Tour Guides and Escorts
What they do
Escort individuals or groups on sightseeing tours or through places of interest, such as industrial establishments, public buildings, and art galleries.
Expected pay range
Expected pay range
This represents the median earnings for this career in the selected county or state. In the range shown, 25% of workers earned less than the bottom salary and 25% earned more than the top salary. Data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
About tour guides and escorts
Other titles
Art Museum Docent, Discovery Guide, Docent, Guide, Historical Interpreter, Museum Docent, Museum Educator, Museum Guide, Science Interpreter, Tour Guide
Tasks they perform
- Describe tour points of interest to group members, and respond to questions.
- Escort individuals or groups on cruises, sightseeing tours, or through places of interest, such as industrial establishments, public buildings, or art galleries.
- Monitor visitors' activities to ensure compliance with establishment or tour regulations and safety practices.
Skills they need
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Licenses and Certifications
How to decide which one is right? That depends on an individual’s career path, specialty, and resources.
Certifications
Certifications may be available for this career and can help build knowledge and skills in specific job roles. Explore available certifications (external link opens new tab)
Similar careers
View careers in the same field as tour guides and escorts.
Travel Agents
Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Curators
Park Naturalists
In demand
In demand careers have high-growth, high-demand, and emerging jobs critical to Texas. They are based on economic indicators like in demand industries, labor market trends, and economic conditions, provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Additional career information and resources
Learn more about tour guides and escorts with these helpful sites.
- American Alliance of Museums (external link opens new tab)
- International Air Transport Association (external link opens new tab)
- International Longshore and Warehouse Union (external link opens new tab)
- National Art Education Association (external link opens new tab)
- National Association for Interpretation (external link opens new tab)
- National Education Association (external link opens new tab)
- National Tour Association (external link opens new tab)
- United States Tour Operators Association (external link opens new tab)