What are we looking for?

A Tour Manager is both an escort and a guide, and is responsible for the co-ordination of the entire guest experience. As Tour Manager, you will escort either UK or overseas visitors round the country from their point of arrival to point of departure. You will remain with the group for the entirety of their holiday, and must ensure that their visit runs smoothly – for example, you might call the hotel to make sure all of the room bookings are accurate, arrange early morning wake up calls for guests and make sure the itinerary goes to plan. You will also deal with customer issues and satisfaction - the guests must feel that they have had a personal touch - and liaise with head office to make sure all aspects of health and safety are taken care of. You must display effective time management, communication and prioritising skills and be able to work on your own initiative.

Person description

• a good communicator, interested in people, and in interpreting the country visited to them.
• confident in standing up in front of a group of people, but not necessarily an extrovert.
• fit - as you may be on your feet, responsible for as many as 35 people for up to 10 hours at a stretch.
• flexible, adaptable and able to think quickly.

Requirements of the role

• visiting destinations and suggesting interesting travel routes or places of interest;
• accompanying groups travelling by coach, mini-bus, car, boat, train or plane;
• welcoming groups of holiday makers at their starting point, checking that all members of the group have arrived and, if not, making investigations through the company;
• checking tickets and other relevant documents, seat allocations and any special requirements;
• commentating, during the journey, on places of interest along the route;
• communicating a range of information on itineraries, destinations and culture;
• informing passengers of arrival and departure times at each destination on the itinerary (including ensuring that all members of the group are back on the coach before departing from each stop);
• promoting and selling excursions and trips to clients;
• providing information on places where the group is stopping for accommodation, meals or sightseeing;
• ensuring that the tour is running smoothly for individual members of the group;
• responding to questions and offering help with any problems that arise - these can be as simple as directing a member of the group to the nearest chemist or arranging help with luggage, but could also include tracing lost baggage etc;
• dealing with emergencies such as helping a holidaymaker who is ill or those needing to contact family members urgently;
• contacting places to stay or visit, ahead of arrival time, to check details and arrangements;
• liaising with hotels, coach companies, restaurants and other clients;
• occasionally making accommodation bookings on proposed dates;
• writing tour reports and maintaining records.