It is a fair question, and it deserves an honest answer: is being a Tour Director actually a good career? For most people, the answer is a clear “yes” — here is why, without the hype:

The genuinely good part

You are able to Be Paid To Travel. For most people, travel is a once-a-year vacation; for a Tour Director, it is the job — you are being paid to travel, with no need to save up all year for a single trip. No two days look alike. You meet people constantly, and by the end of a tour a busload of strangers has become a tightknit group of friends for life. And the timing helps: travel just had its strongest year on record, and skilled people who can lead a group are in demand.

The honest realities

A Tour Director travels with the group for the whole tour, which means real time away from home — unlike a local Tour Guide, who sleeps in their own bed, in their own home, almost every evening. It is active, people-facing work from morning to night. For the people who love it, that steady motion is the whole appeal — and few careers pay you to live this way.

Who it suits

There is no single background that makes a great Tour Director. People have come to the International Guide Academy (IGA) from almost 100 countries across six continents, from every walk of life and every stage of life. What they share is a love of talking, a love of research, a love of travel, and a love of people. The true professionals also have earned the CITM Certification (Certified International Tour Manager) from the International Guide Academy.

IGA has been Training and Certifying Tour Directors since 1973, in person (usually in Denver), and backs every graduate with Free Lifetime Placement Assistance. If the life of getting to Be Paid To Travel is calling, here is how to become a Tour Director.

Ready to take the next step? Request the free IGA catalog, book a quick call, and/or enroll when you are ready.

Safe travels,
Daniel Slater, President
International Guide Academy · bepaidtotravel.com · 303.434.7557