmitting facts"? Well,
this is particularly true in tour guiding operations. How do
we as tour guides know when our communication is
effective? It should contain most of these key features:
 Interpersonal relationships improve. In the section on

the reasons for communication in tour guiding
operations, we have seen that communication
aims to improve interpersonal relationships, so a
feature of effective communication will be that this is
visible in the tour group. We are referring to the
professional relationships e between the tour guide and
the tour group as a whole, between the tour guide and
individuals in the group, and individual tourists
among each other. It also encourages a good
relationship between the tour guide and other members
of his/her work team, including the tour operator, bus
driver, other support staff and service providers.
 The tour is a success! This means that the
tourists’ expectations are fulfilled, they leave happy
and contend, and you can be sure that they will
encourage others to take tours offered by your
company. Your successful communication has
ensured return business for the company, and this
means more profit for the company and promotion in
your career as a tour guide.
 Feedback received from tour members is positive
and enthusiastic. Again, this will help your company a lot
when marketing and advertising the tourism products you
offer.
 An important feature of successful communication is
a better understanding among those participating in
the communication. As long as communication is open,
it will always improve understanding, regardless of
differences in viewpoint. Communication does not
always have to be aimed at convincing someone
else to change their viewpoint, but if effective, it will
increase understanding for one another.
 Effective communication also improves knowledge,
so make sure that your commentary actually leads to
improved knowledge. Information and ideas that are
communicated, help us to collect more knowledge about
lots of things. In tour guiding operations the tourists
learn a lot about a
country and its features, while the tour guide also
learns about the different types of tourists.
 Effective communication is clear. There is no
ambiguity (vagueness or confusion) about what it is
the person is trying to convey. The tour guide can try
to make his/her communication clear by using short
sentences in simple language, but still providing enough
information to ensure a clear understanding of what is
being said. Active listening also adds to clarity of
communication, so always show that you are listening,
and provide feedback to others during communication.
Complete Activity
3:1:7
You are Mr. Pointer, a tour guide. You are preparing to

take a group of 16 tour members to visit your
favorite tourist destination in your country.
Case Study As you study the arrival list you were given by the
Activity 3:1:7 tour operator, you notice that it will be a very diverse
group, made up of different cultures. There will be
tourists from China, South Africa and Israel in the same
group. Several members might not be able to speak any
English, even you have to present your tour commentary in
English.
Now think about what attractions you would take the group
to. Prepare your tour commentary, making sure that the
language you will use, will be plain and easy to understand,
and that your communication with the group and
individuals in the group, will be effective
Later we will discuss strategies for effective communication
– keep the narration you are developing until then, and adjust
it if you can. But for now, look back over your tour
commentary and make sure your communication will be
effective because it will:
Fulfill tourist expectations
Guarantee the success of the tour
Improve knowledge
Ensure clarity
Create better understanding
Improve relationships
Ensure positive feedback from tourists
Barriers that may hinder effective communication

Barriers of communication are a range of physical, mental
or emotional hindrances that can prevent messages from being
passed on successfully between sender and receiver during the
process of communication.
Pause for a moment and think about situations where you

were unable to understand or convey an intended message.
What do you think were the reasons for the breakdown
Reflection 3:1:8 in communication? Take a minute to jot down your ideas.
Now, let’s look at some of the major barriers to

effective communication which has been categorized into
four (4) main groups:
Physical barriers
There can often be physical obstructions that block the message
on its way from the sender to the receiver. These barriers may
include:
 physical objects;
 interfering background noises such as from machinery at
a nearby construction site;
 disruptions or even distractions for example from a
child demanding your attention during your presentation;
 the distance between the receiver and the sender of
the message. The message gets more distorted the
greater the distance between the sender and receiver;
 health problems such as if you are feeling unwell or
are experiencing pain. This may also prevent you
from delivering your message effectively.
 Malfunctioning equipment such as microphones.
 Secondary sources of information. For example if we
obtain information relayed from a third party it may be
distorted and inaccurate.
Mental and emotional barriers

Your mental or emotional state as well as those of your
visitors may also affect the way in which a message is
conveyed or interpreted. Consider the following examples:
 Emotional stress, anger, depression or sadness during
the communication process. Such negative emotions
may influence how you send the message and in turn
may block the message in the mind of the receiver.
This results in a message that is not clearly understood.
 Too much or too little information or information that
is inaccurate. If you fail to prepare and do the
necessary research you may lack confidence and
questions may exceed your personal knowledge. These
too are barriers to effective communication.
 A distorted and subjective focus in your commentary.
For example expressing your personal political,
ethnic or religious views.
 Insecurity or a lack of confidence may also be a
major barrier to effective communication.
 Difficult personalities you may encounter. Some
tourists may be aggressive and may have exaggerated
demands while others may be passive. Such situations
may create barriers to effective communication.
Complete Activity
3:1:9
Based on the barriers discussed in the above sections, share

any personal experience you have had where you were unable to
send an intended message
Activity 3:1:9
Cultural differences
As a tour guide, you interact with people from different
cultures and social sub-groups while completing your tour
commentaries. It is
important to be
aware of your
clients’ customs,
values and
beliefs otherwise these may compromise the success of
your communication with them.
 Personal biases and social prejudices based on

political, ethnic and religious beliefs and perceptions.
We should guard against making generalizations and
stereotyping others based on these in our communication.
Do not assume that the tourists share your values, beliefs
and goals. Their understanding may be different from
yours because their perspectives are likely to be different.
Language barriers
As a tour guide, it is your responsibility to accommodate
language differences and find a common ground within which
the group can operate.
 Certain words may have multiple meanings given
specific contexts. People may interpret the same word
differently.
 Most tourists who visit your country will speak a
different first language from your own. You may be
faced with speech variations such as varying accents
and different ways of pronouncing words which
may complicate understanding.
 Using incorrect terminology or conveying
inaccurate information is also a major barrier to
successful communication.
Now complete Activity

3:1:10.
Read the cartoon below, then answer the questions that follow.
Activity
3:1:10
Identify the problem with which the receptionist was

initially confronted.
What caused this communication problem?
What could have happened because of this problem?
What strategy did the receptionist use to solve the problem?
Define communication and explain the importance of

effective communication in the work of a tour guide.
Assessment for Describe the key elements in the communication process,

Unit which ensure effective communication with tourists and those,
3:1 which may hinder communication. You may include real life
examples from the tour guiding context to illustrate the key
elements in your discussion.
In this unit you defined the term “communication and explored
the four (4) barriers to communication such as physical,
emotional and mental, cultural differences and language.
Summary for Unit It was established that when effective communication
3:1 process both the sender and receiver understand the
message.
Some further key points that you need to remember from this
unit are:
Communication means the exchange of
messages between you and the tourists while
verifying comprehension and intended response
We communicate to inform, explain. clarify,
promote, persuade, build relationships and evaluate
in relation to our tourism services
The Communication process comprises the sender, the
message, the receiver, the channel and different types
of noise as barriers

communication decoding
encoding tour commentaries tour guide
Terminology for
Unit 3:1
1. tourist 2. tour guide 3. effective

ANSWERS 4. barriers 5. tour commentary 6. traveling 7. bus
TO Activity
3:1:1 8. conference 9. listening 10. bag
Unit 3:2 Types of
Communication
Unit Overview
There are many ways by which people transmit information
from one person or entity to another. In a previous section,
communication was defined as the act of sending and
receiving intended messages. It is important that we look at the
types, forms and tools involved in communication.
Unit 3:2
1. Differentiate between the two forms of communication
Objectives for Unit 2. Discuss "tone" used in verbal communication

3:2
3. Explain "non-verbal" communication
4. Identify the elements in the "voice"
5. Highlight the differences in the targets of communication
6. Explain the difference(s) in the use if the electronic verses print

media
Forms of Communication
There are many forms of communication which can generally
be classified into two (2) major groups. In this unit, the
definitions and classifications of these groups are discussed.
Complete Activity
3:2:1
Think of the times and ways in which you communicate and

list the different ways by which two or more persons can
communicate.
Activity 3:2:1 Using this list, categorize that information under two main
headings, thinking of the means whereby this
communication will occur.
OR
Reflect on the following quotation, and identify the two (2)
means of communication. Categorize into the two main
headings of the means whereby this communication will occur.
“Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with
paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to
face, that our joy may be full.” 2 John 12
We communicate through verbal and non-verbal means.
Verbal Non-Verbal
By body language
By Telephone (cell-phones) By electronic means (internet)
Face-to-Face By mass media (television)
By print media (brochure)
Differentiate between “verbal communication” and “non-

verbal communication”.
Verbal communication (talking) is communication using words
and speaking.
Non-verbal communication includes our actions,

attitudes, appearance and body language. It involves more than
what we say with our words.
Complete the case study in Activity

3:2:2
Instructions:
Read the case study and answer the questions
that follow.
Case Study Activity
3:2:2 The
story
The village of Pea was very excited. The tour guide

had telephoned, and Mary had taken down the message
that 10 tourists were coming off the cruise ship for
lunch at 2 o’clock.
The whole village got involved in

making “umukai”(underground oven cooking). Food
was gathered and put in the pits, the floorshow party
gathered, work stopped for the day.
At 10 o’clock, a minibus stopped at the village, and two

(2) people got out. They looked very surprised at the huge
feast half prepared and the floorshow practicing.
‘Where are all the other tourists?’ asked

Mary.
‘This is all there is’, said the tour guide. ‘I said 2 people
for
10
o’clock!’
You can see from this story what can happen

when communication in the tourism industry is not
good. The hosts are unhappy; the guests are unhappy with
sad faces.
Questions
:
1. What two forms of communication

occurred?
2. How
do we
know the
guests
were
unhappy?
Verbal Communication
Verbal communication uses spoken words.
Give two examples how verbal communication can take
place. Possible Answers:
Activity 3:2:3 1. Talking face-to-face
2. Talking over the

telephone
Elements of the Voice
The medium for verbal communication is the voice. The voice

can be adjusted according to:
Tone
Articulation
Speed
Volume
All this refers to the manner in which someone speaks. It can

be high, medium or low. Each level of tone reflects a certain
level of emotion.
High Tone:
This is used to express anger, authority
Medium Tone:
This is used in a normal conversation.
Low Tone:
This is used when reflecting sadness.

Articulation:
Refers to the accent of the person; reflected in the way words

are pronounced.
Speed:
This is the pace at which the words are spoken. It is advised

to speak slowly.
Volume:
Refers to the level at which words are projected.
For each of the following situations, state the elements of

the voice that should be used.
Situation 1: A tour guide interacting with a small child

Activity 3:2:3
Situation 2: A tour guide in front of a group of twelve persons
Situation 3: A tour guide talking to an unhappy client
Non-verbal Communication
Non-verbal communication involves more than what we say
with our words. It includes our actions, attitudes, appearance
and body language.
How do we communicate without using words?

Types of Non-verbal Communication
By body language:
Body language can be very effective but very ambiguous also.
It refers to facial expressions, posture and gestures. Different
body language has different meanings for different cultures.
For example, in some countries it is rude to touch a stranger
while you talk to them, but in other countries, touching
someone on the arm or shoulder when you talk is friendly.
It is important to recognize distance when interacting with

clients. For example,
By electronic means:
Many individuals now use the electronic medium to
communicate. For example, CAPITALIZED or bold
alphanumeric characters mean you are shouting or trying to get
attention.
By mass media:
This refers to sending messages through television or radio used
in advertisements or documentaries.
By print media:
This includes memorandums, letters, flyers, brochures, and
posters.
Instructor will provide a brochure. Students will be asked

to look at the photos (without reading the text) and share
Activity 3:2:4 what message is being conveyed.
Targets of communication
In the wikipedia, communication is said to be deeply rooted
in human behavior.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication
As we have discovered, communication occurs through
various means - verbal and non-verbal. However, it also
can be to individuals or groups.
There are many targets or persons or entities with whom

we communicate. The following is a classification of the
groups with whom we can engage in communication.
1. Interpersonal communication - occurs between small

groups or large groups of people. There must be a sender and a
receiver(s).
 Small group-it is usually accepted that involves three
to twelve persons.
 Large group - usually more than a small group but less
than a population. In speaking of a large group, thought
is to a generic group of people sharing the same purpose.
For small or large groups, communication can be through a
speech, by paraphrasing, or some form of non-verbal
communication. The tour guide is seeking to send information
to small or large groups of people and receive feedback.
2. Intra-personal communication - usually this is an

overlooked target for communication. Intra-personal
communication is when the individual "speaks" to himself. For
tour guiding, this will be the pre-presentation state, when the
tour guide shares his/her own thoughts or words with self.
3. Mass communication - refers to when huge numbers

are involved; it involves trying to communicate to large
populations all at once. In this medium, we are usually
referring to sending
information to people who will not be able to give direct
feedback. Mass communication is what occurs via the
television, when the Government of a country or an
organization wishes to send information to the populace.
Tools in communication
As a tour guide, to communicate effectively with your tourists,
you must use various tools. This is primarily because your
target audience will be different- small or large groups.
Below are examples of the tools a tour guide will be using

during his/her work.
A Microphone (also called "mic")
This device is used to amplify the sound of the voice. There

are many types of microphones- lapel mics, handheld (as found
in the tour bus) or goose neck (those stationed on a podium). The
purpose of the microphone for the tour guide is so that the
visitors in the bus or on tour can hear clearly his/her voice and
the information being conveyed.
A Walkie-Talkie
This device according to wikipedia

(http://en.wikipedia.org/walkie- talkie) is a hand-held portable,
bi-directional transceiver. It is both a transmitter and
transceiver. This means that the person sending the message
and the person receiving it can communicate those not visibly
present, but within a certain geographical zone. A walkie-
talkie is not the same as a telephone - land line or cell-
phone; unlike a telephone, it is not private, but
communication can be heard by the user along with all other
persons within the vicinity.
A Telephone (also called a "phone")
This device is used to transmit and receive voice or speech

across distances. The transmission can only be heard by the
user. For the tour guide, the use of the telephone is to answer
prospective clients and to confirm tours with tour operators and
hotels. It is necessary to learn telephone skills as discussed in
the module, "Strategies for Effective Communication".
A Message Pad
This is a tool that goes hand in hand with the telephone. The use
of this tool is to have physical evidence of the
communications received and not to rely on human memory
alone. The use of this tool is discussed in the module,
"Strategies for Effective Communication".
Complete Activity
3:2:5
Assignment 3:2:5
off the cruise ship for lunch at 2 o’clock. The whole village got
involved in making “umukai” (underground oven cooking).
Instructions: Read Food was gathered and put in the pits, the floorshow party
the case study and gathered, work stopped for the day. At 10 o’clock, a minibus
answer the stopped at the village, and two (2) people got out. They looked
questions that very surprised at the huge feast half prepared and the floorshow
follow. practicing. ‘Where are all the other tourists?’ asked Mary. ‘This
is all there is’, said the tour guide. ‘I said 2 people for 10
The story o’clock!’ You can see from this story what can happen when
communication in the tourism industry is not good. The hosts are
The village of Pea unhappy; the guests are unhappy with sad faces.
was very excited. The
tour guide had Questions:
telephoned, and Mary
had taken down the 1. What two forms of communication occurred?
message that 10
tourists were coming 2. How do we know the guests were unhappy?
Partner with a colleague and reflect on your day. Each person is

to write down two incidences when different forms of
communication were used.
Assessment for
Unit Share these occurrences with a colleague and seek to identify
3:2 the different forms of communication.
In this unit you learned the different ways of communicating,
verbal and non-verbal methods were explained using
examples. The importance of the use voice was also
Summary for Unit discussed.
3:2
In the elements of the voice the different types of tomes used were
cited such as high, medium and low.
The targets groups for communication are

interpersonal, intrapersonal and mass communication.
Interpersonal communication is that which occurs between small
groups or large groups of people. There must be a sender and a
receiver(s). Intra- personal communication is when the
individual "speaks" to himself. For tour guiding, this will be
the pre-presentation state, when the tour guide shares his/her
own thoughts or words with self.
Mass communication refers to when huge numbers are involved;
it involves trying to communicate to large populations all at
once. Mass communication is what occurs via the television,
when the Government of a country or an organization
wishes to send information to the populace.
There are many tools used for communication by a tour guide
such walkie-talkie, telephone, microphone or a message pad.

body language mass communication
non-verbal communication verbal
Terminology for communication walkie-talkie
Unit 3:2
Unit 3:3 Effective Communication Strategy
Unit Overview
In order to be successful, communication must involve
each participant in a dialogue understanding the intended
message of the other. To accomplish this task, there are certain
strategies that must be utilized.
In this unit, we will be discussing what are communication

strategy and the strategies to employ to be effective.
Explain what is communication strategy
Objectives for Unit Explain the steps involved in using effective strategies
3:3
State what is a conversation
List two types of conversations
Distinguish the difference between “hearing” and “listening”
Explain why listening to customers is crucial to the delivery of

quality service.
Identify five (5) steps to active listening
Respond to incoming calls
Put someone on hold and transfer calls
Handle complaints through the phone
Take messages , make business telephone calls, and end

telephone conservations
Unit 3:3
Communication Strategies
Communication strategies deal with "how" we get individuals
to understand the intended message. It focuses on the ways in
which a tour guide will go about achieving the overall goals of
the operator and in effect, the tourist.
Using effective communication strategies

During a tour, you must use strategies to overcome
communication barriers. Here are a few essential effective
strategies you should try.
 Be an attentive
listener
An important principle for effective communication is
effective listening. When your visitors are speaking to you, give
them your undivided attention. You must stop whatever you
are doing, face them and keep eye contact with them. Nod to
show that you are listening, and verbally confirm that you have
heard.
 Ask for
clarification
If a visitor is speaking to you and the message is not clear, ask
for clarification and again, confirm your interpretation of
what has been said, to make sure you have understood
correctly. Also encourage your visitors to ask questions.
You will know that visitors have understood your messages,
if they give appropriate feedback and act on your instructions.
Repetition is a necessary element of tour guiding.
 Be clear and
concise
A clear message promotes understanding. Use correct
language structures, simple sentences and unambiguous words,
and try to avoid unnecessary jargon or local slang. Be
comprehensive but concise and say exactly what you
mean. Apply standard grammatical rules in tour
commentaries and ensure that your commentaries follow a
logical sequence. Work on your pronunciation of words
and voice projection to make sure the message carries across
the group and reaches everyone.
 Be consistent
Unit 3:3
...
Your body language should not contradict, but should confirm
your verbal message. It is important that you as the tour
guide and therefore the leader of the tour group should be
consistent in your words and actions. Remember that your non-
verbal cues are often more convincing than your verbal
messages.
 Be confident and know your product
Remember that tourists research too, so when addressing
tourists, ensure that the information is correct. If it is not,
tourists may lose confidence in your ability to guide them. So
make sure that the facts are accurate and up to date. To do
this, you should take information from reliable sources,
such as from reputable magazines, news media,
promotional material, industry associations, experts, local
communities or from first hand experiences such as
sight/site visits. Knowing your product well, will give you
that boost that you need, so that if tourists ask questions
you will be able to give appropriate responses. This means
that you must prepare well for a tour so that you are
confident in delivering the tour commentary and in
answering questions from the group.
 Be motivated and show pride in your country

You are the link between the tourist and your country.
You represent your country and its people in the eyes of the
tourist. Your attitude should therefore by positive when you
interact with your visitors. Be accessible to them and be
willing to share information and advice about your
homeland. Explain the local rules and procedures so that your
clients would understand them and abide by the laws of
your country. Maintain a pleasant atmosphere in the group
by giving visitors a warm welcome and being friendly,
respectful, helpful and polite throughout. Be attentive to the
needs of the tourists throughout the tour.
 Be a leader
Remember that you are the leader of the tour group, so you
must display effective leadership skills. This does not mean
that you should be bossy, but that the group relies on you to
take them safely to and from where they wish to go. As part of
your role, you should encourage introductions among the
group members and encourage participation in discussion, even
from quieter members.
 Pay attention to non-verbal cues

Body posture, gestures or facial expressions convey
particular messages at all times.
 Appropriateness
The message should also be appropriate. Both the message and
the language used should fit the audience and the purpose
of the communication. How do we keep our message
appropriate? We should pitch it to the interests and expectations
of the individual or group we are talking to. Keep information
relevant to the sight or subject we are describing, and make
sure the tourist is satisfied
with the information – it should satisfy their expectations
and interests. Use the correct English terminology.
 Deal with complaints and difficult tourists

Use confirming responses; acknowledge the experiences,
questions or comments of tour members. Confirm their right to
feel and think as they do, regardless of how it may differ from
the average point of view. Provide positive feedback where you
can.
 Analyze your own perceptions

Keep questioning your own views and be aware of where
they come from and what they were influenced by. Seek to
embrace more views and incorporate other views to broaden
your scope of perception. Observe carefully in a tour guiding
situation and look for the bigger picture – it is important to see
any one moment as part of a larger context.
 Equipment Use
If you are using a microphone, make sure that is working and
that you are confident in handling it. The microphone is an
important tool in helping you communicate clearly.
Complete Activity
3:3:1
Read the following case study then answer the
following questions
A group of fourteen tour operators from England went on a
Case Study Activity familiarization trip (fam trip) to Mauritius. Since the purpose
3:3:1 of the fam trip is to encourage the tour operators to sell
Mauritius as an option in their country, it was important that
the fourteen tourists (participants) should sample some of the
local sights. One of the sights chosen was the Botanical
Gardens at Pamplemousses, in the south of the country. An
on- site tour guide was to meet the bus at the venue.
On arrival at the sight, the tourists disembarked from the
tour bus. The group of tour guides was seen sitting on a
patch of grass. After five (5) minutes, one of the men stood
up and approached the group. He immediately launched into
his tour commentary in French. As if on an alarm clock, the
tour guide sped through the garden without allowing the
tourists to take photographs.
On embarking the bus, all the tourists evaluated the tour
and found some things that they all found went wrong and
needed to be corrected.
110
110
1. Besides commentary,
what is the primary role
of the tour
111
111
guide in the "eyes" of the tourists?
2. What went wrong in the case study? Identify at least
two things.
3. Which strategy or strategies should be used to correct these
errors?
Conversational Skills
John Donne wrote that ‘No man is an island”. Therefore, it is
important that we engage in communication activities to be part of
this world. This unit discusses the ways and processes to
communicate effectively with individuals and with groups.
What is a conversation?
A conversation is a talk or discussion between two or more persons.
It is one of the means to verbally give or share information.
Conversations can be effective or unnecessary, that is useful or
humorous. For business, it should be towards a specific rationale.
A conversation uses speech. “Speech is the vocalization form of
human communication. It is based upon the syntactic combination of
lexicals and names that are drawn from very large (usually >10,000
different words) vocabularies. A gestural form of human
communication exists for the deaf in the form of sign language.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech
Speech is important when communicating. It is not only what you

say, but also how you say it. Therefore, it is important to recognize the
type of words chosen and “voice” used. It is often looked at as
dialect or native speech, but “voice’ as seen earlier is much more.
Types of conversations
There are two main groups of conversations. These are as
follows:
1. Formal
This is used for business, when communicating with a
client, potential customer or professional.
2. Informal
This is used when communicating with friends, strangers
and children.
What different groups of people does the tour guide
interact with?
Figure 6 Groups of persons a tour guide interacts
 Bosses: give tour guides instructions, and receive

updates from the tour guide on how the tour went
 Communities: tour guides explain what tourism
is (awareness); make bookings for tour groups to
visit establishments in the communities. Hence the
communities become shareholders in the tourism product.
 Tourists: tour guides give briefings, prepare written
and oral tour commentaries, answer questions for this
group of persons
 Tour Companies: answer telephones, take bookings
for tours, liaise with the tourists to ensure that their
needs are being met by the tour guides
Tour Guides need to have good communication skills to

work effectively with all these people.
CONVERSATION DO’S
Look at the person or people you are talking to. Make
eye contact.
Be confident when speaking, acknowledging the uses of

tone, articulation, speed and volume speak in terms of
positives not negatives.
Think of your audience and use the correct words and

speech. When speaking to someone from a different
culture, speak clearly and distinctly.
When an interpreter is present, speak to the tourist not
the interpreter.
Introduce yourself and ask the person their name. Use the
person’s name when speaking to them
Ask questions when you don’t understand something.
Encourage your clients to question what they do
not understand.
Stick to the subject
Say nice things about people and praise those who deserve
it.
Disagree politely

CONVERSATION DON’TS
Don’t fidget, look elsewhere, or wander off while
someone else is talking
Don’t listen in, or respond to conversations you are not
a part of
Don’t interrupt when someone else is speaking. Be patient.
Don’t whisper in front of another person
Don’t whine, tattletale, brag, or say mean things
about others
Don’t ask personal questions such as how much things
cost or why someone looks or dresses the way they do
Don’t point or stare
Don’t argue about things that are not important
Don’t shout. Use a loud voice so everyone can hear
you easily.
Explain four ways that you could improve your listening

skills?
Activity 3:3:2
Assignment 3:3:3 Observe and listen to two persons engaged in a conversation.
Write down the negatives and positives to the conversation,
based on
body language and what is heard.
Listening Skills
Conversation is a great way to dialogue or share information, but it
is crucial that the receiver decodes the information. In order to
decode information or have effective communication, listening is
critical.
Hearing versus Listening

Hearing is the act of perceiving sound by the ear. It is one of the
natural senses we possess. Some persons are deaf; hence they do
not have the sense of hearing. Listening is something you
consciously choose to do. Even if you are deaf, the act of listening is
a conscious deliberate course of action. It is a deliberate choice to
read the hands of the speaker. Listening requires concentration so
that your brain processes meaning from words or signs, and
sentences. Listening leads to learning.
Complete Activity
3:3:4.
Chinese Auction"
Instructions
Create a circle with at least six persons.

Activity 3:3:4
Have the first person whisper clearly a short
message with the person to their right
Messages can be said only once. There can be no
repeating of messages. Once it is shared. There can
be no gesturing or noise to verify the message (if it
is correct or incorrect)
The message is passed from the second person to
the third, until all the persons in the circle received
the message
When the sixth person has received the message,
the message he/she received should be voiced
openly.
The message the sixth person reveals, should
be compared with that from the first.
Questions
1. Is the message the same or different?
2. What caused the message to be the same or different?
3. Explain four ways that you could improve your
listening skills?
Why listening to customers is crucial to the delivery of

quality service
Listening to customers enables you to understand what exactly they
want and thereby you will be able to fulfill their want to the utmost
details. It is a form of effective communication. Service Quality in
tourism is defined as (involves) being attentive to each and every
customer’s desires. One of the ways by which they express
their desires is through their voice…hence if you listen well, you
will be able to know exactly what they need to be happy…which
will also allow you to exceed their expectations.
Five Steps to active listening

1. Focus your attention on the subject. Stop all non-
relevant activities beforehand to orient yourself to the
speaker or the topic
2. Review mentally what you already know about the
subject.
Organize in advance relevant material in order to develop
it further
3. Avoid distractions (sitting or standing by an open
window, a talkative neighbor, noise). Seat yourself
appropriately close to the speaker. Make eye-contact
4. Acknowledge your emotional state. Suspend emotions
until later, or passively participate unless you can
control your emotions
5. Set aside your prejudices and your opinions. You
are present to learn what the speaker has to say, not the
other way around
What makes an active listener
The listener must pay keen attention to what the speaker is
saying. The listener must then, in his own words, repeat what he
thinks the speaker has said. The listener does not have to agree
with what he thinks the speaker said, but must simply state
what he heard. This will give the speaker the opportunity to
check for understanding.
Benefits of active listening

 It makes people give full attention to the speaker.
 It avoids or reduces misunderstandings.
 It gets people to open up, to share how they feel.
 It allows people to concentrates on the
enquiry. Complete Assessment 3:3:5
* Listening is one of the most important communication

skills. Complete the checklist below to determine whether
Assessment you are an active listener, by circling your choice.
3:3:5
1. When I am listening, my mind often wanders. YES
NO
2. I am usually able to listen attentively to a person speaking

for a period of time, for example, fifteen (15) minutes, and not
switch off. YES NO
3. I am usually able to concentrate fully on what the speaker

is saying despite distracting noises and movements. YES NO
4. When I am listening, I often decide what to say in

response before the speaker has finished talking. YES NO.
5. I find it difficult to ignore past experiences and prejudices

when listening to someone. YES NO
6. I usually paraphrase and verify what the speaker has said

to check my understanding of the message. YES NO.
7. I usually ask questions if I am not sure what the speaker

meant. YES NO.
8. I can usually understand how people are feeling through

their non-verbal communication. YES NO.
9. I usually inform
the speaker that I
understand how
he/she feels.
YES No.
10. I sometimes find the speaker’s appearance and

personality influences me so much, that I am unable to give my
free attention to what he/she is saying. YES NO
Results: See which answers you responded to negatively and

seek ways to improve on them.
Telephone Skills
The telephone (phone) is an important communication tool. It
is very useful in the tourism industry, and sometimes, a tour
guide communicates with people using the telephone. The
way people handle the telephone gives the callers the first
impression of the company or the individual. Therefore it is
very important to know how to communicate properly on the
telephone.
Complete Activity
3:3:6
Why do people communicate over the telephone? You may reflect

on your own or just brainstorm with your friends about the various
reasons for why people communicate over the phone.
Reflection
Activity 3:3:6
Basic principles for good telephone techniques

(A) When answering the telephone
 Have a pen and a paper close at hand.

 Always pick up the phone after 3 rings. Never let the
caller wait or he/she may get angry.
 Greet according to the time of the day.
 Identify your enterprise and yourself.
 Ask if you
could help -
"How may I
direct your
call?"
 Listen to the caller.
Complete Activity
3:3:7
Why is communication on the telephone important? Give your

own reason, stating the importance of communication on the
telephone
Think about a time when you have considered the telephone
Activity 3:3:7
behaviour to be excellent. What made you think it was
excellent.
B) Putting a caller on hold
 Ask permission.
 Wait for the caller’s response.
 Check back frequently if the line is still busy, to identify
if the caller is prepared to wait.
C) Transferring calls
 Politely ask who is calling? For example: May I ask who
is calling?
 Inform the caller that you are going to transfer the call.
 Explain the reason for the transfer.
 Alert the person who will receive the call.
D) Taking the message

 Record the date and time of the call.
 Record the caller’s full name.
 Record name of the caller’s company.
 Record the caller’s telephone number.
 Record the message and always reconfirm the message
to the caller.
 Mark if the call is urgent, or what action is to be taken
by the receiver.
 Record your name as you take the
message. Complete Activity 3:3:8
Using the information above, design a message pad for your

business
Activity 3:3:8
E) Making a business call

 Plan your call, just as you would prepare for a speech.
 Know who you are going to call.
 Make a list of the main points you need to say.
 Have all the documents you will need during
the conversation at hand, so that you do not have to
leave the telephone.
F) Ending the call

 Always summarize the caller’s message to confirm that
you understand his/her request.
 Thank the caller.
 Allow the caller to put down the phone first.
Role
Play
Assessment for Unit Do a role-play with a partner on making and answering a

3:3 telephone call. Change roles when you have finished. Follow the
procedure of good communication on the telephone that you
have learned in this unit. You can ask a teacher or a trainer to
supervise the role play and assess your telephone skills
In this unit you learned how communication strategies deal
with
"how" we get individuals to understand the intended message.
Summary for Unit
3:3 Then you looked at different communication strategies that may
be used such as
 Be an attentive listener
 Ask for clarification
 Be clear and concise
 Be consistent
 Be confident and know your product
 Be motivated and show pride in your country
 Be a leader
 Pay attention to non-verbal cues
 Appropriateness
 Deal with complaints and difficult tourists
 Analyze your own perceptions
 Equipment Use
Further key points that you need to remember from this unit are:
 The working definition for "conversation"

 The do's and don'ts when having a conversation, and
the types of conversations you would have with
different groups.
 The difference between hearing and listening and the
steps to active listening.
 The importance of good presentation skills of the
content and of the tour guide.
 The use of the telephone as a communication tool and
the techniques for using it properly so that the tour
guide can maximize the job was also discussed.
Terminology for
Unit 3:3
120
120
In this unit the new
terminology used
included:
hearing
listening
121
121
Unit 3:4
Unit 3:4 Handling Enquiries and

Complaints
Unit Overview
A tour guide will constantly be asked questions. There are
times when clients are just requesting information but there will
also be times when they are making complaints. This
individual needs to be able to respond to any enquiries in
order to have a satisfied customer at the end of the
conversation.

Explain how to handle customer enquires
Objectives for Unit Discuss techniques in handling customer complaints
3:4
Outline steps in handling complaints on the telephone
Once there is more than one person in an area that is
unfamiliar there will always be enquires. So what are the
steps in handling enquires?
Four Steps to Handling Enquires:

1. Listen to the client: Be courteous and pay keen attention
to what the client has to say
2. Take notes: If the information is too much for you
to remember or if you are taking the inquiry over
the telephone, take notes.
3. Repeat information: Paraphrase what the customer
has asked in order for you to verify that you have
accurate information.
4. Honor request: Make sure that you are knowledgeable
about your product. If you do not have the answer on
hand, assure customer that you will give them requested
information as soon as possible.
Customer Complaints
Complaints should be looked upon positively. It is a way
of preventing other complaints. It is also a way of receiving
feedback from clients to let you know how you are performing.
It is also an opportunity for you to improve your performance.
Techniques for dealing with customer complaints
Angry customers present unique opportunities to re-win

their allegiance. Somewhere one or more of their basic
expectations were not met, and they are looking for solutions to
the problem and some form of recovery. These basic facts are
guiding principles for figuring out how to turn the negative into a
positive.
i. Listen: focus on what the customer has to say. There is

no need to become defensive. Do not interrupt, but
questions can be asked to clarify that you understand the
problem. Remember to take notes especially if you are
receiving the complaint over the telephone.
ii. Thank the customer: always thank the customer
for bringing the problem to your attention.
Complaints are opportunities to make a better
impression, while correcting grievances or mistakes.
iii. Paraphrase: after the customer is finished,

summarize what the customer said to you so that the
customer knows that you understand the problem.
iv. Show Empathy: show that you understand how

the customer feels. There is nothing wrong with apologizing
for the customer’s suffering.
v. Act immediately: offer a solution to the problem. It is

your responsibility to ensure that the problem is solved. It
might be appropriate to ask the customer what can be done to
make them satisfied.
vi. Follow-up: it is important for you to follow through on

any promises that were made to the customer.
Experts say that: ·Customers who complain are likely to tell

an average of 10 others about their experience ·Sixty-six
percent (66%) of all those who complain will return, if the
problem is resolved.
It is in the interest of the tour guide to furnish information

upon request to the customer and to solve all customer
complaints in a positive and courteous manner.
Complete Activity
3:4:1.
Read the following scenario and answer the questions,
which follow.
Mr. and Mrs. Kelly are on an island discovery tour that
Activity 3:4:1 they designed for themselves. They have arrived in a small
village just before lunch. It has not been a good morning.
Their rental car developed engine trouble and they wasted
several hours getting it repaired. When they contacted the car
hire firm, they were told that the repairs would have to be
carried out at their own expenses, since the car had been
certified in good running order when the Kelly’s collected it.
Mr. Kelly is very annoyed about this.
They decide to stop, have some lunch, and reschedule
their itinerary. Mrs. Kelly wants to buy some headache tablets
and some new maps. They park the car and go into the shop
on the main street. The place is deserted. Mrs. Kelly calls
for service but nobody appears. The Kelly’s wait for a few
minutes, then walk
out, even more
annoyed than
before. In the
bookshop, where
they hope
to find some maps, the two salesgirls were chatting to each
other behind the counter and treated the Kelly’s as thought
they were invisible. Once again, the Kelly’s walk out
without buying anything.
By now, it is 1.00 p.m., so the Kelly’s decide to have lunch
and then drive on. They walk into a café that has a sign on
the door advertising lunches. It is crowded inside and the
Kelly’s have trouble finding somewhere to sit. Eventually
somebody comes to take his order. Sorry, he says, we are all
out of the special. There are only toasted sandwiches left.
At this point, Mr. Kelly loses his temper. This is the last straw,
he shouts. I demand to see the manager.
1 What caused the
complaint?
2 Could the complaint have been prevented?
How?
3 What were the good and bad points about the way Mr.
Kelly was handled?
There are many situations when you may have to

handle complaints. Sometimes it may be in person, when
you may to isolate the irate customer from the general
populace, sometimes it may be by telephone.
Handling complaints through the

phone
 Listen to the
customer.
 Never argue with the customer.
 Speak professionally, not personally.
 Show empathy.
 Repeat the
problem.
 Explain possible action(s) you can take.
 Enlist the caller in the decision of the action to be taken.
 Always thank the
caller.
 If necessary, tell the caller when you will get back
to him/her. Follow up.
Handling Difficult Tourists
The difficult customer is a little different from the customer
with a complaint. Difficult customers are those who are hard
to serve because of their personality or behaviour. At times they
may appear rude, insensitive or impatient.
When dealing with difficult customers, it is important that

you consider your choice of words since it will either
improve communication or start a "fight".
Below are some real life examples from tourist evaluations

in
Vanuatu.
 "The guide didn't say anything"
 "By simply driving past, we saw virtually nothing. I

got better value by sitting in the back and reading my
copy of
'Lonely Planet’.
The following are guidelines on how to deal with difficult
tourists.
 Keep it Impersonal: If the customer did or said
something wrong, point out the mistake without making
him/her feel like you are attacking the individual. This
might cause them to become angry and blame you.
 Stay Calm: Listen to what the tourist has to say and do
not take it personally.
 Take Responsibility: Don't blame others for what
happened, tell the tourist what they and you can do, not
what cannot be done. Even if it is not a part of your job
duties, tell what you can do to help.
 Show Empathy: "put yourself in the tourist's shoes". Try
to see things from their perspective. Ask yourself "How is
this tourist feeling?"
 Fix the Problem: Direct the tourist's attention to how
you can fix the problem. Come up with a solution to
fix the problem promptly and efficiently.
If you feel that the situation is getting out of control, there are
times when you have to refer to your supervisor for advice.
How would you handle the following situation?
1 A tourist complains that he finds a hair in his food and he
wants his money back.
Assessment for
Unit 2 A tourist complains that he looses his watch during the tour.
3:4
3 The tourists complain that the guide arrives late to meet them
at the hotel.
In this Unit, the focus was on the four (4) steps to

handling enquiries and complaints which were to listen to the
client; take notes; repeat information and paraphrasing what the
Summary for Unit customer has asked in order for you to verify that you have
3:4 accurate information. Lastly, honoring the request of the
customer, so as assure him/her you will give them requested
information as required.
The key points to remember in this unit for the techniques

for handling customer complaints were to listen, thank the
customer, paraphrase for clarity, show empathy, act immediately
and follow- up.
The slight difference in handling difficult customers compared

to handling customer complaints was highlighted. The ways to
handle difficult tourists by the tour guide were: to keep it
impersonal, stay calm, take responsibility, show empathy and
fix the problem. Remembering that the choice of words is
important so that communication can be improved.
complaints
Terminology for
Unit 3:4
Unit 4: Customer Care

Unit Overview
Customer Care as a core module of this course builds on
the previous modules. References have been made to previous
topics and their importance emphasized from different angles
for better understanding.
Beginning at the basis for providing a common understanding

of customer service excellence as it touches briefly on quality
and quality systems, we will explore the rationales for
service excellence and the features of service that “WOWS” the
customer. We look briefly at the planning aspects of
customer service excellence along with considering the
delivery of service excellence, establishing and
maintaining effective customer relationships and finally
we emphasize the importance of monitoring for continuous
improvement in service delivery.
The contents of this module have been designed so that as

tour guides, you are empowered to seek out both the
spoken and unspoken customer needs of your customers. We
are confident that you will be able to uncover the aspects of
quality that “wows” your customer. You can subsequently
plan, organize and deliver tour guiding services by focusing
on your business functions towards achieving the basic goal –
“shocking” your customers by providing a service that exceeds
their expectations. You should endeavor towards continuous
improvement by monitoring the services you provide to your
customers and incorporating their views/feedback.
By the completion of this module, you should be able

to:
 Identify customers' needs and expectations in terms of
Outcomes for Unit tour guiding services;
4  Explain the importance of customers and customer care
in the tourism sector;
 Explain the factors that determine customer
service excellence;
 Explain the rationale behind customer service excellence;
...
 Identify the
features of customer
service excellence;
 Devise a plan for
customer service
excellence;
 Deliver and
maintain customer
service excellence;
 Build and enhance
customer relationship;
 Respond to
customer services
problems effectively;
 Handle customer
complaints
effectively;
 Apply effective
communication and
customer care skills;
 Monitor and
assess the
effectiveness of
customer service
excellence.
Unit 4:1 Un
Unit 4:1 Understanding Customer

Service Excellence
Unit Overview
You must have often heard complaints about poor services in
everyday conversations with friends, colleagues and tourists. Yet, how
often do we talk about having received excellent service? Very
rarely! Is it because we take this for granted so only comment when
our expectations are not met? Or is it because the service was only OK
and not really memorable?
What is the difference between acceptable and memorable

service? The difference lies between the services nobody talks
about and the services that people recommend to their friends
and contacts. The difference is about the level of excellence of
the service so it is not just quality service but exceptional
service.
Throughout this Unit, the term organization will be used to refer

to agency, company or organization.

Explain the concepts of service quality and customer service excellence;
Objectives for Unit Examine customer service quality related models
4:1
Distinguish between poor and excellent services;
Identify and explain the various dimensions of service excellence in

the tour guiding environment.
Outline the relevance of customer service excellence from four

(4)
perspectives
130
130
Definition of Customer Service
Before we can define Customer Service we need to understand
the meaning of these two words:
 Customer
 Service
Who is a customer?
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines a customer
as:
 “One who regularly or repeatedly makes purchases from
a trader;
 a purchaser;
 a buyer”.
or alternatively
 “A person with whom a business organization has

dealings;
for example, the customers of a bank”
However, nowadays the term customer is increasingly used to

refer to anyone who receives a service from someone else.
This is particularly true for you. As a tour guide you provide
services. Isn’t it?
What is service?
Service can be described as providing help or support. So
customer service is about helping and supporting the people
whom we recognize as our customers.
You are often a

customer!
Each of us will be somebody’s customer, once or lots of times

each week and we meet many people whose job is to provide us
with a service.
Here are just a few

examples:
 When we approach the Municipality for its services, we
are the customers of the Municipal Council;
 When we seek personal information and advice from
other
Ministries/Departments
;
 When we go to the police station to report theft we are
the customers of the organization;
 When we visit the doctor, dentist or hospital, we are
the customers (patients) of the health
department/Ministry or private provider.
As customers, we come into contact with different
persons providing a particular service. These may range
from manual workers to professionals and technical staff
(doctors, dentists, engineers or nursing staff, teachers).
When we speak of customer service it is not always easy

to quantify or describe the separate components that make up
our impression of high quality. It has something to do with
added value, with receiving more than we expected.
What really is customer service? Also what do customers
need? There are many websites with definitions of customer
service.
http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/custo
me r_service.html
“Customer service is focusing on the customer and

doing something about it.”
http://www.customerservicepoint.com/customer-
service- definition.html
"Customer Service is a function of how well an organization is able
to constantly and consistently exceed the needs of the customer."
"A customer defines good customer service

as how she perceives that an organization has delighted
her, by exceeding to meet her needs".
The focus is on the customer. Yet each customer perceives

of service differently. Hence it is important to have a
generic definition of customer service.
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Definition-of-
Customer- Service&id=1434203
‘By taking into account the above points it is clear that to

define customer service the following basic elements
would be necessary........Efficiently satisfying a
customer's needs by providing and delivering professional,
helpful, high quality service and assistance before, during and
after the customer's requirements are met.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_service
“Customer service is the provision of service to customers
before, during and after a purchase.”
Turban, Efraim (2002), Electronic Commerce: A Managerial

Perspective, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0131854615
“Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance

the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a
product or service has met the customer expectation."
Therefore, to deliver quality customer service, customers need

the organization to be aware of what they need.
“A survey of several thousand customers conducted by
the Service Quality Institute at Texas A&M University
revealed the following five dimensions to quality customer
care:
1. Reliability
2. Responsiveness
3. A Feeling of Being Valued
4. Empathy
5. Competency
http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings
/
customer_service.html
It is safe to conclude that with the myriad of definitions

for customer service, it is about being vigilant, meeting customer
needs and requirements by delivering the promises made with an
attitude that conveys the customer is the sole reason for
business. Look at the article at
http://www.businessburrito.com/define-good- customer-
service.html
Customer Service Excellence (CSE)

Customer service excellence (CSE) is about “shocking”
the customers, surprising them and delighting them. It is
about exceeding the need. How?
Customers are delighted when

they
 are made to feel

special;
 are treated with care, courtesy and respect by listening
to and focusing on them;
Why is it so easy to complain about poor service?
Describe a situation where you have encountered poor service

and list below the faults as you see them.
Activity 4:1:1 Now try to describe a service which has delighted you with
its excellence and efficiency. Try to list the reasons why.
Which list is longer?
Which is the easier task to accomplish?
 get more than they expect and their problems are solved in
a timely manner;
 are dealt with in the best way possible at all times and
 Interact in a clean, safe and secure environment
These are just some of the circumstances! Now complete
the following Activity 4:1:1.
You will recall in previous activity that you described a

situation where you encountered poor service.
(i) What were the shortcomings in the service

Activity 4:1:2
delivery? (ii) How did you feel?
(iii) What do you think could have been the possible causes
for these shortcomings?
(iv) What were your expectations?
The answer is probably the former – the poor service, not the
great service. This highlights some of the problems we
encounter when we try to define excellence within our own
organization and attempt to work out how we can best deliver
service excellence. Now complete the following activity 4:1:2.
Poor service delivery may be associated
with:
 exceptionally long time taken to get the service;

 poor attitude of staff providing the services;
 inaccurate
information;
 the disorderly, dirty and cluttered appearance of
the environment;
 getting information in the absence of concerned person
is impossible or frustrating if using automated means;
 staff are not fully aware of their duties;
 inputs come on a piecemeal basis;
 decision-making process is too lengthy.
When you encounter poor service, the experience is
disgusting. Poor services lead to:
 material and psychological losses;

 dissatisfaction;
 criticism and
cynicism;
 bad image and
 poor reputation.
What happens when tour guiding services are poor? Reflect on
the following questions:
 Are you happy with

this?
 Is the customer
happy?
 Who are the losers?
 Who is responsible for
this?
The above activities have helped you to reflect on the features

of poor service and resulting feelings of customers. You are
now in a better position to put yourself in the shoes of tourists
when you are delivering tour guiding services.
Complete Activity
4:1:3
With a partner, think of a great customer service experience
you had, then share:
(i) What features made it

Reflection Activity
4:1:3
good/great/exceptional? (ii) How did you feel?
(iii) What were your expectations? Were they all met?
(iv) What factors facilitated the good/great/exceptional service?
The words 'quality' and ‘excellence’ are bound up with ideas

about service. Service excellence is the keystone to
successful tour guiding services. You will realize that customer
service excellence requires your commitment, time and some
planning, anticipation of the customer needs, vigilance and
flexibility..
You must have heard of a useful saying 'there is only one

constant in this life – change'. In order to commit to improving
quality, you will have to change attitudes and change working
practices. It is easy to recognize how quickly even the most
everyday aspects of our lives are changing – are constantly
changing. So why should our services and systems stay the
same? Anticipating change and directing change are important
if we are to continuously improve the quality of our tour
guiding services.
Quality
Since service is so variable and intangible, the discussion on
the concept of quality in services has its origins in the
definitions once used in the concept of quality for the production
of tangible goods.
In order to define customer service excellence it will be helpful

to look at how the concept of 'quality' has been defined.
Common models of quality include:
 conformance to requirements by Philip Crosby; which
is related in the zero defects principle;
 fit for the purpose by Dr. Joseph M. Juran;
 'the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on
its ability to satisfy stated and implied need' (ISO
8402:1994);
 right first time – every
time;
 quality models such as Total Quality Management (TQM).
Though mainly used for products, let us look at some of
the features of quality products:
 'Conformance to requirements' – assumes that we
know what the customers need and what their
requirements are, and that we are correct in our
assumptions. It suggests that we know what is best for our
customers.
 'Fit for the purpose' – relates to mainly products and
still assumes that we know how the product will be used.
When applied to notions of customer service
excellence, you quickly realize that only bad service
would not be fit for the purpose that is, inappropriate!
This model “equates quality with the fulfillment of a
specification or stated outcome.”
(www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary/)
 'The totality of characteristics of an entity that bear
on its ability to satisfy stated and implied need'
(ISO
8402:1994) – Needs may be stated in the form
of
specifications by the customer or they may not be stated
but they are implied by convention, by customer’s
expectations
or by statutory requirements.
 'Right first time – every time' - Now what exactly
does this mean? – This model assumes exact
reproduction at all times. It is like a recipe that needs
only to be repeated for similar results every time.
However, unlike tangible products, a service does not
follow these exact models.
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a set of tools and

a process whose output yields customer satisfaction
and continuous improvement. This philosophy and
process differs from traditional philosophies and
processes in that everyone in the organization can
and must practice. It espouses the "win-win" attitude.
Total Quality Management

TQM is based upon everyone in an organization
taking responsibility for his/her own part of a process. The
process which involves four (4) categories: plan, do, check
and act (the PDCA Cycle).
“TQM processes are divided into four sequential categories:
plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle). In the planning
phase, people define the problem to be addressed, collect
relevant data, and ascertain the problem's root cause; in the
doing phase, people develop and implement a solution, and
decide upon a measurement
to gauge its effectiveness; in the checking phase, people
confirm the results through before-and-after data comparison;
in the acting phase, people document their results, inform
others about process changes, and make recommendations for
the problem to be addressed in the next PDCA cycle.” (Last
Updated 30 Jan, 2002)
http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid182_gci799434,00.htm
l
As a model this has proved its worth in large industries such as

car production, software development, electronics and the
like. The
'total' in total quality is a concern for quality in the broader sense.
It is about continual improvement of the quality of its
products, services, people, processes and environment. It is
continually
satisfying agreed customer requirements at lowest cost
through harnessing everyone's commitment.
The total quality approach is characterized by:
 customer focus;
 obsession with
quality;
 scientific approach to decision-making and
problem solving;
 long-term
commitment;
 teamwork;
 continual process improvement;
 education and
training;
 unity of purpose;
 employee involvement and empowerment.
However, you will note that quality systems are dynamic.

They evolve with time with a view for continuous
improvement. This explains why we need to monitor and
review our standards for customer service excellence
regularly.
Traditional ways of assessing quality were not only highly

product based, but were mostly aimed at minimizing negative
quality such as poor service – so that the best one could ever do
was to get nothing wrong! Did they deliver excellence? Not
necessarily!
You will realize that getting nothing wrong doesn't necessarily

mean that we have got everything right! Remember though that
quality and customer service assurance is highly dependent on
the customer’s needs and perception.
Quality Systems
You will agree that the concept of quality and its management is
rapidly moving into the whole range of services – including
tourist services.
For those of us in the tourism business we look to Zagat

Surveys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagat_Survey) and
ServQual Methods
(http://www.12manage.com/methods_zeithaml_servqual.html)
to aid us in measuring and understanding the service
quality framework.
Overall, the internal and external challenges are forcing

providers to change themselves towards improved
performance. Accountability, transparency, customer friendly
services, openness, efficiency, cost-effectiveness and people
orientation are the buzzwords nowadays. All these are related
to service quality.
Complete Activity
4:1:4
Although it is difficult to have one accepted definition of

quality,
1. What is your definition of quality when applied to tour
guiding services?
2. List five characteristics that describe quality tour
guiding services.
Activity 4:1:4
3. Discuss the ServQual Model with a partner.
we can identify the similarities in the various
definitions:
 Quality applies to products, services, people, processes
and environments;
 Quality involves meeting or exceeding
customer expectations.
These sentiments are substantiated by the following

quotation:
“In an information technology product or service, quality

is sometimes defined as "meeting the requirements of the
customer." The term quality assurance describes any
systematic process for ensuring quality during the successive
steps in developing a product or service.”
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci816144,00.ht
ml
Thus we can say that 'Quality is a dynamic state associated
with products, services, people, processes and environments
that meets or exceeds expectations'.
Quality includes anything the customer expects and requires.

You need to realize that this is ever changing. Quality is
an ever- changing state (i.e. what is considered quality today
may not be good enough to be considered quality tomorrow).
Customer service excellence implies looking carefully at both

the quality of the
 services provided
and
 processes used to deliver the services.
Delivering customer service excellence is about determining
levels of service quality or service standards that you can
achieve; then promising and delivering that quality of
service to all your customers.
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and agreeing
upon technical standards. A standard is a document that
establishes uniform engineering or technical specifications,
criteria, methods, processes, or practices. Formal standards
organizations, such as the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) or the American National Standards
Institute, are independent of the manufacturers of the goods
for which they publish standards.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardization )
According to International Organization for Standardization

(ISO), standardization is a process of formulating and applying
rules for
 an orderly approach to a specific activity for the benefit
and with the cooperation of all concerned and in
particular;
 the promotion of optimum overall economy, taking
account of functional conditions and safety requirements.
What is ISO?
"ISO" is derived from the Greek isos, meaning "equal".
140
140
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the
world's largest developer and publisher of International
Standards.
141
141
ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of
162 countries, one member per country, with a Central
Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.
ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a

bridge between the public and private sectors. On the one hand,
many of its member institutes are part of the governmental
structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government.
On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely
in the private sector, having been set up by national
partnerships of industry associations.
Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions

that meet both the requirements of business and the broader
needs of society. (http://www.iso.org/iso/about.htm)
The primary standards development activities are performed

by volunteers from the member countries. ISO is not involved
in the actual applications of the resultant standards to any
business or national activity. It is the basic source for
international consensus on voluntary standards.
A commonly known standard in the ISO 9000 family range
for quality management systems is that of ISO 9001 “The
objective of ISO 9001:2000 is to provide a set of requirements
that, if they are effectively implemented, will provide you
with confidence that your supplier can consistently provide
goods and services that:
Meet your needs and expectations and
Comply with applicable regulations ”
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/management_standards/i
so
_9000_iso_14000/more_resources_9000/9001supchain.ht
m
In summary the ISO 9000 is a standard for ensuring that

a company's quality assurance system follows best
industry practices.”
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci816144,00.ht
ml
There are eight (8) key quality management principles as follows:
1. Customer focused organization;

2.
Leadership;
3. Involvement of
people;
4. Process
approach;
5. System approach to
management;
6. Continual
improvement;
7. Factual approach to decision
making;
8. Mutually beneficial supplier
relationship.
ISO has a number of clauses that help organizations to

implement the quality standards related to both the products
and the process. The process element is quite relevant to the
provision of tour guiding services.
When it comes to tour guiding services, we need to think about

an approach to customer service excellence. Let’s now
examine a model which will help us to deliver service excellence
in this area.
Customer Service Excellence Systems

A Customer Service Excellence System (CSES) needs to
draw from the relevant theories and approaches regarding
'quality' that will help you achieve and maintain service
excellence in your organization.
Traditional quality systems are aimed at minimizing

negative quality by poor products and inconsistency. You will
realize that so far the best that these approaches can achieve
is to 'get nothing wrong'. However "Nothing Wrong DOES
NOT IMPLY Anything Right"
You will agree that getting nothing wrong is just not enough
(not good enough). So as well as minimizing poor service, we
also need to maximize positive qualities such as excitement,
luxury, fun etc. In other words, we are looking to giving
added value to our customers. The CSES
 aims to maximize the positive quality of
customer satisfaction;
 looks for both the spoken and the unspoken needs
and requirements of your customers;
 helps customers to understand and express
their requirements. Thus you can optimize those aspects
of your
service to delight your customers. As though the TQM
or
Fit for Purpose quality models.
 looks to balance customers' perceptions of the value of
your service with their own need for that service.
Then it attempts to exceed the customers'
expectations by delivering service excellence and to
surprise them!
We must remember that we cannot afford to waste

limited resources – human, financial, time etc. – on delivering
service or embellishing a service in a way that customers
don't want. In customer service excellence the customer is the
driver!
What are the dimensions of Service Excellence?

The characteristics or dimensions of service excellence can
be developed based on stated and implied needs (and any
extra to delight the customers). Customers look for these
dimensions of service excellence:
 Time – How much time must the customer wait?

 Timeliness – Will the service be provided as promised? Is
it relevant or suitable to the need?
 Completeness – Is the service complete?
 Courtesy – Do front-line staff greet each
customer cheerfully, politely and with respect?
 Consistency – Are services delivered in the same
fashion for every customer, and every time for the same
customer?
 Accessibility and convenience – Are the services easy
to obtain?
 Accuracy – Are the services performed right the first time?
 Responsiveness – Can the service personnel react
quickly and resolve unexpected problems?
This is not an inexhaustible list and you can add extras to this
list! We can also look at customer service excellence
differently from four different perspectives.
Complete Assignment Activity
4:1:5.
1. Read Customer Care Excellence: How to create an

effective customer focus by Sarah Cook
http://books.google.com/books?id=k19XBn62A-
sC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=quality+models+
Assignment %2B+customer+care&sour ce=bl&ots=
4:1:5
2. Write a brief summary of your understanding of the aspect of
quality discussed by Sarah Cook.
CSE – Four Perspectives

As it relates to the tour guides profession, the approach to
customer service excellence can also be viewed from four
perspectives:
 The information perspective

 The service delivery perspective
 The accountability perspective
 The efficiency perspective
The Information Perspective – As a tour guide you are a

major provider of information. The major factors affecting the
service quality are
 access to information;
 easy and systematic availability of information;
 timely availability of information;
 notification of changes in any of the information.
As a tour guide you rely a lot on accurate and up to
date information for service excellence. Without information you
cannot
 talk;
 answer questions;
 develop relationship with tourists;
 sell the product/service;
 be an effective tour guide.
Service Delivery Perspective- Customers expect timely
and prompt service. You must always realize that their time
is very precious. Hence they require
 minimum red tape and forms to fill in;

 prompt information on delay or waiting times.
 prompt information on status of request and
 courteous
behaviour.
Accountability Perspective - This is the perspective which

has been gaining importance in the last few years. This is
because of the pressures for your services to be more open,
more transparent and for the service provider to be more
accountable for their behaviour and actions. Secrecy can lead
to malpractices, abuses and even corrupt behaviour.
Efficiency Perspective- Your performance has a direct bearing

on the efficiency of financial, material and human resources you
use to provide tour guiding services. Ultimately your
performance impacts on your organization/agency, the image of
the country as a tourist destination, the tourist industry and the
national economy.
Tour guiding service excellence rests on the

responsiveness, response time, the standards of performance and
a customer service excellence culture.
Creating the service excellence

culture
In focusing on service delivery you have also to focus on the

need to develop a conducive internal work environment. This
will ensure all employees act in a way that delivers high
quality service. The creation of a customer service excellence
culture is therefore one of the challenges facing tour guiding
services as they focus on service delivery issues.
It is important that you develop a vision of service excellence

that could permeate its culture. Tour guiding service mission,
values and principles are important in guiding your
behaviour and developing this culture. We’ll examine the
importance of a code of ethics and customer charters in
developing customer service excellence in Unit 2.
Most of the improvements that the tourists would like to see can
be undertaken at your level - things such as a smile, treating them
with respect and being honest when providing
information and apologizing if things go wrong. These are not a
matter of additional resources - they are a matter of adopting
different standards of behaviour!
Survey ten (10) customers to your organization. With reference
to the level of customer service offered by your organization’s
services
Assessment for Unit
4:1 what are their needs and
in what ways your organization measure up to (i) meeting and

(ii)
exceeding their expectations and (iii) missing out
OR
An Assessment option relevant to the specific country or

institution
In this Unit we introduced you to the concept of customer

service excellence. This is about delighting your customers,
surprising them by exceeding their expectations. We also
Summary for Unit touched briefly on some aspects of quality systems with
4:1 respect to the tour guiding services. Many aspects of total
quality management principles and the ISO principles are
quite relevant for customer service excellence.
We looked at the various dimensions of customer

service excellence and examined it from four different
relevant perspectives in this area. It has also been pointed
out that the challenge is the creation of a service excellence
culture where every tour guide is empowered to make the
difference!
Customer service excellence means anticipating change,

creating change, adapting to change and managing change
to delight customers.
Why customer service excellence? This is what we see in the

next
Unit.

customer customer service customer service
excellence
Terminology for
Unit 4:1
Unit 4:2
Unit 4:2 The Importance of CSE

Unit Overview
In the previous Unit we discussed about what constitutes
customer service excellence. You will agree that any
organization delivering excellent quality service will benefit
from good publicity through the word of mouth about the
excellent service.
Diverse types of tour guiding services are provided to customers.

