Freelance Guide Jobs

Many tour guides who leave their tour escort positions with tour companies use their travel industry connections and experience to become freelance guides. Tour companies often need guides with expertise in certain areas to guide their less frequent tours, especially if the company is small or doesn't visit the area regularly.

These independents are usually paid by the day, make more money than salaried guides, and can pretty much set their own work schedules, taking time off whenever they feel like it. They can also pick and choose assignments, touring the areas that they most enjoy and working for companies who pay the best. Of course, freelancers also don't get the benefits given salaried guides, such as health care, vacations, and sick leave.

Freelancers usually specialize in the city or area in which they live and essentially serve as step-on guides for the larger tours visiting their area, guiding the tours according to the tour company's instructions, but using their local knowledge and expertise.

Some independents eventually function almost as their own tour companies, arranging their own tours, setting up accommodations, and finding customers to take the trips, often in collaboration with a travel agency. This offers a great opportunity for the entrepreneurial-minded by giving the tour guide a percentage of the profits from the tour, and is often the first step toward establishment of a true tour company.

Many large tour companies are now moving toward the use of independent tour guides, which relieves them of the responsibility of taking on more employees and enables them to pay guides on an "as needed" basis. Although this arrangement is fine for the more experienced guides who can easily find work, it makes finding a position more difficult for someone just breaking into the business, since companies will usually only hire freelancers who have some proven experience.

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