Every summer I read the holiday travel forecasts, and every summer the headline is some version of new record. This year is no different. AAA projects a record 72.2 million Americans will travel for the Fourth of July — and it falls on a weekend that also happens to be America’s 250th birthday.
I’m not going to tell you all 72 million of them need a tour professional. They don’t. Most will load up the car and drive themselves, the way families have for generations. That’s the bulk of the number, and there’s nothing wrong with it.
But after a career in this industry, I’ve learned to read past the headline to the line underneath it. And this year that line is clear: travel by bus, train, and cruise is up 5.3% over last year — the fastest-growing category of all, carried by a booming cruise season. That’s the guided side of travel. Cruises, escorted motorcoach tours, organized group trips — the kind of travel that comes with someone at the front of the group who planned it, who leads it, and who makes sure it actually works.
I’ve been that someone — leading tours, running a tour company and a motorcoach company. The difference a trained leader makes is the difference between a trip people tolerate and a trip they never forget. Tour Operators know it too — it’s exactly why they hire trained, IGA-Certified Tour Directors and Tour Guides, and why they are hiring even more of them as guided travel grows.
So when I look at a record travel summer, I don’t see 72 million people who need a guide. I see a market where the fastest-growing piece is the one that puts trained tour professionals to work.
There are two ways into that work, and they’re genuinely different jobs:
- A Tour Director is paid to travel with the group for the entire tour — leading from the first day to the last, across the country or around the world.
- A Tour Guide is a local expert who leads tours right in their own city and area — and sleeps in their own bed, in their own home, almost every evening.
I started the International Guide Academy (IGA) down this road a long time ago, and we’ve been Training and Certifying International Tour Directors and Tour Guides since 1973. We’re a real, state-approved and licensed school — something I’m proud of, and something hiring companies respect. The people who come through our programs are from every walk of life and every stage of life. What they share when they leave is that they’re tour ready, and our Tour Director graduates carry Free Lifetime Placement Assistance for life, at no added cost.
A record travel season — with the guided segment leading the way — tells me what I already believe: the demand for capable, certified tour professionals isn’t going anywhere. The only question is whether you’ll be trained and ready when the next record summer comes around.
If being paid to travel is the life you want, I’d like to help you get there. Come Be Paid To Travel. Look over the programs and class dates at bepaidtotravel.com, enroll here when you’re ready, or just book a 15-minute call with me at calendly.com/international-guide-academy/15min. You can also reach me at 303.434.7557.
Safe travels,
Daniel Slater, President
International Guide Academy
Travel figures: AAA July 4 holiday travel forecast, 2026.