It is useful to realize that the rapid developments in information
and communication technologies are changing the way you
and your services are perceived by your customers. Tourists
have increasing expectations. They are well informed about
the various services and the standards of such services from
different providers. What are the reasons for implementing
customer service excellence? This is what we discuss in this
Unit. We will be looking at the rationales based on
 Increasing customer consciousness about getting more
than just value for money;
 Increasing expectation from the customers for quality
tour guiding services;
 The need for rationalization and optimization of
resources at your disposal;
 The pressing need for improving effectiveness
and efficiency;
 Demand for more transparency and accountability;
 Good governance and duty principles;
 Legal requirements,
and
 Best practices guided by code of ethics and
customer charters.
Identify and explain the rationales for customer
service excellence in tour guiding services;
Objectives for Unit
4:2 Explain the relevance of a code of ethics and customer
charters in service quality;
Apply the ethical principles in service delivery while
adhering to legal requirements;
Explain how customer service excellence improves
efficiency and effectiveness of tour guiding operations
Rationales for the need for Customer Service Excellence
In a genuinely competitive global market, tour
guiding organizations cannot afford to ignore the needs and
wishes of their customers if they want to stay in business.
This is because dissatisfied customers can choose to go
elsewhere. If you want business success, it is essential to
 know what the customer wants and

 provide it quicker, better and cheaper than
your competitors.
Competitive organizations worldwide have already realized
that “the customer comes first” concept is not an empty
slogan but a fundamental business principle that is very
relevant for you as a tour guide. What will happen if all your
customers suddenly decide to stop coming to your
country/agency and go elsewhere? Just reflect over this
question for a few seconds.
Why should customer service excellence matter? When

service excellence is provided for all customers, all the time,
everyone benefits.
For your customers - It’s what they
expect! Did you know -
 a typical organization never hears from 91% of its

unhappy
customers?
 an unhappy customer tells between 8 and 10 people of
the poor experience. It can destroy the reputation of
your workplace and your country?
Effective customer service will help to ensure that customer
needs and expectations are met. They are delighted with the
service and care that they receive. They will also have
confidence that any problem they encounter will be resolved
promptly.
For your organization You will be helping your organization

to meet its objectives and to be successful. Good
customer care/service makes a good impression of your
organization and strengthens its reputation.
For you, as a tour

guide
150
150
Customer care and service excellence delight your customers.
They will be contented and your dealings with them will be
enjoyable. When you take pride in trying to please your
customers and meet
151
151
their needs, you will get satisfaction from seeing that
your customers are happy and that your efforts have paid off.
Moreover
 It makes your job more satisfying and fun!

 It makes a good impression of you.
 It’s good training for future employment – many
organizations look for potential employees with
customer care experience.
Who are the stakeholders in your organization? Make a list of

the different groups and individuals who have a vested interest
Activity 4:2:1 in the continuation of your services.
And most of all…You are the face of your organization! Thus

with service excellence, everyone wins. Now in addition to the
above, there are a number of arguments which make the case for
customer service excellence. We may look at these from the
following perspectives:
 Marketing perspective;
 Stakeholder perspective;
 Survival perspective;
 Customer Duty Principles and Good
Governance perspective;
 Legal perspective.
Another way of describing these perspectives is to call them

'requirements' or 'imperatives' – but without doubt they are
considerations that are vital to the delivery of service
excellence. Let’s look at each in turn.
Marketing Perspective
We can consider this perspective at two levels for our CSE.
 Firstly, if we cannot offer an excellent service, then there
is no point spending valuable resources – people, time,
and money – on marketing it. Do you agree?
 Secondly, the marketing activities of your organization
or your own job will help you to determine customers’
wants. Then you can decide what you offer and how
you are to deliver that particular service.
Customer service excellence implies optimum use of
available resources and doing the right things. This means
increasing productivity, effectiveness, efficiency and
reducing wastage. Customer service excellence should be the
guiding credo.
We are aware that our customers are becoming increasingly

more demanding in terms of service quality. Satisfying them is
no longer enough! Service delivery must continuously
improve to delight them!
Stakeholder Perspective
There are various 'stakeholders' – people or organizations who
have a vested interest in the survival and profitability (or its
equivalent) of that organization. These may include
 Government;
 Public Officials;
 Tourists;
 Tourists bureau
 Travel agencies;
 Hotels/partners and shareholders.
It is important for an organization to ensure that these
stakeholders are happy as far as possible.
Customer Service Excellence looks at the needs of all of

these groups. It then builds them into a realistic model of quality
within a particular organization. This is achieved by a realistic
approach to designing and maintaining customer service
excellence.
Survival Perspective
It is not an exaggeration if we argue that customer
service excellence is a survival necessity. In fact this is the
fundamental reason why you and your organization should
bother with service excellence. These are the two faces of
the customer service excellence coin.
 To survive we need to deliver customer service excellence.

 If we don't deliver customer service excellence we
won't survive.
The pressure is immense. The era of monopolies is phasing
out rapidly. There is increasing number of services that are now
being provided by a host of other countries/agencies.
Organizations that are not perceived to be performing
satisfactorily may be threatened with closure! If your services
are judged to be of inferior quality compared to your neighbor,
there are risks that you would lose your customers.
Duty Principles and Good Governance

Good Governance Perspective
As tour guides, you will agree that we bear special
responsibilities in anything we do in the way we provide
services to tourists. Tour guides are the real ambassadors of
the tourist destination. Our behaviour and actions should be
beyond reproach. We are guided by a number of key
principles which include openness and transparency,
accountability, honesty and integrity, selflessness and objectivity
These principles are also key elements in promoting

good governance. Good governance rests on pillars like
 Openness and
transparency
 Accountability
 Integrity of systems, integrity of people and integrity
of relationships
Increasing openness and transparency improve
accountability. Openness and transparency are fundamental to
service integrity. In terms of customer service delivery, their
importance lies in the need to build confidence and trust
between you as a tour guide and the tourists you serve.
A key aspect of this is that the tourist wants to know more
about
 the services provided and the way you operate;
 legal and cultural requirements;
 what is being done to improve the quality of tour
guiding services in the country; and
 the accurate costs of services.
The above principles are primary to promoting healthy

practices. Best practices are further enhanced by the code of
ethics for tour guides and the customer charters.
1. Code of Ethics
If you work in a profession such as Health Care or the Law
there will be professional and ethical standards that you must
consider in all your dealings with your customers. These are
intended to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and provided
with a consistent and reliable service.
Do you have a code of ethics? Do tour guides need a code

of ethics? (More in Unit 7).
The code of ethics for tour guides can go a long way

in highlighting the need for displaying honesty and
integrity, selflessness and objectivity in their dealings with
tourists or customers.
A code of ethics makes it clear that courtesy and regard for

the customers are the fundamental duties of tour guides. You
need to treat tourists "as customers who are entitled to receive
the highest standards of service”.
In case you already have one, it is important that you go

through the code and ensure that you abide by it in
all your actions/behaviors in the course of your work. If you
do not have one, developing and adhering to a code of ethics
can help towards increased professionalism and excellence in
tour guiding services.
Most organizations develop policies and procedures for

their employees to follow. Many of these relate to customer
service tasks. It is important that you understand these policies
and work to them at all times.
2. Customer Charters
Many organizations publish their charters with a view to
improve the quality of their services.
What is a customer
charter?
According to the Australian Department of Commerce, it

is
“one measure which businesses can use to enhance

their competitiveness, by becoming more customer focused.
A customer charter is a statement of standards and/or

procedures that a business agrees will govern the relationship
between itself and its customers. A charter can establish
standards of service delivery, provision of information to
customers, consultation processes and complaint or dispute
resolution mechanisms.”
(http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/consumerprotection/Content/S
ho pping/For_traders/Customer_Charters_and_informat.html)
Hence, a customer charter is a formal document produced by

an organization to
 facilitate the access to its services and

 make its activities transparent and
accountable. This instrument is created to inform
customers on
 how an agency
works;
 what kind of services are provided;
 where and who to contact to obtain such services;
 what are the conditions - if any - to receive these services;
 what are the available resources/channels to redress
those situations in which the citizen (customer) is not
satisfied with the organization.
It represents the commitment of the agency

towards
 standard, quality and time frame for service delivery.

For example, we will acknowledge your request within
three working days and provide you with a request
number and a point of contact;
 grievances redress mechanism, transparency
and accountability.
Although there are variations according to each organization,

the following can be described as regular components of the
customer charter:
 It should contain detailed and specific information on
the services provided.
 The rights and duties of customers should be clearly listed.
 The form or manner in which the services should
be expected to be delivered.
 A description of how customers' might participate in
the process.
 A description of what to do or to whom to address in
case of a problem
One of the underlying principles of customer charters is

that agencies should be structured to serve the interests
of the customers. In this process, inevitably,
transparency and accountability should be made available.
Thus the main objective of a customer charter in any

organization is to improve the quality of services. This is
done by informing customers about the mandate of the
relevant organization, their rights to these services and criteria
for qualification, procedures to contact its officials, what to
expect by way of services and how to seek a remedy if
something goes wrong.
Just as customers have rights, they also have their

responsibilities. The customer charter also prescribes the
responsibility of the customers, which is essential to fulfill
their rights. It does not by itself create new legal rights, but
it surely helps in enforcing existing rights.
Legal Perspective
In many cases your activities or services are governed
by legislation(s). The legislation(s) that regulate the service
delivery in your agency may imply sanctions in
case of non- compliance/unsatisfactory service. This may
include any omission or shortcoming in the service delivery.
Some of the articles that were in the code of ethics may also
be included in the legislations. Many countries have a
Tourism Board/Bureau that is set up to ensure customer service
excellence which is a legal requirement.
Some examples of legislations that may be relevant include

those pertaining to
 Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare;

 Immigration and foreign visa
 Consumer
Protection
 Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime;
 Data Protection;
 Labor regulations.
While delivering customer services you must take full account

of all relevant legislations. This is why it is important that
you are familiar with the different legislations that are
relevant for the services in your agency.
Complete Activity
4:2:2
What areas of legislation apply to your agency? Make a list of

the main fields or acts with which your services must comply.
Activity 4:2:2
As a group, discuss your thoughts on the following quotation

from
M K
Assessment for Gandhi?
Unit
4:2 “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He
is not dependent on us, we are dependent on him. He is
not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. He
is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not
doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour
by giving us an opportunity to do so”.
In this Unit we introduced we examined the rationales for
customer service excellence in tour guiding. We need to
continue to improve to delight our customers because this is
Summary for Unit what they expect. As tour guides our behaviour, attitudes,
4:2 actions and performance are guided by our code of ethics and
also by what we promised to the customers through the
customer charters
In addition to these we looked at the rationales from other

key perspectives that included
 Marketing perspective;
 Stakeholder perspective;
 Survival perspective;
 Good Governance perspective;
 Legal perspective.
Adopting certain key principles, honoring the
statutory requirements, practicing good governance go a long
way towards building trust and customer service excellence.
We trust that you are convinced that customer service

excellence concerns you as a tour guide. You can make the
difference! In the next Unit we’ll be looking in some detail the
services we provide as a tour guide and how we can provide
service excellence.

customer charter
Terminology for
Unit 4:2
Unit 4:3 Challenges to Customer Service
Excellence (CSE)
Unit Overview
We explained the concept of customer service excellence in
Unit
4:1. You will recall in Unit 4:2 we discussed the importance
of implementing customer service excellence in the tour
guiding
activity. We can now investigate how customer service is
provided and the challenges that we face in the tour guiding
environment.
It is important that we have a clear understanding of the

various facets of the tourist sector before we move on to the
planning and delivery of service excellence.
 We start by recalling the definitions used in earlier units
for customer and customer service. Then we move on to
seek answers to the objectives.

 Classify customers into two (2) major groups;
Objectives for Unit  Identify types of customers;
4:3
 Identify your customers’ needs and expectations
accurately;
 Discussing listening and questioning skills effectively;
 Explain the relevance of government policies,
internal procedures and statutory requirements
affect service quality;
 Identify and respond effectively to special needs of
your customers.
Unit 4:3 Challeng
Who are your Customers?

We have already pointed out that customers are the people
who receive a service from someone else. Two broad
categories of customers can usually be identified:
 External
Customers;
 Internal Customers.
External customers
These customers are the easiest to identify. They use the
services provided by your organization.
 You may meet your customers when they come to
your place of work or when you go out on tours with
them.
 You may interact with them through the telephone,
letters or emails.
External customers can be further divided by different

categories:
 Existing customers – individuals or groups of people

who have done business with your organization on
previous occasions;
 New customers who have approached you/your
organization for the first time; they may be visitors
using a different language;
 Different ages – your customers may be children,
elderly people or any age group in between. Whatever
their age, they are all customers and are entitled to a
high standard of customer service.
 Different cultures – your customers may have a variety
of cultural backgrounds which should be respected in
your dealings with them;
 Gender – male and female customers should get
equal treatment in most circumstances.
 Special needs – this looks at the needs of those with
visual, hearing or mobility impairments. There will be a
closer look at this group later in this Unit.
160
160
Types of customers
When we speak of external customers in reference to
service quality, satisfaction and loyalty are two important
factors to consider. Bill Etter in his
article at http://www.quirks.com/articles/a1997/19971109.aspx?
searchID=38
996735&sort=9 stated that “Researchers often define loyalty
using one or some combination of three measures - overall
satisfaction,
intention to repurchase, and willingness to
recommend.”
For an organization that is using the intent to repurchase as a
prime factor in measuring customer loyalty a look at the
types of customers is of interest. Thomas Jones and Earl
Sasser Jr. (1995) identified six (6) types of customers –
hostage, mercenary, defector, loyalist, terrorist and apostle.
This model was later simplified by other users to establish
a link between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
(http://blog.vovici.com/blog/bid/17878/The-Folk-Apostle-
Model )
Figure 7 - Quadrant comparison of customer types
Let us look at identifying some of the types of

customers mentioned above:
1. Apostles and Loyalists- highly satisfied customers who

are supportive of the organization and the cost to
maintain is low. These customers are the most
desirable for the organization as they recommend the
organization to others.
2. Hostages – those customers that live in a

monopolistic economy. These customers are very
dissatisfied but have few or no other alternatives. The
cost to maintain is high.
3. Mercenaries – these customers switch between
competitive companies to obtain discounts or lower
prices. These customers though satisfied will easily
move between organizations s they are not loyal. This is
very noticeable in the tourism industry where similar
hotels or tour companies with similar packages will
lose customers if their
competition offers a better deal. However, the cost
to maintain is moderate.
4. Defectors and Terrorists – these customers are

dissatisfied and due to poor service will leave the
organization and tell others of their bad experience so
dissuading others from using the service provider. The
organization accrues high costs to maintain this type of
customer.
Internal customers
You may be providing a service to people within your
organization. They are also your customers. We do not always
think of these people as customers. Do you always treat them as
you would treat your external customers? You should!
Your internal customers may include:
 Colleagues – you may provide a service to the people

with whom you work with directly or in other
departments of your organization,
 Supervisors – you may provide a service to members
of management
Complete Activity
4:3:1
Differentiate between your organization’s external and

internal customers.
Activity 4:3:1
Every time we receive a service from an organization, as

a customer, we develop an experience. We are left with
feelings about the organization that we deal with. What we are
experiencing is the standard of customer service that is provided.
You will agree that these experiences help us
 get into the shoes of the customers, and

 appreciate our customers’ expectations, needs and
feelings. Our experiences could have been satisfactory, bad or
exceptionally
good! When our experiences were
satisfactory,
 there was nothing wrong with the way that we were

treated;
 the service was what we had expected;
 we didn’t get excited about the experience but there
was nothing to complain about;
 we would, most likely, deal with the organization
again although we do not feel any particular loyalty to
them.
When our experiences were bad, we
 did not like the way that we were treated;

 were not happy with the service or product that we paid
for;
 felt angry;
 might complain;
 told other people about the bad experience;
 do not want to deal with the organization
again. When our experiences were exceptionally
good,
 we were delighted with the service that we received;

 the staff of the organization went out of their way to
meet our needs;
 the service went beyond our expectation;
 we told other people about this really good experience;
 we want to deal with the organization again when we
need their services.
You will be able to identify situations when the customer

service you received was just satisfactory, bad or exceptionally
good. Now complete Activity 4:3:2
Think about a situation when you were a customer and the
service that you received was satisfactory.
Explain why you consider the service was neither particularly

good nor bad.
Activity 4:3:2
What could the service? Now think about another situation when you received a
service provider bad

service.
have done to
Describe the service that you received and your reasons
improve the for thinking that it was bad.
Describe your feelings after your encounter with this
organization. Which of the following actions did you take as a
result of this
experience?
 Complained about the service;
 Told other people about your bad experience and tried
to persuade them not to use its services;
 Decided that you will use another organization in future;
 Tried to forget about what happened and given
the organization another chance.
OR
Think about a situation when you received exceptionally
good service.
Describe the service that you received.
What were your reasons for thinking that it was

exceptionally good?
What happened on this occasion to make you feel that the

standard of customer service was better than satisfactory?
Describe your feelings after you experienced the customer

service that this organization provides.
Which of the following actions have you taken as a result of

this experience?
 Thanked those involved for the good service that
you received
 Told other people about the exceptional customer
service
 Decided that you will use this organization, whenever
you need the type of service that they provide in the
future.
If you have a bad experience, remember what made it bad and
avoid doing something similar to your customers.
When you are pleased about the standard of customer service

that you received, see if there is something similar that you can
do to please your customers
Identifying Customer Needs, Requirements and

Expectations
You can take care of your customers and provide them
with excellent services they require only if you accurately
identify their needs. It is useful to categorize customer
needs/requirements so that we can understand how meeting
those requirements affect customer satisfaction.
Revealed Requirements are usually what the customers say

they want. Customer satisfaction depends upon the extent
these requirements are met. A good example of this is fast
service – the faster (or slower) the service, the more the
customer likes (or dislikes) it. A customer can reasonably
expect us to deliver a specific request to which we have
agreed.
Expected Requirements are so basic to a particular service

that the customer takes them for granted – often to the extent
that the customer fails to mention them until we fail to
deliver them. Problems only surface when things go
wrong! They are the fundamental expectations of the
service and without them the service may cease to be of
value. This means that their absence is very dissatisfying. A
customer will take for granted that we 'will' fulfill expected
requirements. You will recall that some requirements are
expected because they are implied by convention or statutory
obligation.
Extra Requirements are difficult to discover. Their

presence excites, but their absence doesn't dissatisfy as the
customer does not expect them. They are beyond the customer's
expectations. This is why meeting this extra requirement
surprises or “wows” the customer. These 'extras' add value to
the service and can delight the customer.
Note: what delights us today [extra requirement] very

quickly becomes tomorrow's 'expected requirement'. Thus
care must be taken not to stand still.
To improve the quality of the services supplied by
your organization it will be necessary to analyze existing
services (and
any new ones that you propose to introduce) in terms of
the
'requirements' listed above. Complete Activity 4:3:3
Describe one service provided by your organization. Now try

to analyze them in terms of requirements.
 Revealed Requirements
Activity 4:3:3  Expected Requirements
 What might be an Extra Requirement?
Listening, Questioning and Confirming

With some customers this will be quite straightforward
because they will explain exactly what they want you to do for
them. When this happens you need to listen carefully to
everything that they say. Try to remember all the details.
Listening to them implies you are caring for their needs!
You will agree that some customers are not sure of

their requirements. They will need you to explain to them
exactly what they want. These customers will usually tell you
some of the things that you need to know. But they will leave
out important pieces of information that you will require
before you can help them effectively.
In order to gather this missing information you will need to ask

the customer some questions. A variety of questioning
techniques can be used to get the answers you require. These
include:
 open questions;
 closed questions;
 probing questions.
Open
questions
Open questions are designed to encourage a detailed answer.

They will include words such as “How? Who? Where? Why?
When? What?”
Examples of open questions
include:
 How far is the nature park from the hotel?
 What is special about the water park?
 Where is the museum located?
 When would you like us to visit the zoo?
 Why do you need a late appointment?
 When would you like me to call you back?
 What is your expected departure date?
Each one of these questions is likely to result in a reply from

your customer, which helps you to understand their
needs. Now complete Activity 4:3:4.
Write an open question that will help you to understand

your customer’s needs in each of these situations.
(i) You have telephoned a customer to arrange a convenient time

to visit a specialized souvenir shop.
Activity 4:3:4
(ii) Your customer has told you that he needs to postpone his
departure. You can help him to get the necessary visa
clearances.
(iii) Your customer wishes to visit a museum. You need to

know which type of museum she would prefer.
When you ask a customer an open question you are giving

him/her the chance to provide you with the information that you
require.
Closed
questions
Closed questions can be answered with the words “yes” or

“no”. They can be good questions to use in certain
circumstances. However, they may not provide you with such a
detailed answer as an open question would.
Examples of closed questions

include
 Is it close to the
hotel?
 Would you like us to visit the bird park?
 Have you got all the required documents?
 Will ten o’clock on Monday be alright for you?
Probing
questions
Probing questions can be used when you need to find out

even more about the customers’ needs. They may be open or
closed depending on the information that you require.
Examples
:
 Tell me a bit more about the nature of the places you
wish to visit.
 You said you would like to come back with your
family next year, which month would be most
appropriate?
You will have an impression of your customers’ needs after
you have asked a variety of questions and listened carefully
to the answers.
In some cases, at the start, customers will not know what will
be best for them. This may be because they are not fully familiar
with the place and the services that are available to them. You
will then need to share your knowledge of the services
available and compare them to the needs of the customer.
Subsequently you can suggest the most appropriate service.
Confirming needs
You may have put in much effort to ask questions and find
out about a customer’s needs. However, it is always useful to
make sure that you understand fully what they actually want.
Once you think you understand your customers’ needs, you

should summaries your thoughts to the customers. Give
them the opportunity to confirm or correct you if you have
misunderstood.
Examples
:
 So you would like us to visit the museum on
Wednesday afternoon between two and four o’clock.
 Can I just check that I have got it right; you want to
buy some souvenirs on your way back to your room on
Friday evening. Anything else?
In both these cases, if you have misunderstood, the customer
can correct you before you have gone any further. You can take
action only when you are sure that what you will be doing is
exactly what the customer wants and needs
Providing Information, Advice, Assistance and Help
Once you have accurately identified the needs of your
customer you should be ready to provide the information and
advice that your customer requires.
You will agree that clarity is important when giving

information and advice clearly and concisely to customers.
Thus we need to provide information and advice so that they
are easily understood by your customer. Now you may
proceed further with Activity
4:3:5.
Think about two services about which you give information

or advice to your customers. For each service make a list of
the important details that you must tell your customers.
Activity 4:3:5 Service Important details
If written information such as a leaflet is available you may be

able to give the customer a copy to refer to. Otherwise, you may
make a note of certain details like
 phone numbers;
 addresses;
 dates and times.
Accuracy and Reliability
Customers have a right to expect that the information and
advice you provide them with will be accurate. You should find
out from a reliable source before giving information if you do not
 know the answer to a customer’s question;
 have the information that a customer requires.
At best, inaccurate information or advice will give a

poor impression of you and your agency when the customer
discovers that it is incorrect. At worst, customers who act
upon inaccurate information that you have provided may put
themselves at risk of danger, compromise future prospects,
health, damage to property or financial loss.
Always be certain that the information and advice that you give
is accurate and avoid making promises that you will not be
able to keep. There may be serious consequences if you tell your
customer something that is not correct.
Complete Activity
4:3:6.
Think about the following two situations. Incorrect information

or advice has been given. Make a note of the likely
consequences for the customer.
(i) A customer has called the airport to find out the time of
the ABC Air flight to Singapore. She is incorrectly told that
Activity 4:3:6 it will leave at 10.30. In fact the plane took off one hour earlier.
(ii) A tourist wants advice regarding VAT refund. He is told

that there is no refund when actually foreigners are eligible for
VAT refund at the airport on departure.
Checking the customers’ understanding of

information provided
When you have provided information or advice for your

customers you need to be certain that it has been understood.
How can this be done?
You can do this

by
 watching the customer’s reaction to what you tell them;

170
170
 listening to what the customer says in response to
the information;
 asking the customer questions to check that
your communication was clear and meets their needs.
If you feel that a customer has not fully understood
your information or advice, be sure to do something to put it
right. You can do this by explaining yourself again by using
different words or rephrasing the statement, thereby trying to
make your message more obvious.
Dealing with Special Needs- types of individual needs

As we pointed out earlier, effective care for our customers
implies that we
 need to understand their expectations and needs;

 do all we can to meet and exceed them.
Many needs are related to the services that we supply to
our customers – The need for
 a service;
 information and
advice;
 help to resolve a
complaint.
Let’s consider those customers whose needs include

requirements that are particular to them as individuals, as
they relate to the services of the organization.
These particular needs may be due to a disability

affecting mobility, speech, hearing, sight or the mental
health of the customer.
Very often you need to pay special attention to the
personal situation of your customer. These include the elderly,
parents with small children, persons with illness or injury
and expectant or nursing mothers.
Recognizing customer’s individual needs

To be able to respond to the individual needs of customers we
need to be able to recognize that their needs exist. How do we
know that a customer has a particular need?
In some instances particular needs may be quite

obvious.
(i) A customer with a disability affecting mobility may be

using a wheelchair; a walking frame; sticks or crutches;
other mobility aids; or need the assistance of a companion.
(ii) A customer with a sight-impairment may use a white

stick.
(iii) A customer with a hearing impairment may have

noticeable hearing aids or a badge indicating that their hearing is
limited.
When you see these indications, you should be able to

recognize that customers have particular needs that you can
respond to. This is not always the case.
In other instances, customers’ individual needs may not be

as apparent. If this is the case you will need to use your
observational skills to recognize that the need exists.
Examples: You
may
 recognize that a customer, who though you speak
clearly and at an appropriate volume seems to be
experiencing
difficulty understanding what you say to him/her may
have a hearing impairment;
 have difficulty understanding the words of a customer
with speech impairment;
 notice that someone is confused by his/her surroundings
or by your simple instructions and actions. This customer
may have a mental disability.
You can now complete Activity 4:3:7. This concerns special
needs of your customers.
Think about your customers who have particular needs.
Make a note of the types of particular needs that you

have experienced in your work.
Activity 4:3:7 Make a note of some indications that you might recognize,
which would help you to understand that your customers
have a particular need.
Indication(s)
(i) A customer who has had a car-related
injury. (ii) A customer who has become
unwell.
(iii) A customer who is mentally challenged.

Effective Communication with Customers who have
Difficulties with Visual Communication Methods
Effective communication with customers is always
important. However, some customers may find it difficult to
communicate with you in the usual way. This may be
because of disabilities regarding one of their senses, such as
 hearing;
 speech, or
 sight.
Responding to customers with hearing

impairment
When speaking to a customer with a hearing impairment,

the following may be useful:
 Look at your customer, so that he or she can see your face.

 Form your words making full use of your mouth –
your customer may be able to read your lips.
 Speak slowly and deliberately.
 Check your customer’s understanding.
 Do not shout.
 Do not talk down to your customer – it is not
their intelligence that causes the communication
difficulty.
 Be prepared to repeat yourself if necessary.
 Use your body language (hands and facial expressions)
to support your message.
 Above all be patient.
If above attempts are unsuccessful you may consider writing

things down and showing your words to the customer. You can
also seek help from someone who is able to use sign language.
Responding to customers with speech

impairment
When you converse with a customer with speech impairment:,

you may find the following useful:
 Listen carefully to what your customer is saying.
 Tactfully, ask him/her to repeat anything you do
not understand.
 Be sympathetic – s/he may be frustrated by the difficulty s/
he is experiencing.
 Be patient, do not rush your customer or interrupt.
 Confirm your understanding once you are aware of
your customer’s message.
You may need to provide a pen and paper for your customer
to write a message for you to read, if your customer requests it.
As with customers with a hearing impairment, if there is

someone who is able to use sign language ask him or her for
help.
Responding to customers with visual

impairment
When communicating with a customer who has a

visual impairment: you may find the following useful:
 Be prepared to explain things that you might show to
a sighted customer, and use descriptive words.
 Explain what you are
doing.
 Take your customer to other parts of the building
rather than sending him or her off on their own.
 Remember that it is only the visual aspect
of communication that causes difficulties for this
group of customers.
Your organization may produce information for customers in

large print or Braille formats to help visually impaired
customers. Now complete Activity 4:3:8.
Describe what you would do in each of the following

situations:
(i)
A customer with a hearing impairment has asked you
for information about a product or service. When you speak
to the customer to provide the requested information, the
Activity 4:3:8 customer does not understand what you are trying to tell him/her.
(ii)
A customer with a visual impairment needs to fill in and
sign a form. The customer tells you that he/she cannot see well
enough to complete the form and asks for your help.
We need to be prepared to provide a little extra care to
some customers with particular needs.
Responding to Individual Customer Needs

First of all we need to recognize our customers’ individual
needs. Then if necessary
 find a way to communicate effectively with them; and

 respond to their needs and provide them with the
products or services that they require in a way that is
appropriate to their circumstances.
Some organizations provide special facilities for customers
with individual needs such as:
 ramps;
 lifts for those with mobility problems;
 facilities for wheel chair users;
 toilets and changing facilities for the parents of
young children;
 seating for expectant mothers, the elderly or anyone who
is unwell.
If you are unsure about what you are allowed to do for any of
your customers always seek advice from your immediate
supervisor.
With a partner, share a problem with communication that

exists within your organization when dealing with persons
with a disability or “normal”.
Assessment for
Suggest a solution to this communication issue, even if it
Unit includes developing procedures for your organization.
4:3
What have we learnt in this Unit? We learnt how a range
of services are provided and some important issues that
determine service quality in the tour guiding operations. This
Summary for Unit Unit helped us to have a good picture of service delivery in
4:3 view of customer loyalty and the types of customers
categorized. We discussed the six (6) types of customers
mentioned by Jones and Sasser Jr., which were hostages,
mercenaries, apostles, loyalists, terrorists and defectors.
We stressed on the importance of understanding clearly the

needs of our customers including those having special
needs. This requires a number of skills such as listening and
questioning skills along with patience and empathy. We
also looked at the expectations of our customers when they
seek public services.

apostles defectors hostages
loyalist mercenaries
Terminology for
Unit 4:3
Unit 4:4
Unit 4:4 Importance of Internal Policies

and Procedures to CSE
Unit Overview
Many organizations have well-defined policies and
documented procedures for the different processes involved in
the delivering of services. Procedures affect the quality of
services provided. These procedures not only assist us in our
work but also ensure that services are provided in a consistent
and fair manner.
Procedures are often subject to review to keep in line with

new requirements and changes. As a tour guide, it is important
that you are familiar and up-to-date with the procedures that
govern the delivery of services by your organization.
In this unit, the relevance of policies and internal procedures

to affect service quality will be discussed.

