Tour Leadership and Management Skills

Semester and Year Offered: Monsoon Semester

Course Coordinator and Team: Ankush Rathor

Email of course coordinator: arathore@aud.ac.in

Pre-requisites:

The course focuses on the Job Role related to Tour Manager (Level-6) in Tourism and Hospitality Sector as per the guidelines of National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF). The course is meant to be offered to those who have specific knowledge and skills related to Food& Beverage Service Steward (Level-4) & MICE (Level-5) offered in 1st and 2nd Semester respectively.

Course Objectives/Description:

Objectives: The objective of the course is to familiarise the students with the Tourism and Hospitality industry and its various aspects. While the modules cover the various National Occupational Standards (NOS) as listed below, which will be tested by the Sector Skill Council, the course gives a deeper insight into the industry.

1. THC/N4415: Co-ordination with head office.
2. THC/N4416: Manage the client and develop business
3. THC/N9901: Communicate with customer and colleagues
4. THC/N9902: Maintain customer-centric service orientation
5. THC/N9903: Maintain standard of etiquette and hospitable conduct
6. THC/N9904: Follow gender and age sensitive service practices

Note: For more details on the above NOS as well as other important details, please refer to https://www.thsc.in/pdf/qpdetails/Tour%20Manager.pdf

Course Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:-

1. Analyze & explain the concept of various components of tourism.
2. Prepare for leading the group of tourist in various types of itinerary.
3. Develop deferent kind of tourism destinations marketing plans.
4. Manage customer relationship & customer handling
5. Plan to provide tourist information with destination data regarding local heritage and culture.

Brief description of modules/ Main modules:

Module 1: Basics of Tour Guiding and Escorting: This module will be looking at the various Understanding customer- the tourist’s expectations, Basic concepts and understanding of the differences between the tour guide, leaders/ escorts/ managers and other nomenclature, Job description, Job specification, Steps to becoming a tour guide and escort.

Module 2: Tour Management : This module will be looking at the various Presenting yourself, Handling a group file, Familiarization with a destination, Liaising with suppliers, Documentation (tour managers), Tour leader’s Kit (Tools of the trade), Responsibilities at an airport, hotels, tourist attraction, on a coach, and on other modes of transportation.

Module 3: Guiding Scenarios and Interpretation: In this module we will be looking at various methods for guiding -Guiding at a monument, Guiding at an archaeological site, Guiding at a museum, Guiding at a religious place, Guiding on a walking tour, Guiding on a nature walk, The art of interpretation, Dynamics of commentary, Mechanics of tour guiding, Practical tips, General dos and don’ts for tour commentary.

Module 4: Managing the Business of Escorting: In this final module we will try to understand the Group management, Handling Cross cultural differences, Handling difficult tourists, Handling questions, Handling grievances, Handling emergencies, Setting up a Tour Leader Business , Planning an itinerary, Responsibilities towards stakeholders/ Partners in business, Leading responsibly.

Assessment Details with weights:

Tentative Assessment Schedule with Weightage (As per the UGC guidelines and SSC)

Reading List:

1. Chowdhary , N. (2013). Handbook for Tour Guides. : Matrix Publications.
2. Bhatia, A. K. (2006). The business of tourism: concepts and strategies. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
3. Misra, S. N., & Sadual, S. K. (2008). Basics of tourism management. Excel Books.
4. Kamra, Krishan, Basics of Tourism: Theory, Operation, Kanishka Publishers, New Delhi, 2002.
5. Sunetra Roday.(2009). Tourism: Operations and Management. Oxford Publications

ADDITIONAL REFERENCE:

1. Walker, J. R., & Walker, J. T. (2011). Tourism concepts and practices. Pearson Education India.