Wherever I have traveled, there has always been a tour guide who shows me the true beauty and meaning of my destination. Each time, I have thought that these people were probably the happiest in the world. They adored the place where they lived and loved the chosen profession. Each time she was jealous; I wanted that same passion in my life. Also, these guides were so friendly, energetic, and professional that I had to think: This particular city is the best place in the world to live. You could say this was my good fortune, but I think otherwise. The ability to make other people happy and make them fall in love with the place of travel are simply the general characteristics of people who have decided to become tour guides.
Seeing how the private guides work, I have felt some kind of energy exchange. These people have shared their love for their city with me and have given tourists a piece of that same passion. Closing the loop, this makes me feel like part of the city too. I suppose it is because only individuals "in love with a place" choose such a profession, and do their best to share this "love" with others.
https://nicefuntours.com/tour/nice-walking-tour/
Behind every professional tour guide, there is a story that explains why they choose this particular profession. So I decided to ask them: why did you become a tour guide? He wanted to know what comes first: the specific character traits or the passion for his location (either by birth or by chance). Now I am lucky to share with you what I have found!
First, 99.9 percent of the guides in one way or another gave the same answer. Becoming a guide is simply your "passion and mission to some degree". This is true even if "life brought them there." Later, the person still understood that it was the passion of his life. For guides like Samir Jlaydi, being a guide is a family tradition. "My father used to be a guide and [...] I also like this job," he says.
Another guide, Kumar Dahal, deepens and shares with me his mission: "to promote my country in the world". I suppose that all of us, to a certain extent, are proud of the country in which we live; We would all like to share local experiences, traditions and culture with our foreign visitors. There are so many local facts and fragments of everyday life that we can show. We know that while these moments may seem normal to natives, visitors will find them authentic and exciting.
Probably the funniest answer to the question was given by Pepo Klaic, who wrote: "It's obvious: I never liked driving and was afraid to speak in public. Now ... I'm a driver's guide." Murphy's law is always there =)
Now, there is one more story that I received that I would like to share with you. I think this may best suit my personal vision of tour guides. Lut Van Hove, a professional private guide from Amsterdam, wrote me his story and gave me permission to reproduce it here.
"I have been a tour guide since I was 27 years old. This has a long history: from 16 I dreamed of visiting other countries, so after finishing my studies I worked and lived in Bahia, Brazil, for two years. Discovering another culture, the mix of Indian, African and European people fascinated me. When I returned to Europe they asked me to be a tourist guide for Africa. Later in other countries. Even if I visit places many times, I can appreciate its beauty, each time in a different way. I love to share this fascination for different places around the world with other people: its history, architecture, modern projects, lifestyle, nature and landscape.
Wherever I have traveled, there has always been a tour guide who shows me the true beauty and meaning of my destination.