Summary Report for:
39-6022.00 - Travel Guides
Plan, organize, and conduct long distance cruises, tours, and expeditions for individuals and groups.
Sample of reported job titles:
Tour Director, Tour Manager, Tour Escort, Guide, Mountain Bike Guide, River Guide, Tour Coordinator, Tour Operator, Cruise Counselor, Tours Captain
Tasks | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment
Tasks
- Plan tour itineraries, applying knowledge of travel routes and destination sites.
- Resolve any problems with itineraries, service, or accommodations.
- Sell travel packages.
- Arrange for tour or expedition details such as accommodations, transportation, equipment, and the availability of medical personnel.
- Evaluate services received on the tour, and report findings to tour organizers.
- Lead individuals or groups to tour site locations and describe points of interest.
- Verify amounts and quality of equipment prior to expeditions or tours.
- Pay bills and record checks issued.
- Attend to special needs of tour participants.
- Give advice on sightseeing and shopping.
back to top
Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
| Sales and Marketing — Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems. |
| Geography — Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life. |
| Clerical — Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology. |
| Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
| Transportation — Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| Economics and Accounting — Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data. |
back to top
Skills
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Negotiation — Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences. |
| Instructing — Teaching others how to do something. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Persuasion — Persuading others to change their minds or behavior. |
| Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people. |
back to top
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
| Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. |
back to top
Work Activities
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. |
| Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail. |
| Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people. |
| Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. |
| Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork. |
| Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. |
back to top
Work Context
| Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job? |
| Frequency of Decision Making — How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company? |
| Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? |
| Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? |
| Coordinate or Lead Others — How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job? |
| Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? |
back to top
Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed |
| Overall Experience |
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job. |
| Job Training |
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include funeral directors, electricians, forest and conservation technicians, legal secretaries, interviewers, and insurance sales agents. |
| SVP Range |
(6.0 to < 7.0) |
| Education |
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some may require a bachelor's degree. |
back to top
Interests
Interest code: ESA
| Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. |
| Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
| Artistic — Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules. |
back to top
Work Styles
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
| Social Orientation — Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job. |
| Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
back to top
Work Values
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
| Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
back to top
Related Occupations
back to top
Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2006) |
$13.68 hourly, $28,460 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
5,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Average (7% to 13%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
2,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.
back to top
