Fundamentals of Tour Leading: Online Certificate

Start your career as an international tour leader/tour director with this online course that walks you step-by-step through all the knowledge and insight you need to become a standout tour director.

And we help you get work after completion!

Change the direction of your life.

This is the anti-office job: a professional tour director travels with a group of travelers wherever they go, forming everlasting bonds.

Affordable

We believe in value for your money. You won’t find a more affordable, or extensive, certification program.

On your own time.

Our online course is flexible, allowing you to complete the modules at your own pace.

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Course Modules
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Instructional Videos
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Core Instructors
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Tour Directors Sharing Advice

Why online?

Before you invest a large amount of time and money in this industry, completing this course is the best way to see if the job is right for you. If it is, the next step is to train with us in person. There’s no substitute for live instruction, but this course will take care of teaching you all of the ‘classroom’ knowledge at your own pace!

If you’re unsure of what this industry is, begin by reading our page: What is a Tour Director? And check out our long list of unsolicited testimonials from past students!

Two core instructors + dozens of insights from working tour directors.

Mitch Bach and Alan Armijo guide you through learning about the group travel industry, and why tour directing is a unique and rewarding career. In dozens of video-based lessons, they’ll guide you through all of the aspects of how tour directing fits in to the travel industry as a whole, and whether it’s the right path for you.

All the technical knowledge you need to succeed.

Tour directing is a complex job that requires a lot of technical knowledge: From deciphering an itinerary and mapping out your tour days to figuring out your post-tour paperwork, we’ll give you the skills to understand what’s required of you, then focus on the new technology and techniques that help you master the craft.

Filled with insights from working tour directors.

We’ve filmed interviews with dozens of tour directors working in all kinds of guises. From student tours to adult tours, cruises to international work, you’ll get insights and practical tips from tour directors at all stages of their career. We’ve interviewed brand new TDs, and some of the industry’s great veterans!

Innovative Techniques & Technologies

From new tech apps to creative ideas to wow your guests, TripSchool is about preparing you to lead tours for today’s travel. So much has changed in the industry in the past years, and we’re often told how fresh our teaching is.

We talk about everything from internet-based advanced mapping, tour research, and sharing photos and files with guests. We also focus on experiential travel by sharing our unique group storytelling techniques and ways to create the “wow” moments that groups today crave.

Course Outline

The TripSchool Philosophy

We introduce you to our special way of thinking about the travel industry, and tour directing in general, including our STEW method.

The Group Travel Industry

The industries connected to travel and tourism employ one in ten humans on earth! Within this ecosystem, group travel and the tour director have a special place. You’ll understand what kind of industry you’re working in.

Roles & Responsibility of the Tour Director

Tour directing is a very unique job. And it’s one that is rarely understood by those outside our industry. We’ll break down what exactly a tour director does on tour, and the varieties of tour directing: student tours, adults, over-the-road, cruise, rail, and more.

How You’re Hired & Paid

It’s important to know how you get hired in this industry, and what kind of money you’ll make! It’s a job after all, but one that’s very different than your average office job. We’ll look at the different ways that companies might choose to hire you and how that might impact their decision on how you are paid for working a tour. We’ll also examine the different pay inclusions like travel stipends, full positioning, meals, per diems, allocations, benefits, etc., plus when it is appropriate to have the conversation about how you’re being hired and what you’re being paid when talking to companies. We’ll even offer anonymous examples of different pay packages at companies.

Customer Service: Dealing with People!

You will meet so many people in this job. Having good customer service strategies is one of the most important aspects of being successful in this career.

Preparing for your Tour

Itinerary prep is a massive subject, and deciphering and organizing a technical itinerary is one of the most basic skills you’ll need to conquer to do this job effectively. We’ll look at flexible vs. fixed itinerary components, shifting things around to create tour flow, timing your tour days, and finding moments to express yourself on those days! We’ll tie it all together with a discussion of tour timing and mapping, along with the technologies that can help you.

The On-Tour Experience

It’s time to lead the tour! We’re spilling our secrets from 40+ combined years on the road to give you the tools and knowledge to be a great tour director. We’ll look at tour logistics and safety, as well as games, videos, activities and other ways to shine as a tour director or guide.

Focus: Student Travel

Student tours are often your first jobs in the industry, and while they’re not what everyone imagines when they start out in the job, many come to learn what a rewarding experience it is to change the lives of young people. We’re not being cheesy; in this module we’ll convince you of how interesting student tours are, and look at the specific ways in which they’re different from adult tours, and how to handle the issues that’ll arise!

Focus: Adult Tours

Leading adult tours have their own benefits and challenges, which we’ll examine here. We’ll tackle unique aspects like airport greeting, bag pulls, seat rotations, evaluations and gratuities, but also give you some of our tricks and tips from our experience leading adults around the world.

Focus: International Tours

Being an international tour director sounds glamorous, and sometimes it is, but there’s a lot of responsibility and unique requirements to doing this kind of work. We’ll look at the tour operators that send tour directors abroad, and the different ways you may work there, including river cruises. We’ll cover flying with a group overseas, and the wide variety of issues encountered by guests traveling outside of their comfort zone.

Technology on Tour

We believe tour directing should use all of the available tools and resources in the 21st century. Let’s dive into the technology and tricks on the road that will help you stay organized and also shine in front of your groups! We’ll walk you through some of the standard pre-tour preparation work that you can do to alleviate some of your on-tour work, and share some of the tools that we use to find and create “wow” moments for our guests on tour, in any city!

Storytelling

Today’s tour guest requires more than just stale delivery of the facts. They want a narrative that makes a place come alive, filled with information that not just anyone can find on Wikipedia. In short, they want more, and they want a tour director to be a master storyteller.

Crafting “Wow Moments”

Wow moments are those experiences on tour that are unexpected and memorable, and make all the difference between a good and a spectacular trip. They’re a signature item at TripSchool! We’ll teach you how to craft these experiences, what they are, and when to insert them into your tours.

What’s Next? How to get work!

It’s time to cover what everything’s been leading towards: getting the job! We’ll discuss your resume, hiring tips, how and when to reach out to tour operators, when companies hire, and how to grow your in-person network.

Need more convincing?

  • 15 jam-packed modules of tour director training content

  • 18 Core Instructional Videos with Mitch Bach and Alan Armijo

  • 52 Video Clips with Real Tour Directors sharing their advice on the job

  • all the need-to-know information about the group travel industry

  • Complete content quizzes to reinforce your understanding

  • Affordably understand whether this is an industry and career for you!

  • Lifetime access to this information throughout your career

  • One-on-one personal check-ins to make sure you’re absorbing everything

$499 or $125/month for 4 months

TripSchool Certified

Certified by TripSchool Badge

Our Promise to you

Once you complete this course, you’ll have all the essential knowledge you need to be successful in this industry.

We’ll help you get work.

Ask any of our graduates, we work directly with tour operators to get you work. We vouch for you, and put our reputation behind your ability to competently lead groups.

You become part of the TripSchool family.

TripSchool really is a family. We help each other succeed in this industry. You’ll be part of our private Facebook group, and also be able to reach out to Mitch and Alan any time, with any questions. We want to be a bridge between you and tour operators, and help you along in your careers!