Thanks Anna, research is something that so many people don’t do and it can really help with finding guides, and a lot of other things. I wonder how many people would still be scammed if they simply read the “Things to watch out for” section of pretty much every book, website and pamphlet of traveling to your country of choice.

Good points Big C, and yeah, sometimes you’ll meet a guy who just happens to be friendly, honest, and show people his city. But he’s usually not wearing a button-down and a tie and sitting in a chair on a street corner talking into his cell phone. 🙂

Thanks Paul. I had the same thing in Hong Kong, although it wasn’t as bad – we had a nice tour but at the end of it they essentially locked us in a gift shop for like an hour. We weren’t forced to buy anything, but we weren’t allowed to leave until they decided enough had been bought. I bought something small, and of course they asked me the name of my guide and they put a number in the register – I’m assuming he got a cut of everything. I guess being a ‘tour guide’ is kind of like being an actor…anyone can say they are, but it’s only when you’re “on stage” that your worth becomes apparent. 🙂

So, if that guide was with the highest diplomas for a guide I can understand the comment for less diploma and more passion (and a bit more time and less Obvious money hassling).

Thanks Scott, good insights. Indeed, there’s a lot more to being a guide than simply telling people when a building was built. The issue of up-selling is a huge one too – China just banned these types of trips from taking place, as tour companies were offering incredibly cheap rates but then forcing guests to buy extras when they were on the tour. One good thing is that there are so many bad tours & guides around that the good ones jump out right away.

Having worked in tourism in Thailand for a long time I also applaud these changes. That said the most obvious problems that guides face is they simply can’t speak foreign languages well enough. It’s no mystery that Thais are much worse at English than their neighbours and all guides need to really crank up this skill before being ‘licensed’.

Heart and passion as Daniel has outlined are indeed the keys and this is something that’s tough to teach and to my knowledge the TAT spends no time on in training. They teach guides the physical dimensions of Democracy Monument for example but not ow to tell a good, short, digestible story about it. Things they need to teach guides:

– How to read customers mood based on visuals and body language.
– Public speaking and story telling.
– Logistical planning.
– Basic history that matters and visitors care about.

Also, many tour companies themselves have contributed to the issue of bad guides by paying next to nothing in wages and forcing them to constantly up-sell during a trip and take guests shopping rather than traveling with their best interests at heart.

Guides are a mess in Thailand which is surprising and there’s no excuse for it in a country that has for so long had a massive tourist industry.

Scott