TOUR GUIDE

ORGANIZATIONS

American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA)
1101 King Street, Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 739-2782
Web site: http://www.astanet.com
ASTA is the leading organization for travel professionals. Check the Education/Careers section of its Web site to get information on travel schools.

National Tour Association (NTA)
120 Kentucky Avenue
Lexington, KY 40502
(859) 226-4444
Web site: http://www.ntaonline.com
The NTA has information on companies that run tours, news about the tour industry, and resources for tour guides.

United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA)
275 Madison Avenue, Suite 2014
New York, NY 10016
(212) 599-6599
e-mail: information@ustoa.com
Web site: http://www.ustoa.com
Reputable tour operators belong to this association. You can search their Web site for tour companies that belong to USTOA.

SCHOOLS

International Guide Academy (IGA)
P.O. Box 19649
Boulder, CO 80308-2649
(303) 530-3420
Web site: http://www.igaonline.com/home.html
IGA offers a four-week course, four times a year. They train and certify professional international tour managers and tour guides.

International Tour Management Institute, Inc.
625 Market Street, Suite 810
San Francisco, CA 94105
(800) 442-4864
Web site: http://www.itmitourtraining.com
This school trains professional tour directors and guides. They have three locations in the United States.

WEB SITES

JobMonkey.com
http://www.jobmonkey.com/landtours
Along with a great overview of being a tour guide, this site has job listings for tour guides.

BOOKS

Crisfield, Deborah. Now Hiring: Travel. New York: Crestwood House, 1994.
This book has a chapter on tour guides, as well as information about other travel careers.

Hawks, John K. Career Opportunities in Travel and Tourism. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1995.
Offering a chapter on how to become a tour guide, this book also has general information on travel careers.

Mancini, Marc. Conducting Tours: A Practical Guide. Third Edition. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers, 2000.
This textbook has profiles of tour guides and activities to help you get a feel for what tour guiding is like.

PERIODICALS

National Geographic Traveler
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler
Learn about exciting places all over the world with the stories and pictures in this magazine.

VIDEOS

An Introduction to Tour Management
This video, produced by the International Tour Management Institute, can help you decide if being a tour guide is for you. To order call (800) 442-4864 or visit their web site at http://www.itmitourtraining.com/html/video.html