THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TOUR LEADER AND TOUR GUIDE

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TOUR LEADER AND TOUR GUIDE

TOUR GUIDE

A Tour Guide is someone who works within an area they know very well. They provide a tour of a city, park or specific attraction like Niagara Falls. Their job entails providing commentary, routing the tour and seeing that people have a good time. They are paid by a local company and typically work on a daily basis.

A National Guide (also known as a Tour Director or Tour Manger) is someone who leads a group throughout a country or part of a country. Their job entails providing commentary, routing the tour, timing the tour and looking after logistics like hotel check-ins and reservations for attractions. Contrary to popular belief they are in charge of everything not the Coach Driver. They are paid by the Tour Operator and typically work fulltime for the tour season.

A tour guide usually refers to local tour guide, who guide in a specific location. Responsible for arrangements in his city, i.e. meals, local transportation local hotel arrangement, city introduction, and on-site commentary, etc. 

For a package tour, tour leaders and tour guides are working together to ensure a great sightseeing experience of travelers. For independent travelers, tour guides and tour leaders usually refer to same responsibilities in the destination. 
The Tour Guide is a licensed qualified expert who supplies specific information on history, art, architecture and culture of the city/village/museum in which he/she is guiding the tour. The guide meets the group at the place required and leaves the group at the end of the tour, they do not travel with the group.

(The tour guide is not a general guide for all sites, but has to obtain a license for each city and it’s province).

TOUR LEADER

A Tour Leader is someone who leads a group overseas. They may or may not have visited the place prior. Their job entails ensuring the people get what they paid for, facilitating the flight, and making sure the people have a good time. They are the person who takes a person to see a doctor or throws a "welcome cocktail party" on arrival. They work together with the Tour Guide and sometimes a National Guide as well. They may be paid by the Tour Operator who planned the trip or sometimes a Travel Agent who put the trip together. A professional Tour Leader typically will lead about a dozen trips a year.

A tour leader is some one accompanying the whole tour. He/she may not introduce the detailed sceneries or sights, but take general care of accommodation, transportation between locations and communication with tour guides in each stop. 

The Tour Leader (the person who accompanies the group to the sites) has a different professional license. They are with you throughout the whole trip and lead the group,  giving them general information on the countries and cities/towns visited. They will help you with general guidance around a city/village, and give you information on the place visited on the bus, but they are not required to have specific knowledge on art architecture and history. They are not allowed to give a guided tour of the place once there and if caught doing so, they will be fined.

If the Tour Leader also has a license for Tour Guide, they can combine the two jobs by accompanying the tour to the place, giving general assistance and also a guided tour.