1. Before becoming a tour guide, a person must first undergo a training program. Many countries require a license to practice tour guiding legally.
2. Tour guides provide service, a form of product that is intangible, perishable, and one whose production and consumption happens simultaneously.
3. One of the tour guide’s roles is to educate the tourists about the meanings and significance of cultural and natural attractions.
4. Physical Elements. Tour guides combine service with the physical elements to create the total tourism experience for clients. Physical elements include hotel facilities. Transport vehicles, parks, and museum.
5. Characteristics of a Tour guide. Tour guide must be mature, responsible patient, tactfull, and sensitive to different cultures. They must also be articulate, quick-witted, organized, and healthy to cope with the physical demands of the job. They must show sincere interest in the places where they practice their profession.

Tour guides must understand that their main reason for existence is the tourist. A tourist is a tour guide’s client. In this regard and in consideration of the above mentioned elements of tour guiding, tour guides must possess a deep understanding of the tourists, the tourism industry, tour programming, and tour management. More detailed qualities of an ideal tour guide will be discussed in the succeeding lessons.