 Analyze the procedures for managing customer service
records; dealing with enquires; handling financial
Objectives to Unit transactions and complaint handling.
4:4
 Explain the relevance of government policies, internal
procedures and statutory requirements affect service
quality.
Procedures for CSE
Your agency may be having a number of procedures including
the following:
Procedures for managing customer service records

You will agree that it would not be possible to provide a
reliable service to customers and take proper care of their
needs without effective records management.
Customer service records can help you to ensure

that
 customers receive the goods and services that they require;

 there is a continuity of service each time that they
do business with you.
Customer service records may

contain
 customers’ personal details –such as name, date of birth;

 customers’ contact details – address, phone number, email;
 special
requirements;
 service history – Previous experience of the customers,
the goods and services that the customer has been
supplied with previously.
These may be on paper or computer based. Now try Activity
4:4:1.
Make a note of the customer service records that you keep, the
types of information that they contain and how they are
kept (on paper/computer).
Customer Service Paper or Computer Informatio

Activity 4:4:1 Records Based n
contained
1.
2.
3.
It is important that customer records are accurate, up-to-date
and clear. This will ensure that they
 can be used for the benefit of the customer and the
service provision;
 will be understood by anyone who needs access to them.
If you maintain records about your customers they should

be treated as confidential. They should be kept securely to avoid
them falling into the wrong hands. In some countries records
may be subject to the Data Protection Act. This entitles
customers to
 see the information that you hold about them;

 have incorrect information changed or destroyed;
 claim compensation if inaccurate information is
damaging to them.
 Procedures for answering telephone (protocol)

Most organizations have a greeting to be used by anyone
answering a call on the phone. These greetings usually consist of:
 Passing the time of day - good
morning/afternoon/evening or hello;
 the name of the business/department;
 the name of the person taking the call;
 extending an offer of
help.
Example
:
“Good afternoon, Happy Tours, Customer Service Desk,

Philip speaking, how can I help you? “
As well as the words that you say, when you answer the phone,
the promptness of your reply is also important to your
customers. Many organizations have a policy of answering
incoming calls within three of rings to avoid customers being
kept waiting. This should be done with a pleasant and friendly
tone that is resonant of a smile.
180
180
When you make a call to one of your customers you will know
the name of the person that you are calling and the reason for
your call so your greeting could include:
181
181
Passing the time of day - good morning/afternoon/evening
or hello;
A question to check the identity of the person you are

speaking to;
An introduction, who you are and the organization where

you are from; and
The reason that activated you to call.
Example: Good afternoon is that Mr. Fred? This is Philip

from Customer Service Desk, Happy Tours I am calling to let
you know that the trip to the museum is confirmed for tomorrow
morning.
Procedures for dealing with enquiries

When you receive enquiries from your customers, it is
important that you handle them in a professional manner and that
you reply in the way that your organization requires. By doing
this you will give a good impression to the enquirer, who may be
a potential customer and you will only provide authorized
information.
For these reasons, organizations develop procedures to be

followed when enquiries are received. These typically explain
the information you are authorized to

provide;
the way in which you should reply;
who to refer enquiries to, when you are not able to deal
with them yourself.
Procedures for handling financial transactions

If your job includes handling customers’ financial
transactions, your organization will have procedures that you
have to follow.
Whether you take payments for services from customers or
send invoices to customers, these procedures will be designed
to ensure that:
 the organization’s systems are followed;
 financial transactions are accurate and confidential, and
 the security of the organization’s money is maintained.
It is important that you fully understand these financial
procedures and adhere to them whenever you are involved in
transactions with your customers.
Refund policy and procedures

If your organization charges its customers for services there may
be occasions when customers are entitled to receive their money
back. The circumstances in which customers are offered a refund
and the methods used to administer the repayment should be
included in the organization’s refund policy.
A clear and fair refund policy can be a good customer service
tool which gives customers confidence in their dealings
with the organization. They would know that if things go wrong
they would be able to get their money back. For example,
when a trip is cancelled, your customers are entitled to a
refund of payments made because of this many
organizations display their refund policy where their customers
can examine it.
It is important that you are fully familiar with your
organization’s policy for refunds and that you adhere to it in
your dealings with your customers
 Procedures for medical urgencies

Sometimes it may happen that one of your customers suddenly
falls sick and needs urgent medical care. To respond to
any such emergencies, you should already know:
 What to do if a medical emergency occurs (involving
a customer or colleague)?
 Where first aid materials are kept?
 Who are the certified first aiders?
 How to contact the emergency services if required?
 Who authorizes calls to external medical services?
Procedures for complaint handling

It is important for organizations to have set procedures to
be followed when customers complain. In this way all
complaints will be handled in the same way and the interests of
the customers and the organization can be protected.
What are the effects of these procedures and legal
requirements on customer service excellence?
You will realize that the organization policies, internal
procedures and legal obligations impact on the quality of
services provided. These include the following:
 Consistent and reliable service

Consistent and reliable service is achieved by maintaining
the same high standards of customer service with every
customer on every occasion
 Compliance with legal obligations and
conventions
By meeting your legal obligations you will not only be
doing what the law requires but you will treat your
customers in the most appropriate way.
 Enhanced reputation
Your consistent and reliable customer service will soon
be noticed by your customers who will be delighted. They
will tell other people about the professional way that you
take care of their needs. This will enhance your reputation
and that of your organization.
 Customer satisfaction
Satisfied customers will enjoy the experience of dealing
with your organization and will be unlikely to have
cause to complain but engage in repeat business so
increasing the company’s bottom line.
Make a note of the way that you make contact with your
customers in your organization in each of these situations.
Assessment for i. A customer, visiting your workplace and approached

by someone with your job title
Unit
4:4 ii. A customer calling in making an enquiry.
Are the responses according to your organization’s policies

and procedures?
In this Unit, we discussed the importance of internal policies

and procedures to Customer Service Excellence (CSE). The
focus was on the organization’s polices and internal
Summary for Unit procedures, aid in the delivery of quality customer service.
4:4
These parameters in fact ensure that customers are treated
fairly and consistently with a reliable service.
The next Unit will deal with some planning aspects of

customer service excellence.

enquires telephone protocol
Terminology for
Unit 4:4
Unit 4:5 Planning Customer Service
Excellence
Unit Overview
In the previous Units we looked at
the
 meaning of customer service excellence;

 rationales for delighting our customers;
 needs of our customers in a tour guiding context.
Customer service excellence does not come by chance

or coincidence. It must be planned. This is what we consider
in this Unit.
Why is planning important for service

excellence?
The best way to answer this question is to consider what

happens when we don't plan and think ahead. We find
ourselves too busy dealing with problems and being reactive,
instead of proactive. Given a little thought, these problems
could have been avoided. This takes up time which could have
been spent on something more productive. This is often called
'fire fighting' rather than 'fire prevention'. It gives the
impression to an outside observer that a person is actually,
busy, but ‘busy doing nothing'.
You will be introduced to the concept of market research,

some methods and tools that are relevant in public service
delivery. Any quality planning is normally spearheaded by the
mission, quality objectives and the values of the organization.
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

 Identify different methods to gather information
about customers;
Objectives for Unit
4:5  Compare the mission and objectives of the
organization with your service activities.
 Explain the importance of benchmarking when planning
for customer service excellence.
Unit 4:5
Your Role in Planning for Customer Service Excellence

You have a key role in planning. If you are responsible
for planning, organizing and conducting tours it is
important to understand the
 scope of your responsibilities;

 limitations on your authority and
 organization’s established standards of protocol.
Planning, Organizing and Tour Guiding

Your knowledge of the job is no doubt very important for
planning, organizing and tour guiding. We already
pointed out the importance of identifying accurately the needs
and expectations of your customers. Customer service
excellence implies exceeding customer expectations by
providing the customers with exceptionally good tour
guiding service.
Effective planning and organizing the tour requires relevant

inputs from your customers in terms of their needs and
expectations. Do you still recall the methods you can use
to get the relevant information from your customers?
Basically, you need to be

certain
 to whom you must report

to;
 who you can expect to report to you, and
 ways you are expected to function within your job.
Those to whom you are responsible will expect to be consulted

on a new project and you may need to obtain their consent and
support. Those for whom you are responsible can be expected
to carry out your plan. This will work only if you have actively
'brought them on board' and got them interested. Colleagues of
equal standing to yourself will probably form part of your
team and should be consulted and actively included in
decision making. All decisions being in accordance with the
accepted standards by which you function.
Unit 4:5
...
This is a form of participation management seen in quality
circles. (http://www.mahapwd.com/isoandqualitycircle/qc.htm)
Quality Circles were developed by the Japanese professor,
Kaoru Ishikawa in his studies of quality. (Paul, Val and
Jones, Christine (1994) Trafalgar Square Publishing)
Your initiative is more likely to succeed if you have the full
support of everyone around you. The same consideration should
be given to other resources – what resources can you control
personally and for what must you seek another's permission to
use?
Customer Service Excellence will include ample opportunity

for colleagues to be involved in the decision-making
process, the delivery and monitoring process. However, you
must take care to schedule such meetings, discussions and
keep to your timetable. These are all important in the planning
process.
Market Research
Usually the marketing function of your organization establishes
the quality and reliability requirements for a service in the tour
guiding context. It is the means by which Revealed
Requirements and Expected Requirements for a service can be
established. Only then is it possible to consider Extra
Requirements. In particular it should
 determine the need for a service;

 accurately determine the customer requirements
by reviewing previous and current services and
customer needs;
 communicate all customer requirements clearly
and accurately within the organization.
The result of this effort is usually a formal statement

of requirements which is called a 'service brief'. This forms a
vital document in the planning of service excellence. The
service brief translates customer requirements and
expectations into a preliminary 'specification' or description
of a new or improved service that your organization has
decided to introduce a Customer Service Excellence Plan
(CSEP).
Customer Requirements and Expectations Service

Brief
Service Specification = CSEP

Typically the specification would include some or all of
the following considerations:
 the function of the

service;
 how it is to be carried
out;
 when it is to be
introduced;
 who will be
involved;
 applicable standards and statutory regulations;
 definitions of suitable quality standards and
quality measurements;
 quality assurance and verification.
Once completed, the service brief forms the basis for the
detailed service specification which is the CSEP. It is also the
responsibility of the marketing section to collect and analyze
information relating to customer experiences and expectations.
This information will provide clues to possible improvements
and future services.
In practice, many organizations do not have a distinct

marketing department. The work is carried out by the
personnel who have direct responsibility for the introduction of
a new service. So how will you go about finding out what
customers want? Sometimes it is easier to reverse the process
and look at what your organization can profitably provide. The
new service will only be viable if you have the resources to
deliver it to a good standard.
Alternatively you may decide to try and find out if your

customers are interested in a particular new service, or if the
customers have any suggestions of their own. You will recall
that some customers know exactly what they want while others
need to have suggestions put in front of them before they make a
decision.
Gathering Information about Customer Interests

Some of the methods to gather information about
customers include the following:
 Make enquiries about a service and current providers if any

 Look at the
competition
 Check on existing customer feedback
(complaints/compliments
)
 Find out what customers think of the services from
current providers
 Ask customers what they think of your services; use
survey forms or any other research method available
 Ask customers what they think of a proposed new service
 Hold a brainstorming meeting with colleagues and then
try out interesting suggestions on a few favorite customers
 Ask colleagues if customers have made any suggestions
to them about improvements which they would like to
see; establish a suggestions box
Methods of Gathering Information

One or more of the following practical tools may be used
for carrying out these tasks:
 Postal questionnaires to existing or potential customers;

 Telephone surveys;
 Email surveys to existing customers;
 Customer comment sheets or forms; or
 Focused chats with existing customers.
These methods are in no way exhaustive. You may look at

more detailed information on market research in case you wish
to pursue further on this interesting topic.
The main skill in introducing a new (or improved) service is to

be realistic about how well customer requirements map onto
your organization’s ability to deliver those requirements. If
the fit is close, you can deliver what your customers want –
then all will be well. Usually the fit isn't quite so perfect, so you
will need to either, modify or improve your own abilities and
resources, or those of your colleagues, or modify the
customer’s perception of what you can deliver through
advertising.
This is where the extra requirements become so important. The

aim is to deliver a quality service by exploit your strengths
at the expense of the weaknesses of current providers.
The Mission and Objectives as Drivers of the Planning

Process
The mission and quality aims/objectives of your organization
will serve a “compass” or useful guide in delighting your
customers with your services. The mission statement with
emphasis on quality provides legitimacy to quality services in
your organization. The focus on quality in the mission
statement will help you and your organization come closer to
meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
You may now complete Activity 4:5:1.
Make a summary of two quality aims of your

organization.
Identify the basis for this summary, that is , what evidence is

Activity 4:5:1 given to customers or employees of these aims). Hint:
look at the company’s mission statement.
The values of your organization will help you to align

your activities to serve your customers while taking into
consideration the legal parameters we discussed earlier
and the internal procedures.
Benchmarking - Deciding on Standards

What is benchmarking?
Some authors and practitioners consider bbenchmarking to be
a powerful and practical tool for improving performance by
learning from the practices of other comparable
organizations, and understanding the processes by which they
are achieved.
Here is the working definition of benchmarking for this

unit. Benchmarking is “the process of comparing performance
against the practices of other leading companies for the
purpose of improving performance. Companies also
benchmark internally by tracking and comparing current
performance with past performance. Benchmarking seeks to
improve any given business process by exploiting "best
practices" rather than merely measuring the best performance.
Best practices are the cause of best performance.
Studying best practices provides the greatest opportunity
for gaining a strategic, operational, and financial
advantage.”(http://en.logisticsplatform.com.ua/?
module=static&id=
16 )
4:5:2
Note It Activity
190
190
Google define:
benchmarking. How
many definitions did
you find?
191
191
There are numerous definitions of benchmarking, but essentially
it involves
 learning;
 sharing information;
 adopting best practices to bring about step changes
in performance or "Improving ourselves by learning
from others".
Benchmarking involves four basic

steps:
1. Self-assess: to understand your own processes and

performance in detail;
2. Analyze: others' successful processes and

performance;
3. Compare: your performance with that of others you

have analyzed;
4. Implement: the necessary changes to close the performance

gap between your organization and others that are
comparable in service and target market.
Benchmarking does not simply mean copying the practices

of another organization. It requires the ability to innovate and
adapt what you have learnt from others according to your
organization’s specific needs. It is a dynamic process that
evolves with growing experience and with application to
different organizations and cultural settings.
In practice, benchmarking usually

implies
 regularly comparing aspects of performance with
best practitioners;
 identifying gaps in performance;
 seeking fresh approaches to bring about improvements
in performance;
 following through with implementing improvements;
 following up by monitoring and reviewing progress.
Benchmarking is an important exercise to undertake as part of
the pre-planning phase for a CSEP. It will often highlight those
areas which would benefit most from an improvement in service
quality.
These will be the aspects of the present service that do not meet
up with customer expectation.
Aims and objectives of the plan

We have looked at the importance
of
 market research to determine customer requirements;

 a benchmarking exercise to determine where
our organization falls short of the required quality
standards.
It is now possible to determine the aims and objectives of
our CSEP. This may undergo a number of stages
before the organization objectives for improving quality are
achieved. Each stage will follow a similar plan, learning from
and building upon the stage before.
The aims are what an organization hopes to achieve –

delighting customers, good relationship with customers and staff
by providing excellent services. The objectives indicate how
those aims are to be achieved. In the case of delivering
service excellence, the objectives will be decided by
converting the customer requirements into measurable objectives
for the CSEP.
Conventions and Standards

Most services have to comply with certain legislative standards
and also international conventions. It should never be
assumed that personnel know what standards or conventions
apply to a particular project. They must always be stated so that
personnel are clear on what does and what does not apply.
You can now complete Activity

4:5:3
Think about the following questions and write your answer to:
What standards and conventions must be taken into account if

you introduce quality changes in your organization?
Activity 4:5:3
Analyze your organization’s methods of gathering
information from your customers.
Assessment for Look at some of the responses made by customers related to

Unit your service delivery, and then write a CSEP for your
4:5 department to fit into your organization’s mission and standards.
In this Unit we discussed the importance of planning for

customer service excellence. Excellence is not achieved by
coincidence or by luck. It needs to be planned feeding in with
Summary for Unit accurate and up-to-date information on customers.
4:5
We examined different methods of gathering customer
information. Our planning activities must be aligned with the
mission, goals and objectives of the organizations. Customer
service excellence implies “towing best practices” – hence
the importance of benchmarking.
A Customer Service Excellence Plan (CSEP) is all about

planning a future service in advance and identifying the actions
and activities necessary to ensure that quality is built in. It is a
written document that outlines your aims and objectives
together with how and over what time-scale you plan to
achieve these results. The CSEP is produced as soon as the
decision has been made to improve to existing services or
to introduce new services. It is a living document and
should be updated regularly in the light of progress and any
unforeseen events. Otherwise it is of no use – it is dead!
We are now ready to move on to the next Unit - Delivering

of customer service excellence

benchmarking customer service
Customer Service Excellence Plan
Terminology for
Unit 4:5
Unit 4:6
Unit 4:6 Delivering Customer Service

Excellence
Unit Overview
So far, we have moved from an understanding of customer
service excellence to planning for of customer service
excellence. You will recall the key elements that are
crucial for delighting our customers. They were
 knowing our customers, their needs/requirements
and expectations;
 knowing your organization and the services provided;
 being familiar with the internal procedures,
policies, statutory/legal obligations and conventions that
govern the delivery of services.
We also emphasized the importance of planning in
customer service excellence.
One aspect of delivering quality is to provide assurance to

the customer that the work is being conducted in accordance
with the quality systems and/or quality plan. A key method is
the retention of documents and records relating to the service.
This Unit looks at the delivery of service excellence. The

purpose is to look at extending assurance to customers of the
service offered and to meet their requirements/needs and
expectations. This is to truly give customer service excellence
that will surprise and delight your customers.
By the end of this module, you should be able to:

 identify the range of service offered by your
organization and key requirements for service
Objectives for Unit excellence;
4:6
 discuss effective communication skills for
service excellence;
 identify good interpersonal skills to delight your
customers;
 state the importance of developing a caring and
friendly attitude to customers.
What is a Service - A Recap
You will remember we gave a definition for “customer”
and
“customer service” earlier. Do you recall the
definitions?
Definition of service
According to the Oxford Compact English Dictionary a service
is: “An action or process of serving” or “An act of assistance”
Most people whose work involves customers provide a number

of services. It is common for people to forget that what they are
doing is providing a service and just think that they are doing
their job. This can lead them to forget about meeting the
needs of the customer and just concentrate on getting the job
done. For example,
Ben is a waiter in a restaurant. He understands that he is

providing a service to his customers when he brings their food,
drinks and the bill to the table. However, he tends to forget that
most of the other aspects of his job have a direct impact on the
standard of care and service that his customers receive. Some of
Ben’s tasks include:
 laying the tables;

 greeting his customers and showing them to their tables;
 making sure that the right menus are available;
 taking orders;
 checking that everything is to his customers’ satisfaction;
 being vigilante through the customer’s stay so
anticipating their needs and time constraints;
 clearing away after each course;
 taking his customers’ payments.
All of these things form part of the service that he provides. If

any of them is neglected he can spoil the customers’ experience
in the restaurant. Now complete Activity 4:6:1.
Activity 4:6:1
Think about the job that you do and the aspects of it that form
parts of the service that you provide to your customers. Make a
list of the services that you provide to your customer.
Customer care and customer service excellence are

essentially about making it easy for customers to “enjoy” the
experience of dealing with you and your organization.
Therefore it basically concerns executing the Customer Service
Excellence Plan (CSEP), which involves:
 the manner in which customers are treated;

 how easy it is to get information;
 providing what customers require, not what you want
to provide;
 how convenient it is to select, order, receive and pay
for services;
 the quality of follow up service.
You want to build a good reputation for you and your
organization. How can this be achieved? This comes from
ensuring that customers are pleased with what you offer – not
just the service but the whole process of receiving it from you.
What makes you delighted with a service? The answer will

vary according to the service but essentially the same factors
come into play each time – those sometimes intangible
things which are referred to as emotional factors. These may
include
 convenient opening hours for them;

 friendliness of staff;
 prompt, courteous attention and
 keeping promises.
In fact a whole range of attributes which may have little to do
with the service or the price charged.
Key Requirements of Customer Service Excellence
In a tour guiding context Customer Service Excellence
requires attention to
 details of the clients – demographics, purpose for the visit;

 thorough knowledge of the sight or place being visited;
 effective communication skills;
 people skills;
 establishing a conducive business environment.
Details of the Client

Dealing with specific customer needs
In the light of your experience, you will agree that all customers
are not the same. Reading body language and clearly hearing the
verbal requests of the customer is vital.
Some customers’ needs require special attention. There are

various reasons for this. These include the following:
• The customer requires a service that is more specific

and difficult to provide;
• The customer has individual needs – these could be due

to disability or a communication issue;
• The customer requires a service that is not usually

available.
It is good customer service to do all you can to accommodate

these needs as far as possible. However you may need to
speak to a supervisor or manager before you are able to do
things that are out of your way.
Thorough Knowledge
As providers of customer service excellence, you need to
have a good knowledge of
 customer needs and expectations;

 your organization and the services provided;
 organizational mission, objectives, policies,
internal procedures;
 legal obligations.
Being prepared
Just like many other things that we do in our lives, it is

important that we ensure that we are fully prepared before we
face our customers. This is crucial if we aim to give them a
consistent and reliable service.
If we fail to prepare for our customers we should be prepared to

fail to provide them with excellent care and service.
Scope of job role
Firstly you need to know that you are personally prepared.

This starts with having a realistic understanding of your job
role. You need to understand
 your responsibilities as found in the job description;

 the roles and responsibilities of your colleagues;
 the situations in which you should consult others;
 who to approach when you need assistance.
Knowledge of services
Personal preparation also includes being properly trained about

the tour guiding services provided. A thorough knowledge
of the services provided is vital.
What does this imply? Consider the following examples:
Prepared - Kevin works at the information desk at an airport.

He has to answer numerous enquiries every day from members
of the public as they pass through the terminal. Prior to starting
with his job, he received complete induction training about
the use of equipment on the desk and the sources of
information available to him. This empowered him to provide
accurate information to all his customers. There will be some
things that Kevin will not be able to deal with directly for his
customers but he knows who to refer them to in those situations.
Not prepared - Kelly works on the switchboard in XYZ

Travel
Tours head office. The receptionist is not at work. Kelly has
been
asked to cover the reception duties for the next two weeks.
Being untrained on reception, she is worried because many
customers come straight to her with their enquiries. They expect
her to be able to provide information and services that she does
not understand.
In these examples Kevin has all the skills and knowledge that
he needs to care for his customers and provide a service that
meets their needs. On the other hand, Kelly may have difficulty
meeting her customers’ needs because she has not been
given all the training that she requires.
Make a list what you had to learn before you were able to
provide effective care and service to your customers – Initial
Learning Needs.
Assessment
Activity4:6:2 If you still have some training needs connected with these
aspects of your job make a note of them in the right hand column.
Initial learning needs Training still

required
After completing the Assessment discuss any training needs

that you still have with your supervisor/boss.
Providing Information and

Advice
There are a myriad of ways customers are provided

with information, advice, assistance and help. However on
some occasions the customers’ needs will be for services
rather than information.
Once you have determined what the customer wants, you

should take the first steps towards providing for them to him/her.
When you are able to provide service immediately you have

the opportunity to check that it is what the customer expected
and that it will meet his/her needs.
When you are only able to make arrangements for the service to
be provided at a later stage, you should confirm the details of
what you have organized or what will happen next, that is
monitor and follow-up. For example, you check with the
customer and say:
 I have booked a ticket for the exhibition on
Saturday evening for you. Is that suitable for you?
 I will send you an appointment in the post.
 Your refund vouchers will be sent to you two weeks
before the end of the month
 I will give you a call when you’re the trip is
confirmed. By doing this, your customer knows exactly
what to expect. Customers’ Interest and Concern
Your customers’ reasons for coming to you for advice,

information, or services are important to them. You should take
an interest in your customers’ needs and feelings and
demonstrate that it is important to you that you meet their needs.
When they have problems you need to show that you are
genuinely concerned.
In these ways you can demonstrate that your customers are

valued and that you really want to help them.
1. Thoughtfulness
Sometimes you may have to give information of a sensitive

nature to your customers.
The information may be described as sensitive because: • it

is private; • it is personal to the customer; • it might
cause embarrassment.
In these situations we need to bear in mind confidentiality and

tact.
2. Confidentiality
• Be careful to make sure that what you say to your

customer cannot be overheard. • If necessary, take your customer
to one side to keep your discussion private. • Do not forget
that others may overhear what you say when you speak to
customers on the telephone, so as far as possible sensitive
information should be conveyed in person or by registered mail.
3. Tact
• Choose your words carefully so that you do not make

your customer feel uncomfortable. • Watch your customer’s
reaction to the information you provide and be prepared to
adapt the way you express yourself if you feel that you are
causing distress
200
200
Customer Needs and Expectations
Your customers have expectations about the care and service that
you will provide for them. If you are going to provide a service
that can be described as exceptionally good you need
to identify what your customers’ expectations are;
not only meet those expectations but exceed them.
What Customers Expect?

Relevant Information
A customer usually expects that you will be able to provide

the service that you are supposed to give. They will expect
relevant information. For example, customers will expect that:
• they can reconfirm their flights; • comfortable and

convenient tours are organized for them; • they can get health
care services at the regional or local health centers; • they
can receive relevant historical information.
In addition to these basic expectations, customers will

also anticipate that services will be provided in a particular way
and to certain standards.
Accuracy and reliability
As we pointed out earlier customers expect that the information

and advice that you provide them with will be accurate. If you
are not sure you should always find out before you pass
information on to your customers.
Your standards of customer service should be consistent and

reliable. This means that all customers can expect to receive
the same high standard of service
• no matter who they are; • at all times; • regardless of how you

are feeling.
A good reputation with customers can easily be lost if they are

not treated well on one occasion. This could be because the
service provider is having a bad day and takes his or her
problems to work.
Quality
Customers expect that the goods and services that they receive
will be of good quality. This is often a legal obligation. The law
will
often protect them if this is not the case. For example, they
expect that:
• there will be no abuse; • services will be good value for

money;
• facilities will be safe and clean; • work will be done for them
to a high standard; • service providers have been well trained to
do their
jobs effectively and • the service provided will be confidential
(if
required).
Speed of
service
Customers usually want services to be provided promptly.

For example, they expect that:
• health services are available immediately and on a 24 hour

basis;
• someone will be available to deal with their requirements at
all times during business hours; • they do not have to wait long
hours before they start their tour in the morning.
Value for
money
You can add value to the service that your organization delivers
to your customers. When you continue to provide customers
with exceptional customer service after the deal is done, your
customers are likely to be impressed. As we saw earlier if the
services that your organization provides do not represent good
value, customers are likely to complain and create problems.
Then we’ll have to deal with dissatisfied customers.
What does the organization receive?

