Travel is interesting because one is getting out of the daily routes. There are things to expect and unpredictable things to happen. For a tour guide, however, you try to have everything in control, from itinerary to transportation, from local meals to entertainment. Yet there is one thing completely uncontrollable - the weather.
You surely know the rainy season or hot periods in your city, but you can not decide if the sightseeing tours day is raining, snowing or even a freak storm. Can a tour guide fix the weather? No, but a tour guide can be prepared in advance for bad weather to prevent bad sightseeing tours. Here are some tips for city guiding in bad weather.
Be prepared. Check the weather forecast 3 days before and sightseeing tours. It is easy with the internet, mobile, television, newspaper… whatever methods convenient for you. If it is going to be a fair day, great! If it is going to rain, prepare umbrellas or rain coats accordingly.
Adjust the itinerary to make a better experience. Increase indoor activities to minimize the affect of the poor weather. Swap places to visit if it is a multi-day sightseeing tour. Offer new options for cancelled items due to the weather conditions. Do inform your clients in advance about the changes in itinerary, they will appreciate this. They will understand as weather is out of your control but not getting notified may annoy most travelers. If you are taking public transportation in the city, try to choose the closest bus/metro/taxi stand from the venue.
You are the guide and leader of the tour, so be great by keeping your clients in a good mood. Do you have jokes about such bad weather to lighten the mood and potential tension? Are there stories of interest that happened particularly in raining days? Is the snow bringing a different beauty of the local scenery?
What weather do you least expect on your sightseeing tours? Have you successfully coped with any extreme weather in your guiding career? Please share with the tour guide community on this blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment