| When I received the phone
call from Stephen
Pahl informing me I had won the EcoGuide award, my business
partner and I were discussing the woeful standards of tour guiding
in Australia and our plan to put our money where our mouths are
and establish our own Certificate III and Certificate IV tour guide
training courses in 2006. When Stephen asked me to present a paper
on any subject I liked, the quality of guiding and what to do about
it seemed the obvious topic.
For 25 years I have worked in Ecotourism as a Naturalist, Interpretive
Guide, Adventure Guide, Manager, Freelance Tour Guide, Trainer,
Educator and Consultant.
I operate a business, Gondwana
Guides, specialising in Interpretation and Ecotourism Consulting,
Tour Guide Training and Tour Guiding with a particular emphasis
on wildlife tourism.
This is an opinion paper based on my observations of the tourism
industry from the inside. Whilst I contend that the overall standard
of Guiding in Australia is low, I acknowledge the many dedicated,
passionate and talented guides in Australia and congratulate them
for doing a wonderful job in difficult circumstances. Their circumstances
are made difficult because, I believe, the tourism industry does
not take guiding seriously and does not adequately value the contributions
made by guides, in creating unforgettable experiences.
We invest a huge amount of responsibility in our guides. According
to figures published by Tourism Australia in 2003, 1.2 million overseas
visitors took part in guided activities in Australia in that year
and there are no figures available for the number of Australians.
Tour guides had more contact with these visitors, and therefore
more influence on their experience, than any other Australians.
We expect guides to interpret our environment, wildlife, culture
and history, to be responsible for visitor safety and welfare by
providing first aid, emergency care, resolving conflicts, facilitating
friendships and, in some cases, to feed and drive the visitors as
well. We expect guides to be all things to all people, to stay calm,
to keep smiling, to know everything, to be a friend and to consistently
provide an unforgettable experience. Yet we reward them with poor
training, few incentives to improve their skills, no career structure,
and remuneration so low that it doesn't allow guides to stay in
the industry long enough to gain the knowledge and experience necessary
to do the job well.
I saw an advertisement for guides for an overseas tour company the
other day. They didn't require previous guiding experience but applicants
had to have detailed knowledge of the wildlife, geology, culture,
history etc of their region, exemplary people skills, experience
with complex logistics, life experience, excellent oral communication
skills and be passionate about life. They are well paid, well trained,
highly valued and treated as professionals…..
For many of our guides, their only qualification is a bus licence.
'Give Barry a call, he's got a bus licence, he'll do it.'
Sound familiar…
You are probably all familiar with the classic Chinese whispers
story from WWI where a message is passed from the front saying 'Send
reinforcements we are going to advance.' By the time it gets
to the officers at the rear, it has changed to 'Send 3 and
4 pence we are going to a dance'!
Australia has the oldest continuous culture in the world and my
indigenous friends tell me that the stories of their people and
their land have been passed down relatively unchanged from generation
to generation. Yet these and other stories of our extraordinary
continent that are being told by many tour guides bear little resemblance
to the originals, and little resemblance to the truth. The stories
change because so many guides learn from other guides who have in
turn learnt from other guides who have learnt from other guides…….Chinese
Whispers! Presumably some of these stories began as facts but many
are the product of the imagination of guides. We wouldn't be Australians
if we didn't distort the truth sometimes for a bit of fun! It is
part of our psyche, part of our culture, but it has to be applied
judiciously. Such stories must be told with a twinkle in the eyes,
a wicked smile and a laugh that gives a hint that it is mischievous.
It is ironic that the true stories of the landscape, wildlife, culture
and history of Australia are far more fascinating and bizarre than
any guide could ever imagine. Some people, including many operators
and guides (even self employed ones), would say 'Who cares
about the truth as long as people are having a good time and anyway,
they're not going to come back.'
I care and so should we all.
There is a guide I know who has his own business and has run the
same tour everyday for 20 years. The stories he tells are the same
now as they were 20 years ago. No Chinese whispers for him and no
personal growth. He wasn't an inspiring guide when he started so
imagine what he is like after 20 years without ever having learnt
anything new.
Unforgettable experiences? I wonder if the clients stay awake long
enough to know. He is content because he is making money and that
is the only reason he is doing it. He is not concerned whether people
want to learn the fascinating life history of the Bowerbird or go
away from his trips impassioned to save the world.