Customer
confidence
When you provide reliable, high quality customer service and

give accurate information to your customers, you will
develop their confidence in you personally and in your
organization and ultimately in your country as a whole.
Customer confidence is a valuable asset. It takes time to

develop and which should be taken care of. Confident
customers will be loyal customers who will continue to use
your services, give a positive impression and recommend to
others.
Word of mouth
reputation
Delighted customers will tell their friends and families about

the excellent service that you provide. This will encourage others
to do business with your organization and when they receive
excellent service too you will have another group of loyal
customers.
Repeat
Business
When customers are delighted with the service, they return again
to engage in it; they tell their friends and neighbors. As a result,
this can lead to increase profits and building of client
assurance. The bottom-line is impacted positively when good
service is delivered and maintained. Such customers will be
apostles and loyalists.
Effective Communication Skills

As mentioned in Unit 3, most of your actions as a tour
guide depend upon your ability to communicate effectively.
Effective communication with customers is a vital aspect
of customer service. It is a two way process involving
 communication from you to the customer and
 communication from the customer to you.
The way you communicate with your customers can take

place through
Face to face interactions
Telephone
E-mail/Letters/Facsimile
People Skills and Presentation

When you work for an organization, your customers will
develop an impression of the organization based upon the
standard of
service that you provide for them. They may never meet or
deal with your boss but they will deal with people, such as you,
who are employed to represent the organization and meet its
customers’ needs. Remember you are the organization in the
eyes of your customers.
People Skills
Since the frontline employees represent the organization to

the customers, it is important that tour guides and other
employees with direct interaction with customers develop
people skills. Here are a few practical tips you might
consider to help you do this:
1. Listen – truly listen to people. Listen with your

ears, eyes and heart. Pay attention to others' body
language, to their tone of voice, to the hidden emotions
behind what they are saying to you, and to the context.
2. Don't interrupt people. Don't dismiss their

concerns offhand. Don't rush to give advice. Don't
change the subject. Allow people their moment.
3. Tune in to non-verbal communication. This is the

way that people often communicate what they think or
feel, even when their verbal communication says
something quite different.
4. Practice the 93% rule. We know from a famous study

by Professor Emeriti, Albert Mehrabian of UCLA, that
words – the things we say – account for only 7% of
the total message that people receive. The other 93% of
the message that we communicate when we speak is
contained in our tone of voice and body language. It's
important, then, to spend some time to understand how
we come across when we communicate with others. A
simple thing like frowning or a raised eyebrow when
someone is explaining their point of view can disconnect
us from the speaker and make us appear as though we
lack understanding.
5. Use people's name. Also remember the names of

people's spouse and children so that you can refer to them
by name.
6. Be fully present when you are with people. Don't

check your email, look at your watch or take phone calls
when a direct report drops into your office to talk to
you. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if
your boss did that to you?
7. Smile at people.
8. Encourage people, particularly the quiet ones, when

they speak up in meetings. A simple thing like an
attentive nod can boost people's confidence.
9. Give genuine recognition and praise. Pay attention

to what people are doing and catch them doing the
right things. When you give praise, spend a little effort
to make your genuine words memorable: "You are an
asset to this team because…."; "This was pure genius";
"I would have missed this if you hadn't picked it up."
10. Take a personal interest in people. Show people

that you care, and genuine curiosity about their lives.
Ask them questions about their hobbies, their
challenges, their families, their aspirations.
(Adapted from
http://www.1000advices.com/guru/leadership_empathy_bm.html
)
Much effort is being put in to developing customer service

policies, procedures and training staff to put the policies into
practice. This effort is wasted if you do not put the training into
practice and do not provide the standard of service that the
customers expect.
If you look after your customers well, they will not only think
well of you but also of the organization and your country as a
whole.
If you do not provide your customers with the standard of

service that they expect they will get a poor impression of the
organization because of your behaviour.
What do you think of the following

examples?
 Customers perceive an organization with friendly
and helpful staff as a friendly and helpful company.
 Customers believe that an organization,
whose representatives are efficient, is an efficient
organization.
 Customers suppose that an organization, whose
employees don’t seem to care about their customers’
needs, is unlikely to be able to provide them with a good
quality of service.
 Customers believe that employees, who don’t take
the trouble to come to work looking clean and smart,
work for an organization that has inferior standards.
Now you can complete Assessment Activity

4:6:3
Make a list of four of your actions/behaviors that help you to give
the right impression of your organization to your customers and a
second list of four actions/behaviors that you must avoid doing
because they would give a bad impression
Actions that give the Actions that would give
Assessment
Activity 4:6:3 right impression of your a bad impression of
organization your organization
1.
2.
3.
4.
As pointed out earlier, your customers will form impressions

of your organization as a whole based upon their impression of
you. This is because they have direct dealings with you. Thus
you have a responsibility to create a good impression through
the way that you look.
Uniform/dress code - Some organizations provide their

employees with a uniform. Others may have a dress code
or just make recommendations about what should be worn
at work. It is appropriate and important that the tour guide
look professional and leader of the tour group and not as part of
the touring party.
Personal hygiene - Whatever we wear for work, if we come

into face-to-face contact with our customers, it is important that
we are clean, neat and tidy and that we pay attention to personal
hygiene.
Different aspects of personal presentation together with things

such as food hygiene and safety determine customer impression.
Attitude and behaviour - What about your attitude

and behaviour? Your behaviour, in front of your customers,
can be as important as your appearance when it comes to
making an impression with your customers.
If you behave in a professional manner, your customers will

see you as someone who will take care of their needs and provide
them with the service that they require. Remember that
cultural
impressions define or influence the customer’s perception of
what is “professional”.
If your behaviour is not suitable, customers will quickly

lose respect for you and be doubtful that you can meet their
needs.
Let’s look at some examples of behaviour that create a

poor impression:
 Fooling around with workmates in front of customers;

 Using inappropriate language in front of customers;
 Looking tired and
bored;
 Eating and drinking in front of customers;
 Ignoring customers, carrying on with other things,
oblivious to their presence.
All these types of behaviour should be avoided when
your customers are likely to be around. For attitudes to your
customers and the way that you behave towards them are also
important for customer service excellence.
First
impressions
You present the first impression to your customers by

your appearance. This can give them confidence in you
and the organization.
We have examined how the way that we look and behave can
be used to create a good impression. The first time we make
personal contact with customers is important. First
impression is very important because you never get a second
chance to create it!
Greeting
customers
If you work in an environment in which your customers visit

your place of work the way that you make contact with your
customers will usually come in the form of a greeting. For
example,
 Good morning. How can I help you?

 Hello, do you need any assistance?
If you recognize the customer and know his or her name it is
good to use it and maybe enter into a brief conversation about
his/her health or the weather before offering assistance.
For example, Good afternoon Mrs. Pam, it is nice to see you

again, how are you today? You look better!
Most customers will appreciate the fact that you remember
their name and will feel that they are important to you.
If you make contact with your customers by telephone, there

are two kinds of situations that you need to consider:
 Receiving calls from customers.

 Making calls to
customers.
Do not underestimate courtesy and respect for

customers.
Customers expect to be treated politely and with respect.

Courtesy is about good manners, being polite and treating
people with respect. Customers expect to be treated in these
ways by those who are looking after their needs and in particular
by those who they are paying for a service.
How do we demonstrate good manners towards customers?

The following are meant to give you some indications.
 Acknowledging their presence with a
(i) Greeting if you are making
contact, (ii) Nod or a smile.
 Saying “please” and “thank you” at appropriate times.

 Making eye contact with them when you speak
(as appropriate to culture the service provider is in and
that of tour group escorting).
 Offering an apology when needed.
 Not interrupting what they have to say.
 Not pushing past
them.
How do you demonstrate respect towards customers?
The following are meant to give you some indications.
 Listening to them.
 Using their names when you know them.
 Keeping them informed by explaining what is going on.
 Not talking down to
them.
 Treating them with the importance that they deserve.
Responding to different customer behaviour
Unfortunately, not all customers will treat you politely and
with respect. That is not a reason for you to let your
standards of courtesy fall. In fact, a customer with a rude
attitude towards you may be surprised by your polite response
and have a change of approach as a result.
When you are working with your customers, think carefully

about the things that you say and do and how the customer will
react to them. Your understanding of how you like to be treated
when you are a customer will help you to do this. Complete
Activity 4:6:4.
Demonstrate Confidence and Efficiency

It is important to act confidently and efficiently in your
dealings with customers, so that they will have confidence in
you and your ability to meet their needs. Customers are
impressed with efficient behaviour. Have you heard people say
“the person who dealt with my enquiry was very efficient?”
Here are some examples of communication with customers. On

each occasion the words that were used will make the customer
believe that they have been treated with a lack of courtesy.
Activity 4:6:4 Think about what was said in each instance and write a
polite alternative, which shows respect to the customer, an
example is provided to help you to get started.
What was said to A polite alternative

the customer
Sit here until I find someone If you would like to take

to deal with you. seat, I will find someone
a
who will be able to help
you.
Say all that again, I don’t

understand what you want
me to do. .
You will have to wait

because everyone is busy.
Efficiency can be demonstrated
by
 being well organized – your work space and documents;

 being knowledgeable - showing your customers that you
are good at your job;
 exuding professionalism - behaving in a confident
and capable manner.
If you appear to be hesitant and uncertain, customers are unlikely
to believe that the information and advice you provide is correct.
Make an extra effort when necessary

Sometimes you may have to make an extra effort to meet the
needs of a customer. This may be because
 the customer needs something sooner than you
would normally be able to provide it; and/or
 you have to make a change to your usual ways of
working in order to satisfy the customer’s requirements.
It is useful to seek authority from someone with responsibility
if necessary, before you do such things that are not normal
practice. Customers will appreciate the extra effort that you
have put in, especially if you let them know that you have gone
out of your way to make sure that they got what they wanted
when they needed it. Yet, do not be arrogant or demanding of
thanks. This extra effort can delight them.
Complete Activity
4:6:5
210
210
Think about four occasions when you have
communicated effectively with your customers by making
good use of your interpersonal and communication skills.
Describe the situations and the way that you used your skills.
Activity 4:6:5
Describe The way that The way that
the you used your you used your
situations interpersonal communication
skills skills
1.
2.
3.
4.
Quality of service
The way you care for your customers and the service that
you provide to them will only be reliable if you never let
standards slip.
There are days when you may not feel at your best. This may
be because you:
 are tired;
 do not feel very
well;
 are worried about a personal
problem. It is important that you
 do not allow the care of your customers to suffer on

these days;
 try to leave your problems behind when you come to work;
 keep up to date with any change to the services that
you provide your customers.
Establishing a Conducive Business Environment

The business or working environment involves the presentation
of the work area, documents and equipment
Customers also judge the organization on the standards

of presentation of the working environment. Clean, neat and tidy
work places give customers the impression of a businesslike
environment in which their needs will be taken care of.
Customers don’t expect high standards of service when the
workplace is dirty or untidy.
We need to ensure that we have all the equipment and

resources that we require and that equipment is in good order.
This may be as simple as making sure that you have got a pen
that works or it may involve ensuring that the vehicle that you
use to visit or collect your customers has been regularly
serviced.
The Accessibility/availability of the type of service

provided
In order for your services to be accessible to your customers,

they must be able to visit your premises without difficulty or
contact you easily in other ways. Access problems can occur
when:
 the opening hours of your business are not the times
that your customers want;
 your premises cause difficulties for disabled customers;
 customers cannot park near to your premises;
 nobody answers the telephone;
 there is no proper signage to guide customers.
The availability of services is about being able to supply services

at the times when customers require them. Availability
problems occur customers have to wait for a long time for a
service to be provided
If your services are not readily accessible or available it will

be difficult for you to maintain a reliable service and
customers will become frustrated with your organization.
Working under
pressure
When you are very busy there is a danger that customer

service standards may not be maintained. Whilst you may have
to spend a little less time with each customer you must make
sure that you continue to give your customers excellent service
although you are working under pressure.
Very often people complain that they have too much to

do. However, at busy times you should pay particular attention
to the
following aspects of customer service, which must not be
neglected because you have a lot to do:
 Greeting
customers;
 Identifying and checking customers’ needs;
 Courtesy and attitude towards customers.
Make sure that your body language does not suggest that you
are trying to rush your customers or that other aspects of your
job have become more important than them. In this way you
will be able to maintain a consistent standard of service and get
through the busy period without damaging your image with your
customers.
Many of the topics that we have considered earlier in this

course also have an effect on consistent and reliable customer
service. Do you recall them? They include
 Staff attitude and behaviour – always being courteous
and behaving in a professional manner;
 Staff personal presentation – always being clean, tidy
and appropriately dressed when your customers are
present;
 Timing (Speed of Service) – avoiding keeping
your customers waiting, and apologizing when it
cannot be helped;
 Cost / Value for Money – helping customers to feel
that their money has been well spent.
You can help to make sure that customer service is consistent
and reliable by:
 Confirming and meeting specific customer needs –
making sure that you know exactly what your customers
need and providing the service that meets those needs;
 Locating the information or services that your
customers require;
 Checking that the services that you have done for
your customers have met their needs and expectations;
 Dealing with problems when service is not consistent
and taking appropriate action when problems occur.
Customer Satisfaction
The aim of delivering quality customer service is to satisfy
customers. It is to instill confidence in you as a service
provider. Let us recap these reasons.
Confidence in service - Consistent and reliable customer

service will give your customers confidence in the service you
provide because their experiences tell them that your standards
are always high.
Exceeding expectations - A real positive impression on

your customers helps them to decide that they
 like doing business with you and your organization;

 will come to you whenever they need the service that
you provide;
 will recommend other people to use your services.
You have got to be the best at what you do. To be the best you
will need to:
 understand and meet your customers’ needs;

 exceed your customers’ expectations;
 provide a reliable standard of customer service.
Exceptional customer service - Exceptional customer service

not only meets the needs of customers, but also goes
further and exceeds their expectations. Our customers will
usually be satisfied that we have taken care of their needs
and do what we have promised to do.
If we are going to provide exceptional customer service to

our customers and service that leaves them delighted about
the way they have been treated, then we need to go a step
further and exceed their expectations. We need to go the extra
mile!
Let’s think again about what customers expect. Customers

expect that we will provide
 the type of service that the organization is known for;

 services within an acceptable time-span;
 a good quality of service and treat them with courtesy.
From this list of expectations there are three that we can try
to exceed. It is unlikely that you will have a lot of influence
over the
type of service that your organization provides but
timescales, quality and courtesy are all aspects of customer
care and service that you, personally, can make an impact on.
Isn’t it?
To exceed customers’ expectations about time you will need to

do things more quickly than was expected.
This can be done in two ways – by making an extra effort to

meet customers’ needs quickly; and being sure that your
estimates are realistic and achievable and then getting the job
done within the estimated period.
This comes back to the promises that we make to our customers.

It is sometimes tempting to try to impress our customers by
telling them that things will not take long. We know that delays
can occur and that if customers are prepared for them we can
avoid causing disappointment. If we are able to do things
sooner than expected the customers’ expectations will have been
exceeded. You can now complete Activity 4:6:6
A customer places an order for a souvenir handicraft item at one of the

souvenir shops. Consider the three situations. Describe how you think
the customer is likely to react to each.
Activity 4:6:6 Example of a situation Possible

customer
reaction
1. The customer is told that the item will

be ready in two days. After three days
the item has still not arrived..
2. The customer is told that the item

will be ready in one week. Exactly one
week later he/she receive a card telling
him/her that the item is ready for
collection
3. The customer is told that the item

will be ready in two weeks. However,
after only ten days he/she is told that
the item can be collected.
To exceed customers’ expectations about courtesy you will need
to be more than just polite. This can be done by taking an
interest in your customers and adopting a friendly approach
towards them.
For example, on a previous occasion, one of Ahmad’s

customers wanted a service that he wasn’t able to provide. He
redirected him to the office where it might be obtained. The
next time he met the customer he enquired about whether he
had been able to get what he wanted. The customer
appreciated that he was being treated more than just politely
and that important details about him had been remembered.
Negative Effects of Poor Communication

However, customer service can be seriously damaged by
poor communication. As service provider you may avoid
passing information to your customers because you know that
they will not be happy about what you have to tell them. But you
will upset your customers even more when they eventually find
out what is going on and it is too late to do anything about it.
Keeping customers informed about developments in the

service you are providing for them ensures that they know
what is going on. They do not get any unwanted surprises if
things do not quite go to plan. This all adds to the package
of customer service excellence, which leads to customer
satisfaction.
You may now complete Assessment

4:6
Identify four customers whom you have dealt with regularly

during the last three months. These customers may be individuals
-internal or external or organizations depending on the type of
customers to whom you provide a service. For each of the
customers, describe the actions that you have taken to make sure
Assessment for that the customer service you have provided has been consistent
Unit 4:6 and reliable.
Customers Action taken to ensure that

customer service is consistent
and
reliable
1.
2.
3.
4.
In this Unit, we have looked at the different requirements
for customer service excellence. These relate to the knowledge,
skills, attitudes and the service delivery environment.
Summary for Unit A sound knowledge of the organization, the services and
4:6
the delivery procedure is critical. We also looked at the
importance of effective communication skills and people
skills in service excellence.
Effective communication skills along with interpersonal skills

form the basic competencies for customer service excellence.
The aim of which is customer satisfaction.
Customer service excellence is more that the quality of the

service. It has to do with the people providing the service and
the way they treat the customers. A friendly and caring
approach are what our customers look to.

customer satisfaction
Terminology for
Unit 4:6
Unit 5
...
Unit 5 Tour Guiding

Unit Overview
In Unit 1 we established the importance of tourism to
modern economies. In keeping with the history of tourism Eric
Friedheim (1992) in the book Travel Agents; From Caravans
and Clippers to the Concorde wrote that “guiding, counseling
and harboring the traveler is among the world’s earliest
vocations”.
Goeldner and Ritchie (2003) in Tourism Principles, Practices,

and Philosophies – 9th Edition wrote that “there is no
doubt that attractions are the main motivators of travel.
Without attractions drawing tourists there would be little need
for all other tourism
services such as transportation, lodging, food, distribution and
so on.”
The purpose of this core module is to investigate the job of the

tour guide and the primary functions involved in this role.
Reference is made to the process of tour conducting/managing
but focus is on the aspect of tour guiding. Though there are
similarities between these job titles, there are subtle differences
in the job description; hence the focal area of tour guiding.
Some of the outcomes expected for this unit were based on

a courses previewed at
https://www.skillsonline.net.au/clearhse/Preview.do?
no=7022E&ty pe=M
By the completion of this Unit, you will be able to:
Explain the processes involved in tour guiding
Outcomes Discuss the barriers that exist for this profession
Prepare commentaries to deliver to the customers for

their enjoyment and learning
Use a variety of medias and techniques to create

customer- focused and informative experiences
Develop techniques for interacting with customers during

the presentations
Unit 5
Appreciate the
impact of this
profession to the
tourism industry
Unit 5:1 Understanding Tour Guiding
Unit Overview
It is always helpful to know the details of a job before you
actually start. For the tour guide, understanding the
fundamentals of tour guiding is crucial. It sets the framework
of the job and it allows general knowledge of your work life.
Tourists come to a country to experience the destination. No

matter the reason for the trip, inevitably the person is a
visitor to the country and wants an authentic experience.
Therefore there is the need for someone who is knowledgeable
about the country or sight. The Adventure and outdoor recreation
sector or the Attractions sector demands people to satisfy the
demands of the paying client – the visitor.
Whether on an ecotourism trip to the Titicaca Lake in Peru,

visiting Disneyland in Orlando or some activity other than
gaming in Las Vegas, most travelers feel secure with and need a
travel expert or a tour guide. The exceptions are those travelers
who are termed as “drifters”.
The drifter role as described by Cohen (1972) notes that

“all connections with the tourism industry are spurned and
the trip attempts to get as far from home and familiarity as
possible. With no fixed itinerary, the drifter lives with local
people, paying his/her way and immersing him/herself in their
culture.
Similarly, the explorer role is where the trip is

organized independently (not part of the mass tourist group) and
is looking to get off the beaten track. However comfortable
accommodation and reliable transport are sought and, while the
environment bubble is abandoned on occasion, it is there to step
into if things get tough”. Cooper, Fletcher et al (1998) in
Tourism Principles and Practice –
2nd Edition. Pearson Education Limited .
England
Unit 5:1
By the completion of this module, you will be able to:
State three (3) reasons why people engage in tours

Objectives for Unit State the difference between a tour guide and a tour manager,
5:1 tour conducting and tour guiding
Distinguish between the different types of guides – on-site

guide, driver-guide, city-guide, step-on guide, cruise ship tour
guide
Discuss the job of a cruise ship tour guide
Differentiate among tours – inter-modal, independent, and

motor coach
Explain two (2) reasons tour guiding as a career is appealing to

many people
220
220
Why do people take tours?
What is your recollection of your favorite tour?

Write a summary if it to include the country, type of tour, qualities of
the tour guide and features of the tour.
Reflection
Activity 5:1:1 Why is this favorite tour?
People take tours for various reasons. If tours are taken as a

group, there is the freedom from hassle, the desire to save money
and time and the companionship of people with similar interests.
If individuals take tours, then the reasons are to have a feeling

of security in a strange place, saving time to see most of the
country, state or province and the getting accurate
information from an experienced guide.
All in all the taking of tours is to get value for money,

accurate information and having an organized trip. The purpose
of touring is to have fun.
Definitions
To set the stage for this unit, let us begin with definitions:
Tour operator
- package and sell holidays which are offered in a
brochure with a fixed price for accommodation, transport
and ground arrangements. At times the service of
a courier or representative is included in the package.
(Horner, Pauline (1999) Travel

Agency Practice. Pearson Education
Limited. England)
- is a person who owns a business which transports

paying tourists on scheduled itineraries.
Tour Guide or Tourist Guide

- This is someone who takes people on sight-
seeing excursions of limited duration.
(Mancini (2003)
- A person who guides visitors in the language of their

choice and interprets the cultural and natural heritage
of an area which person normally possesses an
area-specific qualification usually issued and/or
recognised by the appropriate authority.
(En 13809 of the European Committee for

Standardisation (CEN) Adopted by
WFTGA at its Dunblane, Scotland
Convention 2003)
http://wftga.org/page.asp?id=15
Tour Manager/Tour Escort/Tour Director

- This is someone who takes people on sight-
seeing excursions of limited duration.
- This is a person who manages a group’s movements over

a multi-day tour. This person may also be called a
tour conductor, tour courier, tour escort, tour director
or tour leader.
(Mancini (2003)
- A person who manages an itinerary on behalf of the

tour operator ensuring the programme is carried out as
described in the tour operator's literature and
sold to the traveller/consumer and who gives
local practical information.
Tour managers may or may not be tourist guides as

well. They are not trained or licensed to work in
specific areas unless they have the proper requirements
or legal right, depending on the region.
(En 13809 of the European Committee
for Standardisation (CEN) Adopted by
WFTGA at its Dunblane, Scotland
Convention 2003)
Tour Package
- This includes those elements in the holiday -
transportation, accommodation and transfers- sold by a
tour operator at an inclusive price.
One example of tour operators are local tour operators,

who provide services to domestic clients for tours
within a country. This person may also be called a tour
packager.
Tour Conducting versus Tour Guiding

Tour Conducting is about managing tours, it involves
traveling with groups while staying with groups, controlling and
entertaining people dealing with problems and at times guiding
tours. The tour conductor can be with that group, depending on
the type of tour for two to three weeks.
Tour Guiding is usually for a shorter length of time. It refers to

the specific activity at a sight or an attraction for a scheduled
portion of time.
Types of Tour Operators

Due to the vast number of ways by which a person or group
can take a tour, along with the different types of tour guides
available there are many different categories of tour
operators. Earlier mention was made of the inbound operator
and outbound operator. There are also motor coach operators
and intermodal operator. What makes the difference between
these types?
There are in-bound tour operators, who provide services

to foreign visitors. An example will be a Canadian tour operator
who sells tours abroad through its branches or to other
companies. The group arriving from the United Kingdom or
Continental Europe coming into Canada is serviced by the
inbound operator.
There are also outbound tour operators who provide

services to local tourists who wish to visit destinations outside
their country. This operator takes groups from the home
country to other countries.
“Another way to slice the tour operator pie is into motor coach
and intermodal companies. Motor coach operators create
tours of usually a week’s duration that transport group
members via motor coach to their destinations and back.
Intermodal operators combine several forms of transportation,

such as plane, motor coach, ship and rail, to create a
diversified and deficient tour package”.
Extract - Mancini, Marc, (2001), Conducting Tours – 3rd

Edition, Delmar Thomson Learning Inc.
So where do tour operator fall within the chain of distributions

for travel business. See the adapted diagram below from Yale
(1995) in The Business of Tour Operations for the positioning.
Travel Principals =
Producer/Supplier
(Transportation – ground and air (transfers, airlines,

ferries)
accommodation (hotels, apartments,
motels)
Tour Operators = Wholesalers/Bulk

Buyers
Buying transport, accommodation and transfers and

sometimes attractions/entertainment from the
principals)
Travel Agencies = Retail

Shops
Sells the products or services of the principals or

tour operators
Passenger =
Customer
Buyer of the product or

service
Figure 8 - Chain of Distribution in the travel business
Motor coach tour operators

These create the tour, usually for a week or more duration.
The obvious reason for being called motor coach operators is the
means
by which persons are transported to the destination and back.
By aligning with a motor coach tour company a group or an
individual can leave via different gateway cities as the starting
point for the tour and travel for a long stretch of time to see
other parts of the city, province or country. An example of
a motor coach tour company is Gray Line.
Gray Line offers sightseeing tours in more than 150 destinations

on six continents and is widely recognized as the world's
leader in sightseeing tours, ground transportation, charter
services, airport transfers and convention services. From
sightseeing tours and overnight packages to adventure trips
and unique behind the scenes experiences - we offer complete
destination experiences all around the world. We look forward
to welcoming you aboard a Gray Line Sightseeing To u r
on your next vacation!
http://www.grayline.com/Grayline/index.aspx
It is usual to find with motor coach tours that groups will have
a tour escort or who will also act as a guide, or at various point
shave step-on guides to share tour commentaries with the touring
parties.
http://www.graylinealaska.com/gallery_enlarge.cfm?gallery_id=19
Intermodal operators
These operators combine more than one mode or form of
transportation. The tour may have a combined element of motor
coach, aeroplane, ship or rail. With this type of tour, there is
greater diversity of the tour package.
Complete Reading Activity 5:1:2
Read about intermodal facilities at http://www.buses.org/intermodalfacilities

Reading
Activity 5:1:2
Kinds of Tour Guides

There is the generic definition of “tour guide” which
was established earlier. Tour guides should be certified, and
assist the visitor in seeing the place in an excellent, unique
way. Mostly all tour guides should see the career as being an
international tour guide. After all, the type of visitor to the
attraction or sight may be local, regional or international. Let
us investigate the many kinds of tour guide.
On-site Guides
If you went to the Harrison’s Cave in Barbados, the person
who takes you on tour of the sight is called an on-
site guide. This guide conducts the tour of a specific
building or a limited area. These tours can be taken
by trams or walking. Usually in travel and tourism,
these sights are called attractions.
Another type of on-site guide working free of charge or

volunteering may be called a docent. A docent
specifically works at a museum. An example will be at
the Kennedy Library in Boston.
Figure 9 - Tour Guide at work at Swaziland National
City Guides
For pleasure and discovery a traveller can take a tour of the city
by motor coach, van, taxi or hop-on, hop-off bus, or as part
of a walking tour. The person who points out and comments
on the highlights of the city is called a city guide.
Figure 10- Hop-On, Hop-Off Tour Bus
When the city guide doubles the duty by driving the

vehicle, that person becomes the driver-guide.
Another type of city guide is the personal or private

guide. These are sometimes taxi drivers who uses
their vehicles to conduct an exclusive tour or arrange
the tour based on the client’s needs. In small island
states, this may be known as an island-tour.
Complete Discussion Activity 5:1:3
Read the interview of a bus tour guide and share / discuss it with a
partner
Discussion
Activity 5:1:3 http://www.jobmonkey.com/landtours/html/tour_guide_interview.html
Specialized Guides
This category of guide has particular skills that are highly
unique to match the client’s needs. These guides
may conduct bike tours, white water rafting trips,
hiking expeditions or on tours that are more physically
demanding and unusual. This will be backpack hiking
in the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona in the
United States of America.
Step-on Guides
This kind of guide is a free-lanced guide. They are
considered specialists who come on-board a motor coach
or van to give informed overviews of the city being
toured. This would usually be for tour groups that are
taking in more than one state or province during the trip.
Shore excursions Guides, Land operators or Receptive

Operators
Guides that work for cruise ships can be classified as cruise
ship tour guides or shore excursion guides.
Guides that work for tour companies or ground operators

may be called land operators or receptive operators.
“A ground operator is a type of in-bound tour operator
who specializes in servicing other tour companies’
arriving groups in a limited geographic area.”
(Mancini 2001). These guides meet their clients and
conduct tours for the various groups.
Cruise ship Tour Guides

Talk of cruise ships bring to mind not only a
booming accommodation type hat is not land-based,
but an all- inclusive type of accommodation. Due to the
good salaries earned from working on these vessels,
many people are interested in getting employment on
them. For this reason, a closer look will be given to the
job of the cruise ship tour guide or shore excursion
guide.
These shore excursion staff give information on the

land- based tour to the clients and take comments
and/or complaints related to the tour taken. Read about
the jobs of such cruise ship
jobs at
http://www.cruisejobfinder.com/JobDescriptions/activity_
e ntertainment_jobs.php#excursion
Shore Excursion
Manager
Cruise companies offer and sell their passengers organized tours

of the different areas they travel to. The Shore Excursion
Manager is responsible for knowing how many tours are offered
for each stop, promoting and selling shore excursion
packages to their passengers. The Shore Excursion
Manager is required to give presentations or informative
talks onboard about the various excursions they offer prior to
reaching port.
Shore Excursion Staff/ Assistant Shore Excursion
Manager
The responsibilities of shore excursion staff are to assist with

shore excursions and land tours. The position is comparable to
that of a Junior Assistant Purser and, on some cruise lines; the
actual title is Junior Assistant Purser, Shore Excursions.
Office and administrative skills are required, but no
previous experience in tourism is necessary. The Shore
Excursion staff sometimes are referred to as Assistant
Shore Excursion Managers and are responsible for staffing
the shore excursion desk that includes guest services and tour
sales. They also must politely deal with complaints from
passengers. Many cruise staff and shore excursion personnel
currently working in the industry got their start on land, then
moved to the ships. Contracts vary and payment is salaried.
Benefits of a shore excursion

Shore excursions are worth it if you want to venture to
attractions that are located far from the pier, learn more about an
area through a guide or participate in physical activities where
gear is required (biking, diving, golf). However, if all you
want to do is walk around town, shop or visit the beach, it
could be much cheaper and less time-consuming to get a map
and go it on your own. For instance, in St. Thomas, the shops
are a stone's throw from the ship, but beaches are a cab ride
away. (Although it still might be less expensive to hail a taxi
to the beach than to participate in a tour.).
However, in big cities like Athens, Rome and Florence -- which

are far from the port -- it may make more sense to spring for a
tour. It is also wiser to take a shore excursion in any third world
country or in foreign ports, where language and customs might
prove to be barriers. For example, in Brunei, you would
definitely want to take the guided tour to sights like the biggest
mosque in Asia -- Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque. You'd probably
never find it on your own. And, without guidance, you may not
realize the necessity to respect local customs by covering your
body from head to toe in long pants, long skirts and long
sleeves. (Don't laugh -- this happened on a recent visit. Luckily,
the locals are used to this and have a few robes on-hand to
loan visitors.) In Tunis, you might not wish to participate in
the aggressive haggling, conducted by the taxi drivers at the
pier. Opt, instead, for a ship-arranged tour to the souk or
ancient
Carthage.
However, remember that, while the cruise ship will wait for
any late-returning, ship-sponsored tours, you run the risk of
getting stranded in port if your independent tour gets stuck in
traffic and is late returning to the pier.
http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?
ID=79
Complete Note It Activity 5:1:4.
View the following websites and make notes on what is involved

in being a cruise ship tour guide.
http://www.ehow.com/video_2275938_get-started-as-cruise-
Note It
Activity 5:1:4 ship.html http://www.ehow.com/video_2275936_get-hired-as-
cruise-ship.html
http://www.jobmonkey.com/landtours/html/shore_guide.html
Earning of Tour Guides

Typically an on-site tour guide makes minimum wage or as
a docent, may volunteer for work. Those tour guides that make
fairly good salaries are those employed by the government (for
example, park rangers) or those by corporations (for example,
those giving a tour of a factory).
City guides, adventure guides (specialized tour guides)

and personal guides tare better paid than on-site guides. Of
course salaries vary depending on place, company and situation.
View the Reading Activity

5:1:5
Examine the salary scale for tour guides and tour operators in
Australia and for the travel and tourism industry:
http://mycareer.com.au/jobs/-/hospitality-travel-tourism/tourguiding-
Reading tour- operators/
Activity 5:1:5
http://content.mycareer.com.au/salary-centre/hospitality-travel-tourism/
OR for general earnings and benefits visit
http://www.jobmonkey.com/landtours/html/earnings_benefits.ht
ml
Tour Guiding Appeal
230
230
Since the pay of a tour guide may be less than desirable, the
reason why persons choose to work in this profession must show
that they are perks.
231
231
1. An opportunity to “shine” and develop personally.
Unlike the tour escort, the tour guide is not responsible for
the group around the clock, but for a few hours at a time. The
guide is the centre of attention for a limited time like a
performer, and an
‘authority” on a particular
place.
2. Meeting new
people
3. Networking
potential
4. Opportunity to travel to new and exciting places at little

to no cost of your own. Tour guiding as a career has
many advantages of which seeing the sight or attraction at
no cost to yourself, as the workplace pays any entrance
fees for the guides especially those that are free-lancing
or independent as step-on guides.
5. Augmenting the salary with tips
6. Suitable for retired persons, students on vacation or

as a part-time job.
Step-on guides who act as free-lancers for an arriving

tour company have the advantage of working seasonally.
Hence students or teachers or retirees can assume this job during
prime or peak tourist seasons when they may be on leave. It is
therefore a great way to supplement your income or allowance.
Complete Activity
5:1:6
Suggest one (1) reason for each quality as to why the

abovementioned qualities are necessary for a tour guide.
Activity 5:1:6
Qualities required by a tour guide

As have been established there are different kinds of tour
guides and operators. However, there are some characteristics or
qualities that all international tour guides should have. These
qualities will include being:
- trustworthy -
energetic
- patient -
organized
- adaptable or flexible - ethical
- knowledgeable - people-oriented
Examine the salary scale for tour guides and tour operators in
Australia and for the travel and tourism industry:
http://mycareer.com.au/jobs/-/hospitality-travel-tourism/tourguiding-
Activity 5:1:6 tour- operators/
http://content.mycareer.com.au/salary-centre/hospitality-travel-tourism/
OR for general earnings and benefits visit
http://www.jobmonkey.com/landtours/html/earnings_benefits.ht
ml
Training opportunities for a tour guide

As many governments see the importance of tourism to
their economies, there is training opportunities for tour
guides. The purpose of training is to ensure some form of
standardization in this area of the travel and tourism industry. It
allows the guides to be licensed, thus raising the bar of
professionalism and international recognition in this arena.
Complete the following Reading Activity 5:1:8 to discover

what some countries are doing in regards to training.
Visit the following websites to discover what is happening in

some countries in regards to training of tourist guides.
http://wftga.org/CW20060203044.p
Reading
Activity 5:1:8 df http://wftga.org/page.asp?id=117
From the prescribed readings, evaluate your job as a tour guide
or evaluate the job of the tour guide during a tour guiding
experience you had.
Assessment for Unit
5:1 What are/were some of the good points of this profession?
What are some of the negatives? What qualities do you
possess that would prepare or qualify you for this career?
What would be needed to attract you to this career option?
In this unit you learned about the reasons that people, that
is visitors, choose to engage in tours. Along with the
definitions for tour guiding, other definitions for persons in
Summary for Unit tour guiding were specified.
5:1
It was acknowledged that there are different kinds of tour
guides based on particular criteria. Highlight was placed on the
cruise ship tour guide or the shore excursion guide
Attention was paid to the differentiating between the various

types of tour operators such as the in-bound, out-bound
intermodal, and motor coach.
Finally the appeal of tour guiding as a career was

investigated along with the qualities that a tour guide should
have.

city guide cruise ship tour guide driver-guide
docent in-bound tour operator intermodal
Terminology for land operator motor coach operator operator
on-site guide
Unit 5:1 out-bound tour operator personal/private guide
receptive guide shore excursion guide specialized
step-on guide tour conducting tour director
tour escort tour guide/tourist guide tour guiding
tour operator tour manager tour package
Unit 5:2
Unit 5:2 Presentation Skills

Unit Overview
Presentation is the key to been heard and understood. It is not always
the content that grabs the listener or user, but the “packaging”. It is
about how the message is arranged and presented orally or in print.
Have you ever gone into a supermarket to purchase a loaf of

bread and on inspection, you choose a particular loaf above
another; why is that? It is not only the way the bread felt, or the
way it looked but the way the bag may have appeared.
In this unit the focus will be on the presentation skills used by

the tour guide as the presenter.

