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Tourist guides show visitors around places of interest in towns, cities and the countryside, like historical buildings, parks, art galleries and museums.
You could work: freelance / self-employed; flexibly
As a tourist guide, you would:
You could work at monuments and castles, in a museum, at an art gallery or in parks and gardens.
Your working environment may be physically active, outdoors some of the time and you'll travel often.
You can get into this job through:
You could take a college course to learn some of the skills and knowledge needed in this job, for example:
Local visitor information centres, national parks, museums and sites of cultural and historical interest often have volunteering opportunities to work as a tourist guide.
Many people become tourist guides as a second career, for example students who want to work during holidays or actors who are between acting jobs.
An outgoing and friendly personality will give you an advantage when applying for jobs. Experience of dealing with the public, giving presentations or speaking in public can also help.
You could take training through the Institute of Tourist Guiding to get your tour guide badge. There are 3 levels of training, that vary in length:
You can also apply to local tour guide associations for training, or major tourist attractions that run their own schemes, for example Guide London, York Minster and the National Trust.
A second language or a history qualification can also be useful for this type of work though is not essential.
You can learn more about how to become a tourist guide from the Institute of Tourist Guiding.
With experience you could work for a tour operator as a regional tour supervisor or manager. You might also set up your own tour guiding business.
You could move into related jobs with the organisation you worked for as a tour guide. Examples include, marketing officer, volunteer co-ordinator or visitor attraction manager.
You can find out more about becoming a guide from the Institute of Tourist Guiding.