Confessions of a Group Tour Guide ~ Conde Nast

1 ~~~ Confessions of a Group Tour Guide ~ Conde Nast Traveler ~~~

I was 21 the first time I was a tour guide for a group of Americans on a luxury tour. There were 50 of them in total, from all across the country, with ages ranging from 13 to 65. We trekked around Italy for a week, busing between Florence, Venice, and Rome, with a detour to Pompeii. I should have been nervous, but it was exhilarating: a combination of organizing and educating, with the added perk of temporarily living in five-star hotels. Taking these travelers on vacation quickly became, well, my vacation job and I worked dozens of trips through the end of grad school. As a Brit, I reveled in being able to introduce Americans to life in Europe.

It proved to be a bonus education for me, too—in human nature. To start, serving as a tour guide taught me about Americans’ default preferences when booking trips to Europe. Northeasterners would usually opt for the U.K., or some combination that included it, as a nod to their heritage; Midwesterners, especially first timers, always wanted to visit France, considering it the classic idea of "abroad." West coasters dominated in Spain, often thanks to cultural or linguistic links, while Southerners usually booked trips to Italy—a classic choice. I speak several languages, including Italian, so the tour company usually stationed me there for all of or at least part of a trip. It also meant that almost everyone I guided lived below the Mason-Dixon line.

www.cntraveler.com/story/confessions-of-a-group-tour-guide ~ 23 September 2019 ~