State what is a presentation
Objectives for Unit Discuss techniques in public speaking
5:2
Explain the importance of a presentation
Identify the qualities of a good presenter
Identify what makes a poor presentation
Describe the grooming habits necessary for a presenter
Define the terms “tour commentary” and “paraphrasing”
Discuss steps used in the delivery of tour commentary
List ways for the tour guide to keep the commentary fresh
What is a presentation?
In tour guiding, a presentation would be introducing the place
or the country in terms of its importance and history, politics,
culture and fauna and flora to the participants of the tour.
This can be done as part of the motor coach ride or simply on-
site. Professor Albert Mehrabian did a lot of research into
how we assimilate information during a presentation. He
concluded that
55% of the information we take is visual, 38% is in the vocal
and only 7% is text.
For an on-site tour guide, the vocal delivery is

important. Presentation in this aspect is also called a tour
commentary, which is referred to as “guidespeak”.
The importance of a presentation

A presentation enables the tour guide to show himself as the
leader and the one responsible for the group. A presentation
helps the tour guide to ascertain control over his group, and
enables the presenter to identify who is following and who
is not. A presentation standardizes the information passed to
all.
What makes a good presentation?

Guidespeak may be considered a form of public speaking. The
characteristics of a good presentation are fundamental to the job
of the tour guide. So, what are the characteristics of a
presentation?
Use of short, simple, clear words
Simple phrases not convoluted meandering. The

commentary should be succinct and clear.
Focus is on the topic or sight. It is must be authentic and

stay on track.
Not to be overlooked is appearance. According to George

Torok at
http://www.toastmasters.org/ToastmastersMagazine/Toast
m
asterArchive/2007/December/Departments/FortheNovice.
as px wrote that “the physical appearance is the strongest
way to project power”.
Complete the Discussion Activity
5:2:1
After reading the following article, discuss it with a partner.
10 Tips for Public Speaking

Reading 5:3:1
Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is
natural and even beneficial, but too much nervousness
can be detrimental.
Here are some proven tips on how to control your butterflies and
give better presentations:
1. Know your material. Pick a topic you are interested in.
Know more about it than you include in your speech. Use
humor,
personal stories and conversational language – that way you
won’t easily forget what to say.
2. Practice. Practice. Practice! Rehearse out loud with all
equipment you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work
to
control filler words; Practice, pause and breathe. Practice
with a timer and allow time for the unexpected.
3. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as
they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to
strangers.
4. Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area
and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.
5. Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time
and calms your nerves. Pause, smile and count to three before
saying
anything. ("One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three
one- thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform nervous energy
into
enthusiasm
.
6. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself
speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize
the audience clapping – it will boost your confidence.
7. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you
to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining.
They’re
rooting for
you.
8. Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem – the
audience probably never noticed it.
9. Concentrate on the message – not the medium. Focus
your
attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on
your message and your audience.
10. Gain experience. Mainly, your speech should represent you —
as an authority and as a person. Experience builds confidence,
which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can
provide
the experience you need in a safe and friendly
environment.
http://www.toastmasters.org/MainMenuCategories/FreeResourc
es /
NeedHelpGivingaSpeech/TipsTechniques/10TipsforPublicSpea
kin g.aspx
Identify the characteristics of a good presenter
Unless the commentary is through handheld audio devices
with pre-recorded commentary, a good presentation is often
linked to the qualities of the presenter. Therefore to evaluate a
presentation, we will look at some of the qualities of the
presenter, as they are not mutually-exclusive. A good presenter:
1. presents herself or himself first, at the start of
the presentation
2. looks and smells
good
3. is motivated
4. speaks for all to hear and understand
5. uses good language
6. uses his hands to show and guide
7. Is well synchronized with the layout of his material
8. keeps eye contact with his audience
9. rehearses his speech, but the speech is not memorized
10. is well informed
11. is able to answer questions and gives apologies
for questions he cannot immediately answer
12. looks for answers he was unable to answer
13. knows when to talk and when to stop
14. is noise free, in terms of his/her appearance and the type
of message he is delivering. There is no gaudy or
“loud” clothing worn. The look is professional but
not as if a member of the touring group.
Identify what makes a poor presentation

After reading the above statements, it stands to reason that a
poor presentation is inextricably linked to the presenter. It is
often the opposite of what makes a good presentation. A poor
presenter:
1. does not present himself at the start of the presentation

2. speaks in a low voice, so all cannot hear and understand
3. gives wrong information, because he is
misinformed through poor research.
4. does not cater for all the listeners; regarding the
material presented
5. uses poor language
6. is not synchronized with the layout of his material
7. does not look and smell good
8. is not seen to be motivated in the verbal or non-
verbal language
9. uses his hands overly to show and guide. The gestures are
at the wrong time and ambiguous
10. does not maintain contact with his audience
11. does not prepare his speech beforehand
12. is not able to answer questions and apologies for
questions he cannot answer
13. manufactures answers to questions he was unable to
answer
14. does not know when to talk and when to stop
15. comes in gaudy colors, to present a talk on a tour of
a solemn sight (example: Hindu Temples).
Read the following case study and answer the following
questions
A group of fourteen (14) consisting of travel agents and tour
Activity 5:2:2
operators from England went on a familiarization trip (fam trip)
to Mauritius. Since the purpose of the fam trip is to encourage the
tour operators to sell Mauritius as an option in their country, it
was important that the fourteen tourists (participants) “sample the
product”. So they went to some of the local sights. One of the
sights chosen was the Botanical Gardens at Pamplemousses, in
the south of the country. An on-site tour guide was to meet the
bus at the venue.
On arrival at the sight, the tourists disembarked from the tour bus.
The tour guide approached the bus with a cigarette hanging
from his mouth. Without a proper greeting, he launched into his
commentary of the Botanical Gardens in his native tongue of
Creole. When walking through the area, there were deer and a
turtle farm, but the tour guide sped along without allowing the
tourists time to take photographs.
At a stop, one
of the tourists
asked a question
and the tour
guide replied
that he did not
know the
answer and it
was not a
relevant question
anyway.
On returning to
London, the
travel agents and
tour operators
refused to
sell the package tour to Mauritius that included a visit to the
Botanical Gardens. The representative from the Mauritian
Tourism Promotion Authority that organized the fam trip
wondered why this was a frequent occurrence with all the tour
operators on that trip. Hence a follow-up call was made to the
travel agents and tour operators on the trip. All the comments
centered on the tour guide and his performance.
1. What are three (3) things that the tour operators might
have said about the tour guide?
2. In about one hundred (100) words, write how you
would correct the errors of the tour guide.
Grooming habits of a presenter

Hygiene is an important consideration for a presenter. It
involves not only washing with clean water, brushing your
teeth, having fresh breath, wearing deodorant and clean clothing;
but the way the clothing fits your body.
Remember the tour guide is a representative of the organization

and an ambassador of the country. Hence the way the tour guide
looks or is presented, speaks for the country.
Tour Commentaries
Tour Commentaries are the narratives tour guides use to
describe a sight and provide information about various aspects
of a country to passengers while on a tour. This is
generally referred to as “guidespeak”. Tour commentaries can
include general information and local stories about attractions,
events and personalities in the country, and in particular the
attraction or sight.
The procedure for preparing tour commentaries

includes establishing the needs and interests of the tour group,
confirming the itinerary, accessing sources of information
about sights to be visited, researching facts about the sights
to be visited and preparing the text of the commentary based
on these facts.
Delivery of tour commentary

Here are some steps in delivering a tour
commentary.
 Confirm the interests and expectations of the tourists at
the outset of the tour. This is preparatory work done
before the tour.
 Start by introducing yourself and clearly state the
purpose of the tour.
 En route to attractions as well as at the sights, present
the commentary you have prepared
beforehand. Conversational, not by memorization or rote.
 Make your commentary interesting, relevant, simple,
and delivered in a logical sequence.
 Be sensitive to the interests of the group and deliver
the guidespeak tailored to the group.
 Seek feedback throughout the tour to ensure that you
are holding the tour visitors’ attention.
 Respond to visitor enquiries as accurately and positively
as you can. When you do not immediately have an
answer, refer to field guides and other sources of
information.
 Focus on what you know; be specific and express
the information in terms of what the tourists can see.
 If you do not find the answer to a question the visitor
needs, apologize and refer the enquiry to an alternative
source of information.
 Be accommodating and flexible towards members of
the group, allowing for different points of view and
ways of doing things.
 Allow enough time at each stop, to permit each tourist
to fully enjoy and gain information with private time
at the stop.
Keeping tour commentary fresh

It is fundamental to enjoying the job and for the visitor taking
the tour more than once, that the tour guide keep the
commentary fresh. In this way the tour guide relieves some
tedium from the narration and the performance continue to be
top notch. Let us discover ways how the commentary may be
kept lively:
Keep up-to-date with what is new on the subject, or at the sight.

This will give some measure of energy to the tour guide
and consequently the narration.
Strive for continuous improvement in the performance. Review

your performance for the day, take an informal poll of
the visitors and make amendments each tour time.
Look at the sight or attraction product through the eyes of the

visitor. Remember most may be seeing the sight(s) for the
240
240
first time. Imagine what can be improved, what may be of
interest and anticipate questions so the answers may be ready.
241
241
As a performer, draw on the group’s energy-, the guide may
feel renewed during the many tours. So look at visitor
reactions, feel their enthusiasm then perk up those that may
seem dull or distracted by asking open and probing
questions. (Review Unit
4:3)
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is “the act in which a statement or remark
is explained in other words or another way — as to clarify
the meaning, or when a direct quotation is
unavailable”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraphrasing
In other words, paraphrasing is a tool used by the tour guide

to express to tourists, information that was previously
researched. It is a means of not boring your clients, but
providing some shortened and reworded version of the facts
the tourists need.
Example A group of tourists visiting Barbados is on a scenic

island tour. On route, the bus passes through the west coast of
the island in the parish of St. James, near the site of the landing
of the British in 1635. The tour guide had previously read the
following extract and wishes to paraphrase the facts to the group.
Holetown is one of the larger towns in Barbados, along with

the city of Speighstown and the capital Bridgetown.
Holetown is located in the parish of Saint James.
Holetown is where the English landed for the first time in
Barbados in 1635. This is commemorated by a plaque which
erroneously records the date as 1605.
A paraphrase of the example can

be:
Holetown is one of three (3) towns in Barbados It is situated in

the parish of St. James (where we are now). The
significance of Holetown is as the 1635 landing site of the
British.
Complete Activity
5:2:4.
Write another paraphrased version of the highlighted material in

the example above. Share the possible paraphrase, with
emphasis on rewording factual information
Activity 5:2:4
Take a tour of a local attraction. Explain that you are taking a
tour guiding class and ask permission to tape the tour
commentary. Ask the guide if you can evaluate the commentary
Assessment for Unit and receive feedback from him or her.
5:2
Review the taped commentary
Paraphrase some portions of the tour commentary
Research the sight(s) or attraction and add new elements to the

taped narration.
Share the newly revised commentary with the tour guide whose
commentary you evaluated.
In this unit the focus was on the presentation and the

presenter. The importance of a presentation and the
identifying criteria of good and poor presentations were
Summary for Unit discussed along with the qualities and grooming habits required
5:2 of a good presenter.
The techniques used in public speaking as used by

Toastmasters International were clearly outlined and an
activity designed to discuss understanding.
The terms “tour commentary” and “paraphrasing” were defined

and the steps used in delivering tour commentary were outlines.
At the end, it was acknowledged that tour guides can have a
measure of tedium in repeating the same commentary for
multiple tours. Hence, ways for keeping the tour commentary
fresh were listed

guidespeak paraphrasing tour
commentaries tour guiding tour operator
Terminology for
Unit 5:2
Unit 5:3 Delivering methods for City and
On - Site Guiding
Unit Overview
“The European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations
(FEG) supports the EU efforts to facilitate free movement of
provision of services within its member states, but also
emphasizes the importance of area-specific tourist guides to
high quality provision of tourism services. This can only be
achieved by a common high standard of qualification for
Tourist Guides in all European countries.
Tourist Guides are representatives of their cities, regions

and countries. It depends largely on them if visitors feel
welcome, want to stay longer or decide to come back. They
therefore contribute considerably to the perception
of the destination.
Tourist Guides help visitors to experience, understand and

enjoy the places they are visiting. Their role is to interpret
the area specific environment and to help visitors to see
what they are looking at.
Consumers are best served by engaging a quality guiding

services of high standard.” http://www.feg-
touristguides.org/tourist/index.html
It is vital that the tour guide understands the contribution
s/he makes to the narrative value of the visitors’ vacation.
Hence, it is important that tour guides be assigned with
tours groups in which the language of the group is known
and spoken in the standard form.
Tour guides by nature of the job talk a greater deal of the

time. For the tour guide of an English speaking group there
should be a demonstration of clear and concise delivery
of the tour commentary or guidespeak using Standard
English. More on the aspect of public speaking will be
presented in Unit 5:3.
In this module the focus will be on the delivery methods used

by city and sight guides.
Discuss trends that can have liabilities on tour guiding as
a career
Objectives for Unit
5:3 Discuss tips for using the Public Address System
Outline “guidespeak” peculiarities when giving a walking tour
Summarize four (4) ways that a delivery of a bus

tour commentary is unique.
Identify tactics that may be useful to a tour guide for

being heard by the group, and keep the group
enthusiastic
Discuss safety precautions that may be used by walking

and city tour guides
Outline general logistical matters for guides

Trends that have liabilities on tour guiding as a career
Over time there has developed some liabilities to the tour
guiding career. In the last unit, the appeal of tour guiding was
considered, but what are some of the liabilities?
Some liabilities of tour guiding are:

 Boredom. There is a high degree of boredom for on-site or
city guides. Why? The same information or narration is
often repeated and the questions asked by visitors are
frequently predictable and the same.
 Technology is threatening the job security of the tour guide

by replacing the need for the actual tour guide.
For the on-site

guide
Use of pre-recorded narratives sounded through rented

portable audio players to earphones or cell phone-like
handsets gives the visitor more autonomy and leisure time to
stop and listen at a particular sight or stroll the attraction sight.
The use of automatically tripped devices when persons enter

a room such as taped audio narrative with or without video
monitors reduces the need for the quantity of on-site guides
For the city

guide
Again the technology threatens to replace city guides, with

drivers pushing a button to activate a cassette or CD player
of the pre- recorded commentary. Even some motor
coaches have individualized LCD (monitor) and CD radio
system which allow the client to activate them for commentary.
The human element of asking a question to a tape recorder is

not yet, so city or sight tour guides need to make use of this
weakness to personalize the visit and stand out from technology.
Though the threat is real, yet the possibility of de-humanization
of this industry will not be complete.
Though the job of the tour guide may soon be an endangered

one, there will always be some need (even though limited)
for the human element. The face to face tour commentaries that
are offered and the personal touch cannot be underestimated.
Tips for using P.A. Systems
For these “talkers” in this travel and tourism industry, there is
need for equipment to facilitate the efficient execution of the
job. One such piece of equipment is the public address (P.A.)
system.
As mentioned in Unit 3:2, use of P.A. Systems, and in

particular the microphone while on the tour is a task that city
guides on hop- on, hop-off buses or guides on motor
coaches must become knowledgeable of. Though used in
presentations, in-depth look at P.A. systems will be done here
as its use impacts more intimately the job of the city and on-site
guide.
Here are some tips from Mancini (2003) for getting the
technology to work for you.
Figure 11 - Radio with P.A System
 It is recommended that the microphone (“mic”or mike)

should be one foot away from the face as holding the PA
system too close to the mouth is definitely not feasible
 Keep the “mic” close to the mouth but do not speak loudly
 Be sensitive to your voice level and adjust the volume

control accordingly
 Beware of feedback, that irritating whine when the

microphone is directly over the loudspeaker. Some tour
guides may therefore choose to purchase their own quality
“mic” but should ensure it is compatible with the motor
coach or tour bus PA outlet. Or the choice of a clip-on
“mic” or head set maybe preferable; even the choice of a
wireless tour guide PA System.
Figure 12 - Wireless Tour Guide P.A.
System
The documentation for the figure above is as

follows:
“This multi-purpose portable wireless tour guide system

provides one-way, private communication just to the people
in your tour group. Your tour guide or interpreter wears a
compact body-pack transmitter w/ headset microphone. Listeners
use portable belt pack receivers and lightweight headphones to
hear every word clearly and easily.
Ideal for use in: Guided Tours - Factories -

Museums/Tourist
Attractions - Language Translation -
Classrooms/Workshops”
http://www.kintronics.com/anchor/assistedlistening.ht
ml
Walking Tours
A walking tour may be organized through a tour company,
or association where a fee is charged as with Greenwich Tour
Guides Association Tours of Greenwich. Or, it may be a
service offered free of charge by a tourist bureau in some
countries like those offered in the City of Bath. It may be self-
guided using a printed map with information or it may be
guided through an attraction sight by an on-site guide. The
guided walking tour is what the focus will be on in this unit.
Walking tour guides may be volunteers (students or retirees) that

have an interest in the development of the area for touristic
reasons. It may be retirees who have some time and want to give
back to the community. These guides must be fit and
knowledgeable of the
area being
walked.
The purpose of opting for a walking tour varies from visitor
to visitor. Some reasons may be because it is a free tour (by a
tourist bureau) or, it is a delightful way to see the city or a
site. Other reasons may be that the time available to see the
province. City or area is shorter than that allowed for a coach,
bus or tram.
Whatever the reason the walking tour can present peculiarities
in the guidespeak for the on-site guide that may not occur with
a bus commentary. Here are some considerations when
delivering a walking tour:
As the on-site guide moves from place to place with

the group, pacing of the walk is important.
In moving from place to place, the guide must always be in

the front, leading. Avoid aligning yourself with one or more
persons in the group that others feel left out.
In a walking group there will be a mix of visitors. Some will

be elderly, young, or have physically disabilities.
The advantage of a walking tour is that the degree of boredom

or lethargy is diminished as with another mode. Yet, fatigue may
be a factor both for the guide and the group. Therefore, the
guide must be observant to the physical capacity of the group
and keep the pace within reason – not too fast or too slow.
Leisurely guiding the group even at a reasonable pace also

allows the inevitable stragglers to catch up.
The actual sights, buildings are dramatic visual aids

that enhance the “ guidespeak”
Just like the docent at the museum, the on-site tour guide has
aids that add to the tour. The impact of the environment to
corroborate the guidespeak should be strongly tapped into.
So as not to compete with the historical buildings, artifacts

or objets d’arts the tour guide may choose a step or rock from
which to speak.
Projection of the voice by the guide is fundamental to

this tour
This is more so if there are no portable public address

systems available. The speaking ability of the walking tour
guide is tested during these tours. The projection of the
voice so all group members can hear is critical to visitor
satisfaction. The guide must speak from the diaphragm as do
orators.
Repetition of questions asked before answering is
necessary. Since the group may be large, it is important that
questions asked
by other group members be repeated before the answer is
given. Else, there will be constant queries to repeat, or the same
question
asked multiple
times.
A tip may be at staged stops, to keep the group in a semi-
circle configuration before answering questions or giving a
narration.
Detailed notes and memorization of the commentary

must be avoided
The facts and history should be memorized but not the spiel.
If absolutely necessary (at the beginning stage), brief
notes or reminders will be acceptable. However, the walking
tour should have a conversational quality about the activity.
Visitors should be transported by the word pictures painted by
the guide.
In using prepared notes as the walk goes on, the guide may lose
the place and the effect of professionalism will be undermined.
Complete Activity
5:3:1
Go to the website below and take a self-guided walking tour

of
Philadelphia
Activity 5:3:1 http://www.theconstitutional.com/selfguided/index.php

Write down three (3) differences you think will be present in
a guided tour?
Delivery of a bus tour commentary

The bus tour is another mode that may be used to sight see.
The group may be on a coach or on the hop-on, hop-off tour
buses. Either way the delivery of a bus tour commentary is
unique for the step-on guide, city guides or on-site guides
using the buses or trams.
Here are some tips and considerations for these city or on-
site guides:
Position is the
key.
Find the most well positioned place to stand or sit that is not
illegal, according to traffic laws or that would obstruct the
driver’s view of the road or side mirrors.
For the tour guide, sitting at the front of the bus
allows communication with the driver at times on relevant
matters. It also offsets public speaking fears as the guide is
backing the visitors and
there is no face to face contact. However this positioning
may cause the loss of attention from listening to a disembodied
voice. So the guide may have to occasionally stand up and
speak to the group while facing them and backing the road or
standing off to a side.
Be mindful that passing attractions dictate delivery

and pacing
It will be useful at the start of the tour that the guide informs
the visitors what is meant by left and right. Is it the guide’s left
or the visitor’s left?
Remember line of sight difficulties so use specific directional

terms
– look to the left or right. This is because due to the seating plan
of the vehicle some visitors cannot see straight ahead or the
sight if it
is close to the vehicle. So do not use such an indication, as
“over
there” or “up
there”.
Practice timing the delivery of the comments – “coming up on

the right…” This is so that as the vehicle approaches the sight,
alerts the guests as to this fact and where to look. Use a circular
routing plan that doubles back along certain important sight
streets. This will allow visitors on both sides of the vehicle a
better viewing opportunity.
Pace the commentary according to the speed of

the vehicle movements or traffic flow
Stretch the commentary as needed. At times there may be

nothing of real interest is in view so add anecdotes or general
information on the cultural uniqueness of the area.
Guides must be story tellers and conjure up images by their

word pictures and narrations. At times add personal comments if
you live in the area being toured; nothing too personal and in
keeping with a site about to be seen or passed previously..
Guides do not have to speak

continuously.
Mancini (2003) mentioned speaking about eighty to ninety

percent (80% - 90%) of the time is best. This is because the
listeners tune out half way through. Also remember that if the
visitor is part of a group they may want to share with their
partner or simply enjoy the view.
250
250
Do not write notes on index cards for
memorization.
As previously noted with on-site walking tours, information

on cards or notes may be dropped or the place reading lost
and this
251
251
affects the quality of the guide’s performance and look
of professionalism.
Now complete Activity 5:3:2
Take a guided bus tour as a group.

So each person enjoys the trip, the group is divided into teams
to observe certain aspects of the tour for timed portions of the trip:
Group - the tour commentary

Activity 5:3:2 - the appropriate use of directional terms to match the
commentary
- timing of the vehicle and commentary
- ease of following commentary and enjoying the sights
On the return to class, share with the class your team’s

observations for the assigned aspect and portion of time.
Tactics to keeping the group enthusiastic

Duration of the tour affects the amount of work and energy the
guide needs to use. The idea is to have a group happy and
enthused throughout the tour. Remember that there are some
trends that are threatening your career so make the tour guide as
indispensable as possible.
Tactics to keep the group enthusiastic:
1 Keep the commentary light. People travel for enjoyment

so present the facts in a witty and humorous way. However
do not be a stand-up comedian always. Modulate the
voice for variation and emphasis.
2 Keep the narrations positive. Each country or province

has problems do not dwell on them and constantly highlight
them.
3 Personalize the information. Groups are curious about

the guide’s personal and professional life. Turn this curiosity
to an advantage and weave some personal information
into the commentary. Be aware that your life does not
become the tour
4 Know your audience and involve them. Tailor the
information to each particular group. If the group is farmers
or accountants,
point out sites that they might find most interesting.
Schedule and allow many photo opportunities as the tour will
allow.
5 Be accurate and specific. Present information in a

scholarly manner that is accurate and specific. Quiz the
visitors on the commentary to add some entertainment and
interest.
Safety Precautions
Whether guiding a walking tour or bus tour of a city there are
certain measures that should be implemented and remembered.
These will include:
Directing clients away from traffic. Sometimes in the pleasure

of the trip, the visitor may be unconscious of how close to
traffic they are.
Point out possible dangers or guard passengers as they embark

or exit the motor coach/bus.
Do not permit standing in the aisle while the vehicle is in motion.

Perhaps a standup and stretch will be allowed but not
for extended periods of time.
For persons with disabilities (PWD) hydraulic lifts for the

vehicle will be necessary. Do not allow persons to utilize the
designated area for this particular group.
Logistical Management
Logistic may be defined as “Planning, execution, and control of
the procurement, movement, and stationing of personnel,
material, and other resources to achieve the objectives of a
campaign, plan, project, or strategy. It may be defined as
the 'management of inventory in motion and at rest.”
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/logistics.ht
ml
Logistics management is then defined as “application of

management principles to logistics operations for efficient and
cost effective movement of goods and personnel”.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/logistics-
management.html
For the guide, there are common logistical matters for tour guides
such as:
Before clients arrive check the vehicle for trash, seating, temperature
Memorize the vehicle number and teach it through repetition to

the visitors
Always conduct a head count of the group at the beginning of

the tour and at selected points during the tour.
Counsel passengers to take their possession with them when

leaving the bus or after a stop on the tour.
(A)
Choose a notable building or other attraction in your locale.

Assessment for Unit Pretend that you are a tour guide (if you are not currently
5:3 one) and give groups an introductory talk of about five (5)
minutes. Research choice, and then outline the presentation
citing one research source. Be prepared for questions.
(B)
Write short answers to the

following:
1 What are two (2) liabilities that a tour guide faces to

their career?
2 What three (3) tactics can help an on-site guide be heard by

his or her group?
3 Discuss the physical positioning that a city guide on a bus

tour should assume when guiding a tour. What are the
advantages of such a position?
In this unit trends that can have liabilities on tour guiding as
a career were discussed and possible solutions that may be
used by the tour guide.
Summary for Unit
5:3 Tips for using the Public Address System, delivery methods
for walking tours and bus tour commentary were presented.
Highlights of peculiarities when giving these types of tours were
outlined.
Tactics that may be useful to a tour guide for being heard by

the group, and keep the group enthusiastic along with
safety precautions that may be used by walking and city tour
guides. Finally general logistical matters for guides were
summarized.

logistics logistics management public address
system walking tour
Terminology for
Unit 5:3
Unit 6 Health, Safety and Security
Procedures
Unit Overview
The intention of this unit is to assist the tour guide in following

the basics principles involved in the health, safety and
security procedures of tour guiding. This is for personal benefit
as well as professional reasons.
It must be noted that the tour guide interacts with many people
on a daily basis. After the hours of work are completed s/he
will go home to interact with family and friends. As disease
is passed sometimes through casual contact, it is important that
the tour
guide pays special attention to her/his
health.
In this short unit the importance of health procedures at work

for the tour guide and the client will be studied.
 Discuss the procedures established for tour guiding in

regards to the health, safety and security of clients
Outcomes for Unit
6  Discuss the implications of disregarding the procedures
 Realize the impact of health, safety and security on

the hospitality industry
Unit 6:1
Unit 6:1 Health Requirements at work

When we speak of health requirements at work there are
certain parameters that need to first be determined. The
success of your business depends on the good practice of health
and safety.
Another reason for looking at health requirements in tour guiding

is because the tour guide will be attached to a company.
Therefore, there are certain requirements for employees that
need to be effectively instituted in the organization and
honored.
In this unit, these two parallels will be discussed – the aspect of

the employee and the work environment.

