Tour Directing: How to Create a Career that Fits Your Life
(ARA) – Whether you’re dreaming of a career change or just want a career that fits your lifestyle, finding that perfect next step can be difficult. Job forecasts can be disheartening, especially if you are looking for a fun, flexible career that allows time for personal obligations. But one industry is booming — travel. Right now business is growing for travel professionals. And that includes tour directors.
“Tour directing is a good job choice for people in many different life situations. In a lot of cases, you don’t need to spend months away from home, your schedule is very flexible,” says Ted Bravos, founder of the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI), a state-certified school for training professional tour directors and guides. “Many jobs are available for tour directors in cities across the U.S. as well as the world, and these jobs can vary from traditional site-seeing tours to more adventurous experiential tours.”
Women in particular are reaping the benefits of travel industry opportunities. As tour directors, schedules can be custom tailored to coincide with summer vacations, weekends, or child-care hours. Choosing between a rewarding career and a family is not a choice that has to be made as a tour director.
Retirees are also finding their niche in tour directing. They get to travel, as many have always dreamed of after retirement, and they get the satisfaction of helping others. Most important, they get the flexibility to work when they want to work, and take time off when they need a break for other things.
Tour directing works well for those who want to pursue something seasonal or part-time as well. Teachers might find working as a tour director during summer vacation to be an interesting way to see the world and get extra income. Or a person who is self-employed might have slower months where an extra job is beneficial.
“In many industries, people do not get the ability to work when they want,” says Bravos, who has been training tour professionals for more than 25 years. “You can take time off for raising a family or pursing other professional interests and pick back up later. For people who love to travel, it’s a great way to share that passion with others while creating a personally rewarding career.”
Leading tours can also be financially rewarding. Tour directors receive approximately $200 per day, plus all expenses, meals and their own private accommodations. After becoming certified, tour directors can work as much or as little as they choose. ITMI prepares students for a tour directing career in a 15-day intensive training program. Students learn about the tour and travel industry through practical “hands-on” experience in the field, including 5 days training aboard a deluxe motor-coach and an overnight fieldtrip where they actually perform the role of a tour director.
“It took me and my new, amazing career 31 years to meet and I’ve never been happier! I had previously spent 11 years in the corporate world wondering if my next 20 years would be spent behind a desk in front of a computer. There was plenty of money to be made but never enough to feed my soul. I much prefer spending my days adventuring with people from all over the world,” says Chris Brown, an IMTI graduate and professional tour director.
Brown adds, “What I like most about tour directing is that it really makes me feel alive. Whether it’s getting all fired up about meeting a new group and making sure I deliver a fantastic experience for them or just being able to see new things on every trip - no matter if I’ve been there before. When I bring a group to fly to over the Grand Canyon or into Yosemite Valley or to a Broadway show in NYC, the tears and laughter abound! Who wouldn’t like that?”
For more information about the travel industry and becoming a tour director, visit the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI).
Courtesy of ARAcontent
