Travel Industry Professionals
What The Tourism Industry Says About The International Guide Academy:
“We have not had any shortage of experts to lead our programs in Cuba thanks to IGA. ALL of their Graduates are the best-trained we have ever come across in our decades of business. We appreciate our association with the International Guide Academy."
Peggy Goldman |
President, Friendly Planet Travel
“The International Guide Academy provides a strong, thorough and real-world curriculum that helps ensure that its graduates will be highly attractive to potential employers. The Lifetime Free Job Placement assistance program, in itself, makes taking the courses worthwhile.” – Marc Mancini, Ph.D., is the Author of “Conducting Tours”. A Professor at West Los Angeles College, he is one of the travel industry’s best-known speakers, educators, and consultants. Dr. Mancini has authored or produced 12 books, 24 videos, three CD-ROM’s, and over 200 articles. His works have been syndicated by The Los Angeles Times and Prodigy. He has appeared on CNN, Showtime and ABC’s Good Morning America.
Marc Mancini
“We have been impressed with the graduates of International Guide Academy. Mayflower Tours has several IGA alumni who have represented our company for many years. The industry is constantly changing yet the one constant that is important to the group tour market is an excellent Tour Manager. IGA provides a great foundation on which to build experience.”
Gary L. Haverkamp |(Retired)
CTC, Vice President of Operations, Mayflower Tours
“We have had wonderful experiences hiring graduates from your academy. They have been awesome… we can’t say enough good things about them and your program! In fact, we are looking for Tour Managers and Tour Guides exclusively from the International Guide Academy.”
Chuck Grudowski |
C&G Tours
“We are thrilled to have “discovered” IGA. Our first experience with an IGA graduate was so successful that it has prompted us to include IGA graduates in our future searches for Course Leaders for our programs. We look forward to working with IGA much more closely in the future.”
Mary Ellen Pauli |
(Retired) Director, Course Leaders, WorldStrides
“It has been a pleasure and very assuring to use the Graduates from IGA. We have used Graduates from IGA for many years now and have never been disappointed with their knowledge of the Group Tour Business, especially during these very uncertain times. Our Tour Managers play a very integral part in ensuring a quality tour experience for our tour participants and for this we thank you."
William A. Buswell |
President & CEO, New England Vacation Tours Inc.
“If you have ever thought about entering the exciting field of tour directing then the International Guide Academy, in Denver, CO is your best option. Their staff are professionals actually working in the industry and their training is first rate. I give them my highest recommendation.” – Ron Stern, travel photojournalist and travel columnist for the San Diego Community Newspaper Group, Media Trip Chairperson of the North American, Travel Journalists Association, Travel Columnist: Seniors Marketplace News, and Editor in Chief: Just Say Go
Ron Stern
“Your graduates are among the best in the nation. Keep up the great work!”
Randy Julian |
Julian Tours; Alexandria, Virginia
“America needs the Hospitality Industry now more than ever. And the industry needs positive, eager, well-trained employees just as badly to carry us forward. At this time of national unrest, travel and tourism offers a healthy diversion from media negativity, re-instills pride and turns strangers into friends. Perhaps nowhere is this more possible than when a group travels together. But there is another factor essential to this formula–the Tour Manager. A good escort holds the group’s collective attitude, safety and experience in the palm of his/her hand. Thank heaven for the International Guide Academy, which equips students to be worthy of the task. How do I know this? I’ve hired their graduates. Plus, I’m one myself.”
Clayton Whitehead |
CTP, CITM, Vice President Sports Leisure Vacations, Sacramento, California
“I hired three of your graduates for our annual Rose Parade Tour and they were GREAT! I would hire all of them back. Thank you for having them available and for your training.”
Teri Webster |
AAA Arizona
“We know that in this industry, the Tour Guide and Tour Manager play an integral part in ensuring the quality of every tour experience. To my clients, they are my representatives for my company. I expect and demand that all those I hire perform in an outstanding, professional and ethical manner. We know that the graduates of IGA are expertly trained and will accomplish their assignments in a manner that ensures customer satisfaction and repeat business. The easiest way to endorse their training program is to say that I have never been disappointed with anyone I have hired that has been certified by them. For these reasons, we ONLY work with Tour Guides and Tour Managers that have been trained and certified by the International Guide Academy.”
Sid Wilson |
President, A Private Guide, Inc
Netty Schlack |
Owner, Southwest Discovery
“I have been hiring International Guide Academy graduates for a number of years now and will continue to do so in the future. They bring to the job a level of knowledge that allows them to perform VERY well for our company’s passengers. They have a GOOD insight into the needs of our passengers and their training is reflected in their performance.”
Susanne Lorenz |
(Recently retired) Adventure Travel West, Inc
Scott Brush |
GM, Colorado Charter Tour
“We sometimes need up to 30 and 40 guides. The guides we hire must be enthusiastic, able to think on their feet and knowledgeable. We demand the professionalism that is taught to the students at the International Guide Academy.”
Nicole Marsh |
President and Owner, The AXS Group, Inc
Hiring Manager |
Tour Operations, Globus family of brands
“IGA trains their graduates so that they are prepared to handle any situation which may arise on their very first tour. Maupintour guests expect a great deal of professionalism from their Tour Manager and I appreciate that this is instilled in the Tour Manager course at IGA.”
Anita Anderson |
former Director of Tour Managers, MAUPINTOUR
Joyce Beck |
Tour Development, Specialty Tours