Outline the general procedures for health, safety and
security for workers
Objectives for Unit
6:1 Explain methods for dealing with emergency situations
Definitions
Health
 wellness (a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease)
 the general condition of body and mind
http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?
s=health
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social

wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity. (1948)
http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/print.html
Safety
the condition of being safe; freedom from danger, risk,
or injury. http://www.answers.com/topic/safety
In insurance, the term “safety” looks at means of

preventing accidents or injuries, where company safety
programs are taken into account.
Security
Any measures taken to insure the safety of facilities,
property or personnel.
http://www.hometravelagency.com/dictionary/security.htm
l
Therefore during our discussion we will be considering safety

and security as one concept. That is they both refer to keeping
free from danger, risk or injury the people (workers and clients),
facilities and property involved in the tourism/hospitality
industry.
Workplace safety
The use of workplace safety will be used interchangeably with
the term occupational health and safety.
In the United States of America through the governing body

of Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA), “workplace safety refers to the working
environment at a company and encompasses all factors
that impact the safety, health, and well-being of
employees. This can include environmental hazards,
unsafe working conditions or processes, drug and alcohol
abuse, and workplace violence”.
http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/OHS/ManagingSafetyRisks/P
ag es/default.aspx
Procedures for health, safety and security
In literature, the first block in looking at safety procedures to set
up a safety officer or have an external party conduct a safety
analysis of the workplace. This is encouraging, however, it is
important that each worker does their part to practise and ensure
workplace safety.
What is involved in workplace safety?

For each organization or country, there will be some
minor differences to what is involved in workplace or
occupational health and safety.
The following are some of the points for workplace

safety according to the statutory authority of New South
Wales – WorkCover:
As an employer, ensure your workers’ safety by
providing:
a workplace that is without risk to health, safety and
welfare
safe and adequate machinery, equipment and
substances
appropriate plans, procedures, work
methods
suitable instruction, information, training and
supervision
adequate resources, including qualified personnel.
http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/Employers/Hidden/Pages/ho
wd
oikeepworkerssafe.asp
x
In Australia, under the Occupational Health and Safety

(OH&S)
legislation you are obliged to
provide:
safe premises
safe machinery and materials
safe systems of work
information, instruction, training and
supervision
a suitable working environment and
facilities.
If you don't comply with these legal requirements you can
be prosecuted and fined.
Please note that legal obligations of employers vary according
to circumstances. You may wish to seek independent legal
advice on what is applicable to your situation.
http://www.business.gov.au/Business+Entry+Point/Business+To
pic
s/Occupational+health+and+safety/Your+OH+and+S+obligation
s. htm
As referred there is a legal requirement to instituting

and maintaining health procedures in the workplace. In Unit 7
we will look more at the legal issues.
So as noted by
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_safety, “workplace
safety is a category of management responsibility in places of
employment.
To ensure the safety and health of workers, managers

establish a focus on safety that can include elements such as:
 management leadership and commitment

 employee
engagement
 accountability
 ensuring all task are carried out safely and efficiently
 safety programs, policies, and plans
 safety processes, procedures, and practices
 safety goals and
objectives
 safety inspections for workplace hazards
 safety program
audits
 safety tracking &
metrics
 hazard identification and control
 safety committees to promote employee involvement
 safety education and training
 safety communications to maintain a high level
of awareness on safety .”
So overall, we can concur that workplace safety though
stimulated by management must be followed by the workers.
Despite country or affiliation, the measures to effective safety
in the workplace depend on policies being in place, programs,
systems, information, training and supervision.
Complete Activity
6:1:1
Speak with your manager to find out what are the health and
safety procedures for your particular organization.
Write down these procedures. Were you aware of them? Do

you practice them? What changes if any, do you have to make
Activity 6:1:1
to come up to standard in the practice of these procedures?
Dealing with emergency situations

However well-planned, there will
inevitably arise situations of
breach of security. There will
be need therefore to handle
occurrences that require safety and
health programs to be initiated and
more than on paper.
For our discussion the emergency

situations relating to health will be
limited to:
 if someone falls ill

an requires more than
first aid

h
e
a
t
s
t
r
o
k
e
Within your organization, each

definition of and response to an
emergency situation will differ. It is
260
260
imp should however be done only if you
tant are a certified first aider. This
that precaution is because there are legal
each ramifications that can follow
work afterwards if you are not qualified
er and the situation becomes terminal
know or leads to death.
s
and The following list is not
foll exhaustible, or in any sequential
s order. Add to it as you like.
her/hi
So what happens when the
s
comp situation requires more than first
any’s/ aid:
orga
izatio r
n’s e
proce m
dur a
for
i
dealin
n
g
with c
emer a
gency
l
situ
m
ion
remember that time is critical;
More use it wisely and efficiently
tha
First
Aid
The
knee
jerk
react
on
when
a
visit
falls
ill
to
adm
ister
first
aid.
This
261
261
try to discover what the cause of the illness, the symptoms
experiencing. Have another visitor write them down as
the person speaks to you
Enlist other group members for crowd control, to call the

ambulance, to direct the medical personnel where the sick is
note the time of day and the attraction or sight you are at.
verify if the visitor is traveling alone or with a companion, this

is if the person is not a part of a organized group tour
check for medications and visible medical bracelets or

identification. Look also for written
medical information/history. Some religions and cultures
have peculiar regulations for health – abide by them.
if at an attraction with medical facilities then use them
seek medical assistance promptly – go to the public or private

hospital in your area
practice safe hygiene. Do not engage in risky behaviour if the

cause of the illness is unknown – that is if there is
blood involved and you have a cut or abrasion use gloves.
Protect your health first.
protect personal belonging and valuables
check for medical insurance coverage
contact your organization management- they should not be

ambushed. This individual will assign someone to stay with
the free independent traveler (FIT). A FIT refers to an
individual or small group of no more than five (5) persons.
notify next of kin of the situation
contact the nearest embassies or consuls.
Heat Stroke
Many visitors are from temperate countries and cannot handle
the seasonal weather in some destinations. At times they
become so absorbed in the vacationing activity of
sunbathing outwearing summery clothes that they can become
sunburn or have a heat stroke.
Look at the following article
from
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/heat_exhaustion_and_heat_stro
ke
/article_em.htm that looks at this illness.
Heat exhaustion: This condition often occurs when

people exercise (work or play) in a hot, humid place and body
fluids are lost through sweating, causing the body to overheat.
The person's temperature may be elevated, but not above 104°F.
Heat stroke: This medical condition is life-threatening.

The person's cooling system, which is controlled by the
brain, stops working and the internal body temperature rises to
the point where brain damage or damage to other internal
organs may result (temperature may reach 105+°F).
Causes
Heat exhaustion is typically caused when people who are not
well adjusted to heat exercise in a hot, humid environment.
At high temperatures, the body cools itself largely

through evaporation of sweat. When it is very humid, this
mechanism does not work properly. The body loses a
combination of fluids and salts (electrolytes).When this is
accompanied by an inadequate replacement of fluids;
disturbances in the circulation may result that are similar to a
mild form of shock.
Heat stroke may often develop

rapidly.
Medical conditions or medications that impair the body's ability

to sweat may predispose people to this problem. Heat stroke
happens in the following two ways:
- The classic form occurs in people whose cooling

mechanisms are impaired.
- The exertional form occurs in previously healthy people

who are undergoing strenuous activity in a hot environment.
Infants and the elderly are more likely to have this problem, as
are those who are taking antihistamines and certain
types of medication for high blood pressure or depression.
So what should the tour guide do if during a walking
tour, the visitor (client) suffers a heat stroke or heat
exhaustion?
If it is heat exhaustion this is a simple matter that can be treated
as if at home.
Heatstroke however is a medical condition and required

professional medical treatment.
The following are suggestions for treatment from the Centers

for Disease Control and
Prevention (http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/faq.asp
)
Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke Treatment
Self-Care at Home
For mild cases of heat exhaustion
Rest in a cool, shaded area.

Give cool fluids such as water or sports drinks (that will
replace the salt that has been lost). Salty snacks
are appropriate as tolerated.
Loosen or remove clothing.
Apply cool water to skin.
Do not use an alcohol rub.
Do not give any beverages containing alcohol or caffeine.
Heat stroke
(Do not attempt to treat a case of heat stroke at home, but you
can help while waiting for medical assistance to arrive.)
Call 911 immediately
Move the person to a cooler environment, or place him or
her in a cool bath of water (as long as he or she is
conscious and can be attended continuously).
Alternatively, moisten the skin with lukewarm water and
use a fan to blow cool air across the skin.
Give cool beverages by mouth only if the person has a
normal mental state and can tolerate it.
Complete Activity 6:1:2 and Activity 6:1:3
1. Identify an emergency situation that you encountered at work.
2. Describe briefly (in less than half (½) of an 8 ½ *11 size

sheet)
Activity 6:1:2 how you handled the matter.
3. Refer to your company’s policy in dealing with that matter,

were you correct or not? What were the steps you did
right? What steps you leave out?
Research more on heat exhaustion and heat stroke – treatment and warning
signs. Suggestion are the following websites.
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/faq.asp
Activity
6:1:3 http://www.emedicinehealth.com/heat_exhaustion_and_heat_stroke/article_em.
ht m
Peruse your organization’s procedural document is it up-to-date
to deal with issues that you are confronted with. What needs
to be included? Make suggestions to your management to
Assessment for Unit facilitate this improvement.
6:1
In this unit you learned definitions for health, safety, security

and workplace safety. What is involved in workplace
safety was discussed with reference to particular countries.
Summary for Unit
6:1 General suggestions on how to deal with emergencies were
given. In addition dealing with heat exhaustion and heat
strokes were referred.

heat exhaustion heat stroke health
safety security workplace safety
Terminology for
Unit 6:1
Unit 6:2
Unit 6:2 Health and Tour Guiding

Unit Overview
In this highly contact dependent job, the transfer of emotions
to others that may impact the social being cannot be discounted.
Since one of the push factors motivating travel may be relaxation
or heath rejuvenation it is important that the tour guide
understands the force of each client. This is to provide
maximum satisfaction with the intangible “product” called
service.
Health, safety and security go to the heart of hospitality for

it embraces the notion of care for the individual. Though a
food handlers certificate may not be required as in other
hospitality sectors, there are still health requirements in this
sector and career choice.
In this unit, the focus will be on the tour guide and the
host community or attraction or sight visited.

Outline the general concerns for health for tour guides
Objectives for Unit Discuss health, safety and security concerns for the
6:2 community or sight visited
Health Concerns
One the characteristics of tourism as noted in Unit 1 was it
is simultaneous consumption and production. Consequently there
will be involvement of people at the time of delivery of the
service. For tour guides, the direct interaction is unavoidable,
these are front line workers. So, in relation to health, exposure
to pandemics and epidemics can be frighteningly a part of the
job.
Before we even look at pandemics, simple or common

complaints or illnesses endemic to a region can disrupt the
tour guide’s livelihood and availability for work. Issues
related to the voice (tool for the trade) and stress is quite
prevalent concerns. Having enough insurance coverage can
also be a matter of interest. However, health concerns
related to insurance should be tangled from corporate levels as
different packages exist.
Health concerns are varied; therefore, the matter we will look

at will be the common cold and influenza a.k.a. the flu.
Go to the following web addresses – only read the first (#1) one, but
complete the activity for #2 :
#1http://www.osha.gov/Publications/influenza_pandemic.html#differe
nc e
Activity
6:2:1
#2)
http://www.osha.gov/Publications/influenza_pandemic.html#high_exposure_r
isk
Read the second (2nd) article, and then evaluate what aspects, if any can be
used in the tourism industry in your field of work. What are the
advantages and disadvantages of implementing these controls mentioned?
Definitions - For Your Information

Endemic: a disease that exists permanently in a particular region
or population. Malaria is a constant worry in parts of Africa
Epidemic: An outbreak of disease that attacks many peoples
at about the same time and may spread through one or
several communities.
Pandemic: when an epidemic spread throughout the world.
http://www.mansfieldct.org/schools/mms/staff/hand/immnotes.ht
m
Surviving the Common Cold or Flu

Common Cold
The common cold is a group of symptoms in the upper
respiratory tract caused by a large number of different viruses.
Although more than 200 viruses can cause the common cold,
the perpetrator is usually the rhinovirus, which is to blame for
causing 10% to 40% of colds. Also, the corona viruses cause
about 20% of colds and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
causes 10% of colds.
The rhinovirus (or other cold virus) enters your body through
your nose or mouth and is easily spread when you touch
someone or touch common objects (the computer keyboard
or mouse, the telephone receiver, a doorknob, or eating
utensils). If you aren't cautious about hand washing, you can
spread the common cold to family, friends, co-workers, and
people you've never met at a restaurant or the supermarket.
What Causes a Common

Cold?
While getting chilled or wet is not a cause of common colds,
there are factors that make you more susceptible to catching a
cold virus. For example, you are more likely to catch a
common cold if you are excessively fatigued, have emotional
distress, or have allergies with nose and throat symptoms.
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-
guide/understanding- common-cold-basics
Treatment of the Common Cold

Starve a cold, feed a fever? Or is it the opposite? Here are the
latest recommendations. Now you can know how to care for
your cold
from the first sneeze. Also, learn when to stay home — and
when to work — when you catch a cold.
Diet:
Starve a Cold, Feed a Fever?
When you eat right — you feel right! Learn what you must eat to
“feed a cold” so your body can heal itself naturally.
Chicken Soup, Tea, and Other Cold-Soothing Recipes
There’s nothing like grandma’s chicken soup to soothe your

congested nose. What about hot ginger cinnamon tea to ease
that scratchy throat? Try our favorite recipes to help remedy
your cold.
Exercise:
Exercise When You Have a Cold
Can exercise help your cold — or make it worse? Before you

lace up your running shoes, find out the truth about exercising
when you have a cold.
Well-Being:
Too Sick to Work?
You can’t run from a cold, but you can use common sense
before you expose others at work. Here’s helpful information
you need at the first signs of a cold.
Keeping Catchy Infections Contained
If you're caring for someone with a cold, it's important to take

some precautions so the virus doesn't spread throughout your
family.
Read our tips on how to care for someone without getting
sick yourself.
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/cold-
living- managing
Influenza
What is
flu?
Influenza, commonly shortened to "flu," is an extremely

contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza A or B
viruses. Flu appears most frequently in winter and early spring.
The flu virus attacks the body by spreading through the upper
and/or lower respiratory tract.
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/flu-guide/what-is-
flu
What types of viruses cause

flu?
The flu is actually very different from a cold. While more than
100 different viruses can cause a cold, only influenza virus types
A, B, and C cause the flu.
Type A and B viruses are responsible for the large flu

epidemics. Type C flu virus is more stable and usually
causes milder respiratory symptoms. While the flu vaccine
can help protect you from type A and B flu viruses, there is no
immunization or flu shot for type C virus.
Type A flu virus is divided into different subtypes based on

the chemical structure of the virus. Type B flu virus is not
divided into subtypes. Both type A and type B flu viruses are
responsible for the seasonal outbreaks of flu.
270
270
Type A flu viruses are found in many different animals,
including ducks, chickens, pigs, whales, horses, and seals.
Influenza B viruses circulate widely only among humans.
How is flu
spread?
The flu virus is spread from person to person through
respiratory secretions and typically sweeps through large groups
of people who spend time in close contact, such as in daycare
facilities, school classrooms, college dormitories, military
barracks, offices, and nursing homes.
Flu is spread when you inhale droplets in the air that contain the
flu virus, make direct contact with respiratory secretions
through sharing drinks or utensils, or handle items
contaminated by an infected person. In the latter case, the flu
virus on your skin infects you when you touch or rub your
eyes, nose, or mouth. That's why frequent and thorough hand
washing is a key way to limit the spread of influenza. Flu
symptoms start to develop from one to four days after infection
with the virus.
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/flu-guide/what-causes-
flu- viruses
Treatment of Influenza
Get plenty of Zzzzz

Studies show that sleep deprivation can make you more
susceptible
to illness by reducing the number of cells in your body dedicated
to fighting things like microbes. The average adult needs about
6-8 hours of sleep. A newborn may need up to 18 hours a day,
toddlers require 12 to 13 hours, and preschoolers need about 10
hours. If your child doesn't nap, try putting him or her to bed
earlier.
Bust a family move

Exercising increases your sickness-fighting cells. Get the
whole family in the habit of exercising together to improve
your health
and to enjoy some quality time together. Try walking, hiking,
biking, yoga, or just crank up some fun music and have a
dance- off.
Engage in germ warfare
 Make sure everyone washes their hands often with soap.
Ditch the antibacterials because research shows plain soap
is just as effective. Sing the ABC's while vigorously
lathering palms, between fingers, around nail beds, and the
backs of hands. Pay particular attention to hand hygiene
before and after each meal, after playing outside, using
the bathroom, handling pets, blowing noses, and after
being anywhere in public.
 When you're out and about, carry non-toxic wipes or

hand sanitizer with you for quick cleanups. Check out
CleanWell's plant-based, biodegradable products, All
Terrain Hand Sanz Fragrance Free Antiseptic Hand
Sanitizer, or EO Hand Sanitizer.
 If someone in the family gets sick, keep his toothbrush

separate from everyone else's. Give it a good soak in boiling
water or run it through the dishwasher after the illness
isn't contagious anymore to get rid of any lingering germs or
viruses.
 Wash your hand towels in hot water every three or four

days during cold and flu season.
 Sneeze and cough into your arm or a tissue. Coughing into

your hands puts the germs right where you can spread them
to any object (or person) you touch.
Drink up
You have probably heard how important it is to drink plenty

of fluids when you are ill, but it's just as important for
preventing illness. Adequate hydration keeps the tissues of
the respiratory system moist, which prevents microbes from
settling in. Hydration also helps the immune system work
properly. Opt for fresh, filtered water.
Air out
Open a window or two in your home just a crack for a few
minutes each day. You'll let out indoor air pollutants that may
be stressing your immune systems as well as chase away germs.
Keep it
cool
An overheated home promotes dry air, the perfect environment

for viruses to thrive. And when your mucous membranes (i.e.,
nose, mouth, and tonsils) dry out, they can't trap those germs
very well. Lowering the heat in your house 5 degrees and
using a room humidifier helps maintain a healthier level of
humidity in the winter. Buy a hygrometer to measure humidity
and keep your home at around 50 percent.
Relax
Declare a family time out each day. During these few minutes
have everyone close their eyes, breathe deep, and think
happy. Meditation reduces stress. Reduced stress means less
susceptibility to
illness.
Pump up with
produce
Carrots, kiwis, raisins, green beans, oranges, strawberries: they

all contain such immunity-boosting phytonutrients as vitamin
C and carotenoids. Cruciferous vegetables including
broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, are good
sources of beta carotene and help protect against free-radical
damage. They also contain vitamin C and calcium. Try to get
your child to eat five servings of fruits and veggies a day. Eat at
least half of them raw and when you do cook them, be careful
not to overcook. Overcooking destroys the immune enhancing
properties. Learn more about feeding your immune system.
Go easy on the
sweets
Sugar makes the body acidic, just the way pathogens like it
(they thrive on sugar). So especially during cold and flu season,
reduce sugar intake (that includes corn syrup and HFCS, as well).
Take a
supplement
According to Dr. Alan Greene, "most kids today do NOT get

the micronutrients they need from what they eat. Not by a long
shot. By some estimates, only 2% of kids regularly eat the
recommended number of servings of different food
groups. A daily multivitamin/mineral is more than just a
safety net for occasional nutritional shortages, it is an
important tool to support healthy growth and a healthy life
for your child." Talk to your physician about your child's
specific nutritional needs and check out Dr. Greene's
Nutritional Supplements.
http://blogs.webmd.com/health-ehome/2009/10/cold-and-
flu- season-survival-guide-10.html
What natural remedies do you know or practice for treatment of the

common cold or sore throat?
How do you view influenza as a serious but unrealized health concern for
tour guides?
Activity
6:2:2
What's the difference between a cold and flu?

The common cold and flu are both contagious viral infections
of the respiratory tract. Although the symptoms can be similar,
flu is much worse. A cold may drag you down a bit, but the flu
can make you shudder at the very thought of getting out of bed.
Congestion, sore throat, and sneezing are common with colds.

Both cold and flu bring coughing, headache, and chest
discomfort. With the flu, though, you are likely to run a high
fever for several days and have headache, myalgia, fatigue,
and weakness. Usually, complications from colds are relatively
minor, but a severe case of
flu can lead to a life-threatening illness such as
pneumonia.
More than 100 types of cold viruses are known, and new strains
of flu evolve every few years. Since both diseases are viral,
antibiotics cannot conquer cold or flu. Remember:
Antibiotics only treat bacterial infections.
A few antiviral medications are available to treat flu. But there

are no medications that specifically defeat the common
cold. Antibiotics may be helpful if there is a secondary
bacterial infection. For in-depth information, see WebMD's Flu
Treatment.
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/flu-guide/what-is-
flu
In addition to the cold or flu, the tour guide as dependent on

the voice, should seek to hydrate and find ways to keep this
organ in good health condition.
Workplace Stress/Occupational Stress
Workplace stress is the harmful physical and emotional
response that occurs when there is a poor match between job
demands and the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.
Stress-related disorders encompass a broad array of

conditions, including psychological disorders (e.g., depression,
anxiety, post- traumatic stress disorder) and other types of
emotional strain (e.g., dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension, etc.),
maladaptive behaviors (e.g., aggression, substance abuse),
and cognitive impairment (e.g., concentration and memory
problems). In turn, these conditions may lead to poor work
performance or even injury. Job stress is also associated with
various biological reactions that may lead
ultimately to compromised health, such as cardiovascular
disease,[
or in extreme cases,
death. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_stress
However as noted by Rebecca Maxon, the United

Nations International Labor Organization (UNILO) defined
occupational stress as a “global epidemic”. She further stated
that along with the physical effects, it also has economic
impacts as it lowers productivity, causes staff turnover,
absenteeism. Therefore workplace tress affects medical
insurance and causes other stress- related expenses.
According to Robert Ostermann, professor of psychology at

FDU's Teaneck-Hackensack Campus, "No one reaches peak
performance without being stressed, whether an athlete, an
office worker or a manager." The natural pattern of human
behavior is to experience a stress-causing event or situation,
react to it with increased tension and then return to a normal,
relaxed state. The problem occurs when stress is so
overwhelming or constant that this pattern is broken.
Though referring primarily to the American society some points

of interest to other societies by Ostermann were:
Occupational stress is not related only to what goes on

at work. Conflicts between the demands of the workplace
and of home life are increasingly common.
There is less stress in developing countries than in

developed countries. This may be due in part to
increased consumerism and the growing influence of
advertisers who "try to convince the consuming public
that a want is a need.
The sense of values also is different in many of
the developing countries. In developed nations, there
often is an emphasis on what is possessed or how
much money is earned.
http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/99su/stress.html
So ultimately in and of itself, stress is not bad; it is a normal

part everyday life. What is important is how we handle it.
Some ways will be exercise; improve communication skills;
take care of yourself – pamper yourself, schedule breaks in
your work day; drink alcohol in moderation and smoke less;
prioritize and organize your day – look at your time
management; and break bad habits- think positively.
Complete Activity
6:2:3
Make short notes from the following website on how to manage your
stress. http://helpguide.org/mental/work_stress_management.htm
Activity
6:2:3
Health, Safety and Security Concerns for the Community

or Sight
Depending on the type pf tour guide you are – docent, step-on
or the type of tourism you are involved – eco-tourism or
heritage tourism, there are certain issues that will be common to
the worker and community.
As usual, to not limit the sphere of discussion or

inadvertently imply standards, the common matters will be raised
in this study.
Common safety and security concerns relate to loss of culture

and theft of artifacts of historical significance by visitors. It is
true that we cannot assume each visitor is a thief, neither can we
assume that they are not. That is why this issue has no border of
race, culture or creed.
Contraction of diseases
An age old concern with reference to tourism is the contraction
of modern or social diseases that are not common to the
community. Measures to prevent fear of contraction of
diseases such as
HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) relate
to choices made by individuals. If the primary rules of
engagement relevant to health and sexual behaviour are followed
then there can be no spreading of infectious or chronic diseases.
Complete Activity
6:2:4.
Read the views of expansion of tourism in Cuba (a case study) and some
of the concerns raised.
Psycho-social
Activity impacts
6:2:4
Issues related to psycho-social impacts of tourism were raised more
frequently than other impacts in the focus groups in both communities.
Interestingly, addictions and obesity were consistently reported less
emphatically than changing values, disparity and dysfunctional families.
One participant expressed that tourism ‘allowed us to grow as

individuals.’ However, concern was expressed by others that ‘the mentality of
the community is changing’, possibly due to the real or perceived inequality
in comparison with affluent tourists. In fact, a risk factor for mental health
stress was attributed to the ‘prominent [economic] difference between the
workers in tourism and the rest of the community.’ As a result, ‘all young
people [now claim] they want to work in tourism.’ It was reported that
precisely this type of ‘mental stress’ explained the unwelcome behavior of
‘harassment to tourists’ by some young people. No less important were the
remarks about family tensions resulting from a perceived reversal of gender
roles in families where women have a higher income than men. Finally,
perhaps a deeper psycho-social impact of tourism may be reflected in
statements such as ‘[now] there is lack of communication between
[tourism] workers and others, [including] family and the rest of
society’ and ‘[previously] normal families [are becoming]
dysfunctional families.’
Societal impacts
Corruption and other unlawful activities, and prostitution were reported

by decision-makers and community participants in Cárdenas. The community
focus groups in both communities specifically highlighted their concerns
regarding societal impacts of tourism. Prostitution was acknowledged to
be a general problem of tourism by focus group participants in
Cárdenas, whereas ‘in Caibarién there is no prostitution like in other
places.’ Harassment of tourists in the form of youngsters approaching
visitors to ask for a gift or money was considered to be a problematic
nuisance tourism development and large number of visitors concentrated in a
in both small area. This was noted to create
communiti ‘garbage collection
es. problems.’
E http://heapro.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/23/1/
n 60
v
i
r
o
n
m
e
n
t
a
l
i
m
p
a
c
t
s
Pressure
on waste
manageme
nt and
beaches
from
contaminat
ion was
noted to
threaten
environme
ntal well
being of
Caibarién
and
Cárdenas.
People
reported
increased
volumes
of waste
as a
result of
Theft
In the exuberance of visiting the host community or
attraction sight, some visitors wish to have a memento to take
back home. Sometimes it is not regarded as an artifact to be
paid for, but something of value yet free.
Ways to counteract
There are solutions to every problem – sometime it calls
for ingenuity or referring to tried ways. In all the solutions, there
must be a commitment by all stakeholders to be involved and
do the utmost they can.
Some possible ways to counteract health, safety and

security concerns are:
vigilance on the part of the tour guide or sales person is

necessary.
Information to the visitor as knowledge is power.
Maintain health and cultural good practices
Make wise choices

Evaluate the health related concerns that relates to your
country. How does tourism impact – positively or negatively
these concerns. What are the solutions for tackling these negative
Assessment for Unit concerns/issues?
6:2
In this unit you about the common cold and influenza

and workplace stress, two diseases that can pose serious
concerns for the tour guide. We also discussed the health,
Summary for Unit safety and security concerns raised by communities, with the
6:2 Caribbean island of Cuba as a case study; and attraction sights

common cold influenza workplace stress
Terminology for
Unit 6:2
280
280
Unit 7 Legal and Ethical Issues in Tour
Guiding
Unit Overview
Everything in life has some ethical and legal obligations attached.
The purpose of this module is to provide general
information
related to legal and ethical situations in this business. It is
not
intended to represent a comprehensive statement of law as
it applies to particular individuals or situations; neither is
it a
substitute for legal
advice.
You will agree with me that in every profession, a professional

is guided by a code of conduct or ethics. The professional is
also expected to meet certain legal requirements in his
profession. Let us take the Law and medicine professions as
examples. A Law or medicine professional has to strictly
adhere to a code of ethics or failure to do so will make the
professional to be dismissed from the profession.
We will begin the Unit by looking at registration and

other important legal requirements in tour guiding. You will
be given practical tasks to find information on how to
register your tour guiding business. You will then explore other
legal aspects of your business such as contracts and insurance.
By the time you complete the Unit, you will be well rounded in
legal aspects pertaining your profession. In that way, you will
be able to ensure that you render quality service to tourists and
will be more likely to maintain tour guiding standards.
Caveat
As noted by other institutions, and as in any other
business, “learners need to be aware that if they have a
criminal record
involving violence or abuse there may be limitations to
their practical and workplace activities and opportunities, and
to their
career options, in areas involving contact with vulnerable
persons.
They also need to be aware that there are legislative
requirements when working with children, vulnerable
people and the environment, which is supported by
Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) policy guidelines.
https://www.skillsonline.net.au/clearhse/Preview.do?
no=6694E&ty pe=M
Unit 7 Legal and Ethical Issues in Tour Guiding
Discuss the legal requirements to work established for

tour guiding in regards to the health, safety and security of
Outcomes for Unit clients
7
Discuss the legal and ethical implications of tour guiding
Enhance the views of community members to their

involvement in tour guiding
State in broad terms the roles and responsibilities of different

types of guides
Unit 7:1 Legal Requirements in Tour
Guiding
In this Unit, we deal with legal issues in tour guiding. Do you
think a tour guide needs to be aware of legal issues which
relate to tour guiding? You will realize that you need to be
aware of legislation guiding your profession.
To establish a Tour guiding business, you need to follow

legislation just like when setting up any other business. To
begin with, it is necessary to identify the type of tour guiding
business you wish to set up. For example, if you wish to set up a
tour operating business, you need to meet certain legal
requirements. Therefore, as a tour guide, you need to find out
whether or not you have to register your business. You also need
to find information on how to register.
When the subject of legal obligations arises the investigation

and application of Acts of Parliament are usually the source to
consider. Decisions of cases are determined by laws and how
one case is decided forms a basis or precedent for other
cases. Laws are binding and remain

