We know it is a new direction for Tour-smart to promote an educational program but, because our publication is devoted to keen travellers, when we discovered this great on-line training program for tour guides, we thought you'd all want to know all about it and possibly enroll.


Tour Guide Excellence:

A Training & Certification Program for Tour Guides in the Cruise Industry

The Tour Guide Excellence Program is an international certification program designed specifically to train Tour Guides in the cruise industry around the world. Recognizing that Tour Guides are the single most important factor in the guest experience, this interactive, online program gives Tour Guides the opportunity to learn exactly what makes an excellent Tour Guide and the skills to turn that knowledge into a practical reality when guiding cruise shore excursions.

Tour Guide Excellence Training Program

Overview

Lesson 1: Overview of Cruise
Participants gain a better understanding of the importance of the tourism industry and the cruise sector specifically, and what this means to a Tour Guide.

Lesson 2: Hospitality & Service Excellence
Participants learn the skills and knowledge needed to provide guests with an excellent tour experience.

Lesson 3: Research & Field Skills
Participants learn about the information needed for their tours, where to find that information, and how to turn it into an excellent commentary.

Lesson 4: Presentation & Storytelling
Participants learn how presentation and communication skills affect the tour experience, and how to engage guests in the interpretation of the region and its stories.

Lesson 5: Preparation & Processes
Participants learn that there are several steps involved in preparing for their tours and processes to follow before, during, and after the tour.

Lesson 6: Difficult Situations & Risk Management
This lesson teaches participants how to handle difficult situations and manage risk as a Tour Guide.

Final Assessment & Certification
Upon successful completion of both the written and video components of the final assessment, participants are awarded International Certification in Tour Guide Excellence from Aquila’s Center for Cruise Excellence.

Course Fee: per student is $290, with discounts available for group registrations.

The fee includes the training program, evaluation, and one year’s access to a website of resources for continuous learning. Excerpts from the course can be found at www.TourGuideExcellence.com.

Also from Aquila’s Center for Cruise Excellence is the Tour Operator Toolboxes & Training.

Aquila has packaged their most popular tools into a Tour Operator Toolbox designed specifically for Tour Operators providing shore excursions to the cruise industry. Ready to be implemented into day-to-day operations, the Toolbox is filled with tools for:

• Tour Guide Management
• Tour Product Management
• Tour Operations Management
• Risk Management

About Aquila’s Center for Cruise Excellence

Aquila’s Center for Cruise Excellence offers training programs designed to help tour operators and other key players in cruise destinations around the world achieve excellence in their ports, tours, guides and businesses. With over 20 years of experience providing shore excursions to cruise lines, Aquila is passionate about establishing Tour Guide standards in the cruise industry, and works with partners such as the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), and Sustainable Travel International (STI) to pursue this goal.

The new online training is generating a buzz among Cruise Executives:

“The Tour Guide Excellence Certification and Training Program is a concise and well-organized tool for use by tour operators looking to improve their team training program,” says Joanne Salzedo, Director of Shore Excursion Product Development for Norwegian Cruise Lines. “A guide can make or break an excursion and investing in the training and development of those individuals delivering your excursion, your business, can be critical to its success. A well-planned and consistent guide training program such as this can make the guest experience in your destination competitive with those experienced in other top-rated destinations.”

"Aquila is one of the best tour operators that we work with anywhere in the world,” says Mico Cascais, Vice President of Tour Operations at Carnival Cruise Lines. “They are excellent models to which other tour operators can aspire.”

Says founder Beth Kelly Hatt: “Aquila is a Tour Operator based in Canada celebrating its 30th year of business in 2012. Cruise is our business. We are passionate about the experiences of our guests, and we know that the experiences guests have are largely in the hands of our tour guides. Tour guide training is an investment in our future and it has proven itself over and over.