Questions from Tour Directors about Covid Era Group Travel

Spring is in the air in the Northern Hemisphere, and with vaccinations happening rapidly in countries like the United States, we are seeing more and more tour directors returning to the road. Some are already leading large group tours, while many others are being approached by tour operators offering tours.

Everyone has questions: both operators and tour directors are trying to assess the situation, and make safe, informed decisions about how and when to tour. We recently held a listening session to hear from TDs themselves about the kinds of questions and worries they have right now (in March 2021). Here is a rundown of those questions raised:

Itineraries

• Will itinerary pacing be adjusted for new protocols?
• Will student operators be consolidating groups from various states?
• Are you adding activities to replace closed museums or Broadway shows?

Testing & Vaccination

• Will passengers be required to be vaccinated?
• Is it legal to require vaccinations?
• Will you require your tour directors to be vaccinated?
• Will you be requiring a negative test before guests travel?
• How are you balancing CDC recommendations against leisure group travel with operating tours?

Getting Ill

• What kind of procedures do you have in place for when a passenger shows symptoms/gets ill?
• What if a TD contracts covid on a tour – will you pay for hospital costs incurred?

Vendors & Components

• Are you enforcing social distancing on motor coaches?
• What about close quarters indoor dining in restaurants?
• Are you making more components outdoors?
• What kinds of contract adjustments are being made with your vendors?
• How will rooming work with student groups, still 4 to a room?
• How are you dealing with regulations that vary state by state?

Compensation & Evaluation

• Are TDs being compensated more given group sizes are down, and wages are tied so often to gratuities?
• What coverage/support do independent contractors get, and are you considering employee status?
• Would you consider easing up on your evaluation metrics of tour directors considering this current anomalous situation?
• Will you still compensate the tour director even if the tour is cancelled close to departure?

Enforcement

• What kinds of rules are you requiring the Tour Director to enforce?
• How do you expect tour directors to balance fun and personality, with enforcement and dealing with “bad apples”?

Training

• Are you going to train tour directors on these protocols? Host a Zoom session?

Tour Allocations

• How are you dealing with quarantine requirements for a tour director between tours?

Personal Concerns

• How will you treat your tour director if they feel like safe conditions haven’t been met, and don’t feel comfortable taking the tour?

Industry Trends & Hiring

• Where are you currently seeing most demand?
• When do you currently expect you’ll be returning the majority of your TDs to work?
• How many of your TDs have left the industry?

Customer Service

• How has your refund policy changed for your guests?
• What are you messaging to your customers ahead of the tour?
• Are your customers required to sign and affirm that they’ll abide by mask requirements?