Identify the different types of elements involved in law
Objectives for Unit Explain the law of torts
7:1
Outline the legal requirements in tour guiding
Unit 7:1
According to Yale (1995) tour operators are affected by law

in broad areas; these will include:
 Law concerned with organization of businesses
 Contract law
 Consumer law
 Employment law
 Fair trading law
 Property law
 Insurance law
 Law of agency
For our study we will be considering and applying certain

aspects of these laws for tour guiding services though they may
pertain to tour operators in particular.
Contract Law
A contract is defined as an agreement between two or more
parties and is intended to be legally binding. There are three (3)
elements to contracts:
1. An offer and acceptance – one party makes an offer
or “invitation to treat”. An example would be when the
tour operator or tour guiding operator sends out a
brochure or designs an advertisement seeking to
invite a potential customer to book or buy the proffered
service.
2. An intention to create a legal relationship, which is
usually done in writing
3. A consideration or the exchange of something of
value, more often for money in business.
If there is failure to meet the contract then there is a breach

of contract, which is an offence against civil law. There will be
need for compensation, or damages for reasonable costs. The
case will be assessed by a court of law or privately between the
company and the customer.
Employment Law
Companies depending on the business (limited liability, sole
traders or partnerships) hire people to represent and work for
them, they are listed as employers. Therefore there are certain
legislations for them to adhere to. Some of the legislation
Unit 7:1
...
affecting employment include: employment contracts,
redundancy, wrongful or unfair
dismissal, health and safety and equal opportunities. Some of
these are considered further in this unit.
Noted in the British and European Union legislation is the

Health and Safety at Work Act. This Act of 1974 “requires
employers to provide a high standard of health and safety
conditions in the workplace, and to produce a written
statement of their policy on health and safety.” Yale further
notes that “the Occupiers’ Liability Act of 1957 says
occupiers of buildings owe a ‘common duty of care’ to
anyone coming into them, extending the employer’s
liability beyond its employees to people visiting its premises
as well.
Consumer Law
Due to the nature of trade some people in business look to
make a profit. In this section let us look at the Misrepresentation
Act 1967 and the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 and
1972.Hence the tour operator or tour guiding services owner
must look at the brochure and advertisements made quite
closely.
Firstly let us define “consumer”. Yale (1995) says that “The

Fair Trading Act of 1973 defined a consumer as a person to
whom goods and services are supplied, or sought to be
supplied in the course of a business carried on by the supplier;
and one who does not receive or seek to receive them in the
course of a business carried on by him.
The Misrepresentation Act 1967 enables consumers to take

out a civil case against a business for any loss suffered as a result
of false statements of fact made by the seller or provider of
goods and services.” All that is done by the provider must
be fair and reasonable in the circumstances.
“The Trade Descriptions Acts of 1968 and 1972 make it

an offence to:
 apply false trade descriptions to
goods
 supply goods to which a false trade description has

been applied
 make a false statement knowingly or recklessly as to

the provision of service, accommodation or facilities.
An example would be that of that Airtours in 1994 when
the company escaped conviction over a hotel description
in a winter sun brochure which included mention of a non-
existent indoor swimming pool. When the guest arrived
there was no
swimming pool. The hotel admitted misrepresentation but
said the action was not “recklessly” done, Hence the company
found a loophole to avoid prosecution.
Key to the legal obligation is the Sale of Goods Act 1979 that
states that there are a number of implied conditions in a
contract of sale. Some of the features are that:
 the seller has the right to sell
goods
 the goods are free from any charge or encumbrance

not disclosed or known to the buyer before or at the
time of a sale
 the goods sold shall correspond with any description

given them
These various Acts are of vital importance to the provider

of the services and must be remembered that they are
legally binding. These give comfort and reassurance to the
customer or buyer and some limits and protection to the
seller.
Complete Activity
7:1:1
Read more on Contract Law from the following website:
Activity 7:1:1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract

The Law of Torts
This law is based on civil wrongs that may have been
committed. So if a customer books a tour the company has a
duty of care to that individual. Further, if an accident occurs
due to no fault of the customer, though no formal contract may
have been signed, yet the company has a responsibility to
compensate or ensure that damages are paid to the injured
customer.
Definition
“Tort n. French for wrong, a civil wrong, or wrongful act,
whether intentional or accidental, from which injury occurs
to another. Torts include all negligence cases as well as
intentional wrongs which result in harm. Therefore tort law is
one of the major areas of law (along with contract, real
property and criminal law), and results in more civil
litigation than any other category. Some intentional torts
may also be crimes such as assault, battery, wrongful
death, fraud, conversion (a euphemism for theft), and trespass
on property and form the basis for a lawsuit for damages by
the injured party. Defamation, including intentionally telling
harmful untruths about another, either by print or broadcast
(libel) or orally (slander), is a tort and used to be a crime as
well.”
http://legal-
dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Law+of+torts
The tort of negligence has developed this century largely as a result of the judgement in the ca
of Donoghue v Stevenson.
On the evening of August 26 1928, May Donoghue of
Glasgow, a single mother of modest means but much
determination, travelled from her tenement home in downtown
Glasgow to a small teashop in the adjoining town of Paisley, a
journey that would take her to the centre stage of legal history.
May Donoghue was with a friend, it was this friend who
placed the short order that would
change the course of legal history around the world, the Scotsman ice- cream float.
The café owner is said to have brought the ice cream tumbler and to have poured on it some
ginger beer from a brown opaque bottle bearing the name "D Stevenson, Glen Lane Paisley
After May Donoghue had taken a drink, and while her friend was refilling her glass, May sa
floating out of the bottle, what she believed to be the partly decomposed remains of a snail.
She said she was made ill by what she had consumed and what she thought she saw, and ha
have treatment both from her doctor and at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Bearing in mind t
the Welfare State was not in existence at this time so Mrs. Donoghue must fund treatment
through her own purse.
Mrs. Donoghue sued Stevenson's, the makers of ginger beer, for damages. She argued that i
was their duty to make sure snails didn't get into the bottles of ginger beer they produced.
The judges decided that Mrs. Donoghue was right. One of them, Lord Atkin, said that
people had a duty in law not to do anything which they should realise might cause injury to
other people.
The judges decided that Stevenson's owed Mrs Donoghue a duty of care, which they had
broken. She could be awarded damages (compensation) to make up for her suffering.
Now put yourself in the position of a judge and try to decide whether any of these cases are
affected by the judgment in Mrs. Donoghue's case. In other words do you believe the injurie
were a result of a broken duty of care?
http://sixthsense.osfc.ac.uk/law/negligence.asp
288
288
When we talk of torts, we refer to issues of negligence that
may occur within a tour. So what is “negligence” according to the
law?
“In general terms, negligence is "the failure to use ordinary
care" through either an act or omission. That is, negligence
occurs when:
somebody does not exercise the amount of care that
a reasonably careful person would use under the
circumstances;
or
somebody does something that a reasonably careful
person would not do under the circumstances.
Negligence is often claimed in personal injury lawsuits.
For example, a personal injury lawsuit arising out of an
automobile accident case or premises liability action is
frequently based on the theory that the defendant was negligent.
Please note that negligence law varies between jurisdictions,
sometimes significantly, and you should check with a local
legal professional if you wish to know the specific negligence
laws of your jurisdiction.”
http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/negligence.ht
ml
What are the legal requirements in tour guiding?

For the discussion on the legal requirements in tour guiding
the general parameters of persons in the business of offering
guiding services will be the focus. It will not be to the job title of
tour guide only. Hence the tour operator will be included in this
focal point.
The legal requirements to tour companies and tour operators

will vary from country to country. However, the following
are the general legal requirements that may be found:
1.
Registration
To be a tour operator, one usually needs to be a registered

tour guide. You will first need to send an application to the
relevant government office to register as a tour guide.
2. Road Transportation
Permit
You will also need a Road Transportation permit. It is a
legal requirement that any vehicle that carries passengers for
reward shall have a Road Transportation Permit. You have to
apply to the Road Transportation Board.
3. Public Driving
Permit
A tour operator needs a Public Driving Permit, which allows one
to paying passengers on public roads. You need to hold a
valid driving license for the size of vehicle you will drive.
You obtain such a permit from the Road Traffic Inspector.
All in all the legal requirements though with some peculiarities

to tour guiding remain the same for any business. That is the
operator or representative of an organization has a duty of care to
the paying customer. Just as the organization has a responsibility
to look after and supply the health and employment rights of the
employee.
Case Studies
(1) Let us look at the general legal requirements for tour guides
and operators in Australia:
“The Tourism Services Act 2003 (the Act) protects

Queensland's tourism industry by ensuring all inbound tour
operators and tour guides operate in an ethical and professional
way, and in the best interests of clients.
It works to eliminate unfair practices such
as:
 controlled shopping, including:
o restricting the choice of shopping venues
o taking control of tourists' passports and wallets
o guarding hotel and shop doorways
o making defamatory remarks about retailers who
do not pay a fee or commission for bringing
tourists to their shop
 misrepresentation
 overcharging for goods and services
 unconscionable
conduct.
Definition
s
Inbound tour operator - a person who, alone or with others,
sells travel packages for people visiting or travelling in
Queensland to overseas wholesalers, retailers or corporate
buyers for an inclusive price.
290
290
Tour guide (is) a person who, for reward, personally
supplies guiding services to tourists travelling with tours in
Queensland. The reward may include payment, accommodation,
flights or food. You can still be a tour guide if you are not paid
in any way but do the work to gain work experience as a tour
guide. Guiding services
291
291
include accompanying tourists, doing something else for
them (such as translating), giving tourists information or
advice, or coordinating or leading their activities.
Travel packages - pre-arranged combinations of at least two of
the following:
 accommodation, with or without food
 guiding services
 food other than that provided with accommodation
 tourism activities
 translation and interpretation services
 transport to, from or within Queensland
 visits or introductions to retailers at a travel destination
 visits to tourist attractions at a travel destination
including entry
 other activities, good or services.
Key
features
If you are an inbound tour operator in Queensland who sells
travel packages overseas, you must register your business.
You do not need to register if you also sell within Australia
and the packages you sold overseas within the previous 12
months did not exceed 20 per cent of the total travel packages
you sold.
You must also adhere to an enforceable Code of
Conduct.
The Act prohibits inbound tour operators and tour guides

engaging in unconscionable conduct, such as charging for
access to free attractions and forcing tourists to shop only at
stores that pay the operators and guides excessive commissions.
The Act does not apply if you provide services to tourists on a
not- for-profit basis or apply any net proceeds for a community
purpose, such as a charity.
The
regulation
The Tourism Services Regulation 2003 requires you to
keep records and other documents, including accounting
records for seven years.
You must keep all itineraries, quotes and travel package
promotion documents for two years.
http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/inbound-tour-operator-
legal- requirements.htm
(2) Now the case study of Southern

Africa:
As stated by the Southern Africa Tourism Services

Association there are certain requirements to become a tour
operator (the tour guide is included in this arrangement).
“REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A TOUR

OPERATOR
(October
2003)
Tourism is a growth industry in South Africa & is considered

an excellent potential source of income & employment. This
can indeed be the case provided that one has the
personality, determination & knowledge to succeed.
Essentially, a tour operator (or broker) makes arrangements

for tourists. These normally involve the following…
1. Quote for the work (either to an overseas agent or direct to

the potential tourist). Be careful not to under-quote &
operate the tour at a loss. It is generally considered
unacceptable to quote & subsequently attempt to increase the
agreed price.
2. Agree the cost of services with your client as well as details

&
terms of payment.
3. Make all the necessary bookings & reservations

(hotels, transport, sightseeing etc).
4. Operate the tour i.e. provide the necessary

accommodation, transport, tourist guide(s) etc.
Some tour operators perform only a selection of the above

services, e.g. provide the transport & guide. This is often the
case with operators who do regular day-tours of tourist areas.
Such operators obtain many of their clients from other
operators, tour brokers, hotels etc.
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS (as set out by the

Operating
Licence
Board)
292
292
There are 4 major requirements for a tour
operator…
1 In order to carry fare-paying passengers (i.e. tourists),
a vehicle must be registered with the Operating Licence
Board which will issue an Operating licence.
Applicants are normally required to specify that they
will be carrying tourists & also to specify the intended
routes. Application should be made to the local Operating
Licence Board for the
293
293
licence. You can prepare the application yourself or use
the services of a lawyer specialising in these licences.
There is a cost implication for the licence application.
 ALL enquiries regarding licence applications should
be directed to your local Operating Licence Board.
 Refer to “Operating Licence Board Contact
Details”
2 A driver of tourists must have a Professional
Driving Permit (PrDP). This is issued by the Traffic
department based on a normal driving license & the
applicant is subject to a medical examination & a
check for any criminal convictions. There is a cost for a
PrDP.
3 Any operator providing a guided tour is required to use
a Tourist Guide who is qualified & DEAT/
FGASA accredited. It is illegal to guide a tour without
the necessary qualification.
 Tourists who self-drive do not require a qualified
Tourist
Guide
4 Passenger Liability Insurance cover (SATSA
recommend a minimum of R5 million for a vehicle
carrying 5 – 7
passengers) should be in
place.
 The policy should be in the name of the company –
and the cover is applicable to each vehicle
 Recommended cover for vehicles carrying more than 7
passengers (calculate the cover based on + R1 million
per passenger)
RECOMMENDED
REQUIREMENTS
Apart from the legal requirements which are compulsory, it

helps an operator’s credibility in the market to join industry
associations relevant to the business. Apart from airlines, car
rental companies, hotels, game lodges & various other
categories of membership, SATSA (Southern Africa
Tourism Services Association) has several hundred tour
operators as members. All members agree to a code of ethics
& certain minimum requirements in terms of guarantees,
insurances etc, thereby assuring our industry of
international recognition & credibility. SATSA also fulfils the
role of industry spokesman in order to lobby government &
other parties on matters affecting tourism.
http://www.satsa.com/Downloads/Requirements%20to
%20become
%20a%20Tour
%20Operator.doc
So in summary the requirements are very similar: registration
or operating licence, to have a transportation permit, to have a
code of conduct for doing business, and insurance.
Of course, the tour guide if working in a self-employed capacity

as a step-on guide or docent, s/he would have less of these
legal requirements. However, qualification as a guide will be of
utmost importance. Companies seeking to hire on the
services of such persons will demand this certification, then
include these contract workers under their insurance coverage.
Complete Activity
7:1:2.
Ask your Manager or research the legal requirements of your organization?

Are they being met? What if any are lacking and needs improving?
Activity 7:1:2
Write a letter to (i) the Ministry of Transport and (ii) Minister of

Tourism stating your view on the legal requirements enforced on
the tourism industry and in your particular field. Include thoughts on
Assessment for what should be removed and what acts or legislation should be
Unit 7:1 included.
In this short unit, our focus was on giving a definition and explanation of
the law of torts and on outlining the legal requirements in tour
guiding in broad terms.
Summary for
Unit 7:1

contract breach of contract duty of
care negligence tort
Terminology for
Unit 7:1
Unit 7:2 Legal Obligations – Customers
and the Law
Unit Overview
You will recall the legal requirements we looked at in Unit
4:2. There are many pieces of legislation to protect your
customers and provide you with guidance about the way that you
should take care of their needs.
These laws cover a wide range of issues from health and safety
to confidentiality; from consumer protection to restrictions on the
age.

 Outline the purpose for legislation
Objectives for Unit  Discuss the legal obligations of the tour guide to the
7:2 client and to the broad community
Unit 7:2 Le
What is the purpose of legislations?

Laws are meant to control the way that the best interests
of customers are served by those whom they rely upon for
services. The purpose of legislation is to protect not only the client
but the tour guide or operator as well.
Examples of legislation
include
 Laws about Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S)
and Welfare help to reduce the chance of customers coming
to any physical harm, when they visit your premises (Seen in
Unit 6)
 Laws about confidentiality protect customers’
personal information from abuse
 Consumer protection laws help to ensure that customers

are treated fairly
 Laws to avoid any form of discrimination of customers
 Laws to avoid favoritism, abuse of power and authority to

the internal customer.
These laws give customers the assurance that they will be

treated fairly. If that does not happen, customers are able to use
the law to get things put right.
There is both civil and criminal law affecting your dealings

with customers:
 When civil law is broken, damages may have to be paid
as compensation.
 When criminal law is broken the result can be a fine, a

criminal record or even a prison sentence.
The Importance of Understanding Customer

Legislation
Don’t worry too much! It is not essential for you to be able to
quote the law and understand all the details. It is important,
however, that you
 know which laws are fundamental to the provision of services
to your customers and protect them; and
 understand, recognize and put them into practice.

Unit 7:2 Le
...
Without this understanding you may do things that are illegal
and will cause problems for yourself and your organization as
well as your customers. Remember that breach of the law
could result in
damages being paid to the customer or a disciplinary action for
you or your organization.
If you do not know the basics of the law you may be misled into
taking inappropriate action. You may believe you have a legal
duty to do things that are not required. Complete Activity 7:2:1.
Talk to your supervisor about the laws that apply to your services. Find out
the names of two of these laws, the rights that they give to your customers
and the actions that you have to take to ensure that you work within the
law. Make a note of the details.
Activity 7:2:1 Your Your actions

The Law Customer (to work within
rights the law)
(provided by
the law)
1.
2.
3.
Contractual Agreement with Customers

When you agree to provide goods or services to a customer you
are entering into a contract with that customer. On some
occasions your organization and your customers may sign
written contracts. These identify the way in which the goods
or services will be provided. On other occasions the
agreement may be verbal or implied as part of a transaction.
No matter what form the contract with a customer takes it can

be legally binding. Therefore it must be adhered to. It is also
good customer service to provide goods and services to your
customers in the way that you have agreed to do.
Ensuring the health and safety of customers

As a tour guide, you must have realized that you have a
legal responsibility concerning the health and safety of your
customers. You must take reasonable care for your own health
and safety and that of others who may be affected by what you
do or do not do.
You have legal duties regarding your safety and the safety
of others.
This means that you must work in a way that ensures a safe
and healthy environment for your customers when they visit
your place of work and when are on a tour. Moreover you
need to be constantly looking out for hazards and risks.
The word hazard is used to describe something that can

cause harm, something that is dangerous or is potentially
harmful. Examples of hazards
 fire;
 noise;
 electricity and
 dangerous
chemicals.
The word risk is used to

describe:
 the chance or probability that someone will be harmed by
a hazard;
 the likelihood that a hazard will lead to personal injury
and the severity of that injury.
You must not do things that may create risks for your
customers. For example,
 Do not forget to warn customers about hazards.

 Do not fail to carry out the safety checks that are part
of your job.
Now complete Activity
7:2:2.
List five (5) actions/steps you do to take care of the health and safety
of your customers.
Activity 7:2:2
Fire regulations
Health and safety training should ensure that you know what to do
 to prevent fire;
 in the event of a fire.
To prevent fire you will need to know
 your organization’s procedures for avoiding fires;

 how to stop the spread of fire by keeping fire doors closed.
 Procedures for proper disposable of flammable materials
In the event of a fire you will need to know
 what you must do if you discover a fire;

 in what circumstances and how you should use fire
fighting equipment;
 what you must do if the fire alarm is sounded;
 how to leave the building and help your customers
to evacuate the premises;
 where you should assemble once you have evacuated
Data Protection
As mentioned earlier in Unit 4:4, the Data Protection Act
gives customers rights
 to have access to information that is held about them;

 to have inaccurate information changed or destroyed;
 that information will not be used for purposes other
than those for which it was provided;
 to claim compensation for the misuse of information.
The need for confidentiality

When your customers give you information, they expect that
you will
 not share it with others without their permission; and

 only use it for the purposes for which you have obtained
it. Now let’s turn to the following example:

Mr. Sen has joined a two day swimming training course. He had
to fill in an application form on which he gave personal
information about himself and his address.
He was happy to provide this information so that the

training provider knows who he is and how to contact him.
However, he became furious when his personal details were
communicated to a private company selling swimming clothes
and equipment. That private company contacted Mr. Sen using
the information he had provided to the swimming coach, to sell
its goods and services.
Some departments providing services have access to

personal information about their customers’ health or private
lives, which is of a highly confidential nature.
Other service providers have access to information that affects

the security of their customers and their property.
Equal Opportunities
All your customers (external and internal) should be treated
equally and fairly, irrespective of their race; gender; age;
religion; cultural background; mental or physical ability and
sexual orientation.
There are laws and conventions that protect people

from discrimination and victimization, because of who they are.
Do you have any law that makes it an offence for women and
men to be treated differently when they are provided with
facilities and services? As long as you treat all people equally
you will not need to worry too much about the law because you
can be confident that you are not discriminating against anyone.
Disability awareness and

discrimination
If you practice customer care and service excellence you

will always
 want to make sure that you are aware of the disabilities of
your customers;
 avoid discrimination against any customer who has a disability.
In addition, you know that disabled people are protected from

unfair treatment by law. This is seen in the American with
Disabilities Act and the list of the essential functions for any worker
who has a disability.
300
300
Write a letter to (i) the Ministry of Transport and (ii) Minister
of Tourism stating your view on the legal requirements
enforced on the tourism industry and in your particular field.
Assessment for Include thoughts on what should be removed and what acts or
Unit 7:2 legislation should be included.
In this short unit, our focus was on outlining the purpose

for legislation. The purpose of legislation and the legal obligations
of the tour guide to the client and to the broad community were
Summary for reviewed. Reference was made to the Data Protection Act
Unit 7:2 and Equal Opportunities for the external and internal customer.

legislation Data Protection Equal Opportunities
Terminology for
Unit 7:2
Unit 7:3
Unit 7:3 Ethical Obligations of Tour

Guides
Unit Overview
To consider ethical issues, it is first relevant to establish
a definition for our discussion. So what are “ethics” and what
does ethical mean, then, in a tour guiding situation?
As a member of the travel trade, you as a tour guide must

have a code of ethics which will guide you and ensure that you
contribute to mutual understanding and respect between people
and societies.
In this unit the focus will be on defining the terms and
using examples from two (2) countries to explain the concepts.

Describe the terms “code of ethics” and “code of practice”
Objectives for Unit Use the code of ethics for tour guides as seen in “The
7:3 Legend of Puerto Rico” as a case study
State reasons why having a code of ethics is important

Ethics
As seen in Unit 7:1 under the Tourism Services Act (2003)
in Australia it is recommended that tour operators adhere to a
code of conduct. Therefore, ethics will be important.
Definition of ethics
So what is the definition for “ethics” as noted
by http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethics
1. (used with a singular or plural verb ) a system of

moral principles: the ethics of a culture.
2. the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a

particular class of human actions or a particular group,
culture, etc.: medical ethics; Christian ethics.
3. moral principles, as of an individual: His ethics

forbade betrayal of a confidence.
4. (usually used with a singular verb ) that branch

of philosophy dealing with values relating to human
conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness
of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the
motives and ends of such actions.
Ethics have to do with principles – the basis for what is right
or wrong. These are based on the individual’s value system
and are the guiding sense of conduct in an organization
(workplace). Look at the definition for code of conduct below.
Business Definition for: Code of Conduct

“a statement and description of required
behaviors, responsibilities, and actions expected of
employees of an organization or of members of a
professional body. A code of conduct usually focuses on
ethical and socially responsible issues and applies to
individuals, providing guidance on how to act in cases of
doubt or confusion.”
http://dictionary.bnet.com/definition/code+of+conduct.ht
ml
Codes of conduct have no legal standing but failure to

comply usually results in reprimand or termination of
membership by the body to which the offending member
belongs. For example, a travel agent that is a member of the
Association of British Travel Agents in failing to comply to a
particular Code of Conduct as an agreed standard can be
reprimanded or the membership terminated.
Code of Ethics
Refer to Unit 4:2 for information on the Code of
Ethics.
The code of ethics for tour guides can go a long way

in highlighting the need for displaying honesty and
integrity, selflessness and objectivity in their dealings with
tourists or customers.
According to BusinessDictionary.com, a code of ethics is

defined as
“written guidelines issued by an organization to its workers

and management, to help them conduct their actions in
accordance with the its primary values and ethical standards.”
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/code-of-
ethics.html
A code of ethics makes it clear that courtesy and regard for

the customers are the fundamental duties of tour guides. You
need to treat tourists "as customers who are entitled to receive
the highest standards of service”.
An example of the code of ethics in Puerto Rico is seen in an

article written by a corporation for tour guides. Complete
Activity 7:3:1.
1. Read the Code of Ethics developed by “The Legends

of Puerto Rico” at
http://www.legendsofpr.com/codeofethics.htm .
Activity 7:3:1 Write a summary of the article.
2. Research the Code of Ethics for your country.
Reasons for a code of ethics in the workplace

As a tour guide the customer is buying a service. Not only is
there a legal responsibility when taking someone’s money, but
there are principles for protection from liable by providing what
is promised. This is the fundamental of being ethical. So what
are some reasons for having a code?
When we think of the workplace, it is important to consider
the stakeholders. Yes, the employee is obvious, but what
of the customer.
Employee: for this group of workers, the code

helps to eliminate unfair practices and protects
the reputation of the company
instils some measure of control of the employee by
the employer
prevents misrepresentation of “guidespeak”
and information on the community
prevents unfair practices in dealing with those
engaging the services of the tour guide, colleagues or
competitors.
prevents unconscionable conduct to customers.
Customers: for these the code

offers a safeguard from unfair practices from suppliers
protects overcharging for goods and services
beyond what is printed on the brochure
prevents unconscionable conduct from suppliers
Code of Practice
According to BusinessDictionary.com, a code of practice
is defined as:
“written guidelines issued by an official body or a

professional association to its members to help them comply
with its ethical standards.”
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/code-
of- practice.html
Codes of practice in Australia

“Industry codes of practice provide practical guidance and
advice on how to achieve the standard required by the Act and
regulation. Codes of practice are developed through
consultation with representatives from industry, workers and
employers, special interest groups and government agencies.
Codes of practice are made under the Occupational Health
and Safety Act 2000 and must be approved by the
Minister for Commerce before they come into effect.
A code of practice is not law, but it should be followed unless
there is an alternative course of action that achieves the same
or better standards.
Employers, workers, designers, manufacturers and suppliers
should use the code of practice in conjunction with the Act and
regulation.
Evidence of failure to observe an industry code of practice may
be used as evidence in proceedings for an offence under the
Act. However, a person is not liable simply because of a
failure to observe the code.
To correct an alleged breach of the Act or regulation, a person
or organization must follow the advice and information
provided in the code of practice if directed by a Workcover
inspector.”
http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/LawAndPolicy/CodesOfPrac
tic e/Pages/default.aspx
The Code of Guiding Practice
The code of guiding practice is about the assurance of a high level

of professionalism
Adherence to the WFTGA Code of Guiding Practice provides

an assurance of the high level of professionalism and a value-
added service offered by the individual guides to their
clients. Tourist Guide Associations which belong to the World
Federation of Tourist Guide Associations accept on behalf of
their members WFTGA's principles and aims:
 To provide a professional service to visitors, professional

in care and commitment, and professional in providing an
objective understanding of the place visited, free from
prejudice or propaganda.
 To ensure that as far as possible what is presented as fact
is true, and that a clear distinction is made between this
truth and stories, legends, traditions, or opinions.
 To act fairly and reasonable in all dealings with all
those who engage the services of guides and with
colleagues working in all aspects of tourism.
 To protect the reputation of tourism in our country by
making every endeavour to ensure that guided groups
treat with respect the environment, wildlife, sights and
monuments, and also local customs and sensitivities.
 As representatives of the host country to welcome
visitors and act in such a way as to bring credit to the
country visited and promotes it as a tourist destination.
Last update: 10/5/2006
In summary the correlation between the code of ethics and the
code of practice is that both are written guidelines one
by an organization to its workers and the other by an official
body to its members. Both refer to ethical standards that
direct action that should be complied with by those involved.
1. Research the Codes of Conduct and Practice and/or Code

of
Guiding Practice for your country.
Assessment for
Unit 7:3 2. Write a Code of Conduct for your organization.
In this short unit, the focus was on the ethical obligations of tour guides,
with the stress on definitions of ethics, code of conduct and code of
practice. This is all in consideration for the working environment. An
example of a code of ethics in Puerto Rico is used. At the end of the unit,
Summary for reasons for having a code of ethics from the perspective of the
Unit 7:3 employee and customer were synopsized.

Code of Conduct Code of Ethics
Code of Guiding Practice Code of Practice ethics
Terminology for
Unit 7:3

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Mr. Isswar Jheengut Ms. Marie-Paule Havika

Mr. Philip Sarrecino- Ms. Yasmine Cotobally

Introduction to this Course 3

Unit 1 – Introduction to Tourism 9

Unit 1:1 The Tourism Industry 10

Unit 1:2 Tourism and Me 25

Unit 1:3 Tourism Impacts 35

Unit 2 – The Tourism System 40

Unit 2:1 Travel Geography and Generating Markets – An Introduction

Unit 2:2 The Tourism System and the Tour Guide

Unit 2:3 Current Issues 66

Unit 2:4 Future Travel Impacts 70

Unit 3 Developing Effective Communication Skills for Tour Guides

Unit 3:1 Communication 77

Unit 3:2 Types of Communication

Unit 3:3 Effective Communication Strategy

Unit 3:4 Handling Enquiries and Complaints

Unit 4: Customer Care 128

Unit 4:1 Understanding Customer Service Excellence

Unit 4:2 The Importance of CSE 148

Unit 4:3 Challenges to Customer Service Excellence (CSE)

Unit 4:4 Importance of Internal Policies and Procedures to CSE

Unit 4:5 Planning Customer Service Excellence

Unit 4:6 Delivering Customer Service Excellence

Unit 5 Tour Guiding 218

Unit 5:1 Understanding Tour Guiding

Cruise ship Tour Guides......................................................................................

Unit 5:2 Presentation Skills 234

Unit 5:3 Delivering methods for City and On - Site Guiding

Unit 6 Health, Safety and Security Procedures

Unit 6:1 Health Requirements at work

Unit 7 Legal and Ethical Issues in Tour Guiding

Unit 7:1 Legal Requirements in Tour Guiding

Unit 7:2 Legal Obligations – Customers and the Law

Unit 7:3 Ethical Obligations of Tour Guides

Figure 2 - Peacock Room at the Smithsonian Museum

Figure 3 - Maslow's Hierarchy of

Figure 5 - Tourist Arrivals - 1950 -2020

Figure 6 Groups of persons a tour guide interacts.............................................................................

Figure 7 - Quadrant comparison of customer types ............................................................................

Figure 9 - Tour Guide at work at Swaziland National ........................................................................

Figure 10- Hop-On, Hop-Off Tour Bus ..............................................................................................

Figure 11 - Radio with P.A System.....................................................................................................

Figure 12 - Wireless Tour Guide P.A. System....................................................................................

About this Course

How this course is structured