His story is all too common. He is the product of a system that
is content with mediocrity, and worse still, encourages it, because
although he has competition, they are all as bad as him and the
agencies that are selling the tours don't sell on the basis of quality.
They sell on the size of the commission.
Some protected area managers require guides to do induction courses
but do they ever audit the stories that guides tell their clients?
I doubt it. They don't have the resources to do their core tasks,
let alone checking the credibility of tour guides.
In a National Park in North Queensland, earlier this year I came
across a distressed French lady. She was panicking not only because
she was lost but also because she was worried that her driver/guide
would leave her behind if she wasn't back on time.
I asked her if the guide had accompanied the group in the park
and she said no, he was back at the bus reading a book. Had he given
her a map or instructions on how to find her way around? Again,
no. Had he provided them with any information about the wildlife
or the geology, the indigenous history? No. Was she having a good
time? Well, yes, she was seeing beautiful places and her fellow
travellers were interesting but she would like to know more about
the countryside and the animals, and she really wanted to swim in
the gorge but she didn't think she would have time. I convinced
her she did have time and I made sure she got back in time. I watched
the same guide at dinner that night and the only contact he had
with his group was to tell them in an unnecessarily brusque manner
'bags out at 5, breakfast at 6'.
There is no place in our industry for guides like these.
I believe all guides need to be sincere, honest, knowledgeable,
competent, caring people who bond with their clients. They should
have fun with their clients but not at the client's expense and
never at the expense of the truth. They should be capable of facilitating
interaction between clients and the environment, and clients and
each other. They can't know everything but they must know enough
to be credible and they must be enthusiastic and inspirational.
It takes years of experience and study to understand enough about
Australia's natural environments to interpret them meaningfully,
and to develop the life skills that produce great guides. Yet the
employment conditions of guides do not encourage longevity. Guiding
does not provide a stable financial future and the passionate guides
who persist, and who are vital to the Ecotourism industry in particular,
are penalised for their dedication.
I have often thought that the only people who really appreciate
guides are the clients. Employers and non guiding colleagues don't
always understand the role that guides play and their onerous responsibilities.
In my own career, I've been conscious of resentment from colleagues
who see guides as just going out and having a good time… If
the guide isn't having a good time, he or she shouldn't be in the
job!
Guides are responsible for the image of the organisation they represent
and ethically, the protected area they are visiting. Like everyone
else in the tourist sector, their actions will determine whether
the visitor has a positively unforgettable experience and whether
they will project a positive image of Australia that will inspire
others to visit. By virtue of the time spent with visitors, tour
guides are in a unique position to project a positive image and
sell Australia, and this position should be recognised. They are
our cheapest form of advertising. As far as I know, no one has tried
to quantify the sales and marketing value of guiding experiences.
It may be too hard, but I like to think it is inestimable.
What can we do to raise the bar?
Recognition of their value and respect for their importance by others
in the tourism sector is a critical first step in raising the bar.
Respect must come in the form of better conditions and wages, better
training, and a career structure that rewards experience and qualifications,
including accreditation. I fear that the government's new industrial
relations laws may give employers the opportunity to make conditions
even more difficult for guides, but I hope the opposite will be
true and that the greater flexibility these laws are supposed to
provide will benefit guides.
Changes that are urgently required include:
Training that is relevant, accessible, affordable and presented
by experienced, practical guides and provides the opportunity for
regional or other specialisation.
Remuneration that reflects the responsibilities and real value of
guides and provides them with a living wage, including making allowances
for the seasonal nature of employment in some areas.
Employment contracts that recognise reward and encourage professional
development, experience and EcoGuide or other certification to provide
guides with the incentive and opportunity to stay in the profession,
and mature like good wine.
Mandatory accreditation with endorsements in specialist areas e.g.
Tourist or Touring Guides, Local Guides, Nature-based or Eco Guides,
Driver Guides etc.
A commitment from the industry to support moves by guides to be
recognised as professionals and treated as such.
A culture in tourism that rewards excellence not mediocrity.
Guides are privileged people. They get to go to amazing places with
interesting people. In a perfect world, the weather is always fine,
the bus never breaks down, no one gets sick or injured and the clients
are all delightful people who get along famously……
Guiding is challenging and very few people are genuinely suited
to the challenge. Guides deserve to be treated with respect and
valued for the enormous contribution they make to Australia. Guides
create unforgettable experiences.
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