This article has been planned for a long time because many people have asked about it, or acquaintances who want to pursue this profession have asked for my opinion. Because my Facebook is full of posts about going out and having fun, some people think this profession is very enjoyable. So today I summarize it for everyone to refer to. In general, this is just a personal opinion, for those who intend to pursue this career.
Common misconceptions about tour guides that everyone falls into
1. Misconception 1: Being a tour guide means traveling around and having a great time
This is a common misconception about this profession. I have met many tour guides in Saigon who have never traveled abroad, or even to Hanoi. In reality, tour guides will follow the designated route, depending on their role. If you are an Inbound tour guide serving foreign guests coming to Vietnam in Saigon, the usual destinations are Cu Chi Tunnels, Saigon City, and Mekong Delta, rarely places like Da Lat or Mui Ne, let alone Hanoi. Or if you are a cross-country tour guide, you have to follow the route arranged by the company. If you are an outbound tour guide taking Vietnamese guests abroad, you will be assigned to specific destinations. For example, if the route is China, Thailand, or Europe, you will keep going to those routes all the time, without exploring new places. And each time you travel, you have to take care of a group of tourists, it won’t be like a leisure trip. You won’t have the mood to sightsee or take photos.
2. Misconception 2: Being a tour guide means earning a lot of money
Usually, people think that working with Westerners or traveling abroad means high income. But in reality, the salary is quite average.
The current price for a day tour is 500-600k VND/day, for reputable companies, it can increase to around 700k VND, or some better companies may pay around 1 million VND. A salary of 1 million VND is considered high in the market. One disadvantage of the tour guide profession is that the income does not increase with years of experience. Except for a few companies that rank tour guides as A, B, C for different salary levels, the rest pay a fixed rate per tour. However, some companies have policies that if you receive a 5-star review on booking platforms like TripAdvisor, you may get a bonus. Therefore, a tour guide with 20 years of experience and one with 1 year of experience may have the same salary. Additionally, tourists visit Vietnam seasonally, from October to April is the peak season, while from May to September is the low season with fewer job opportunities.
>>> Read more: Tasks That Tour Leaders Must Do When Taking Guests Abroad
In addition to the fixed salary, tour guides may have some additional income
Tips according to policies, some large groups have a tipping policy when booking a tour, for example: the guide receives 2 USD per person, the driver receives 1 USD per person, so for a group of 30 people, the guide can earn an additional 60 USD per day. However, due to competitive prices, some traditional companies have cut this part.
Tip money varies depending on the guest’s discretion, which also depends on the tipping culture of each country and the guest’s personality. For example, American guests tip around 95%, British guests around 60%, Australian guests around 30%, and in Asia, the Philippines has a tipping culture… Many tour guides expect a lot from tips, so they work very hard for it.
Commission money: Many shops pay this to tour guides, such as shops selling handicrafts, clothing, traditional Vietnamese dress photography, tailoring, as well as restaurants, or ticket-selling points for water puppet shows, AO shows, massages, even shops like Hard Rock Cafe, Bitexco Tower… However, if guides focus too much on this, trying to bring guests to places to earn commission, they lose focus on their work. Initially, as a newcomer to the industry, I was unaware of these commissions. By the fourth year of leading tours, I discovered that coconut candy factories in Mỹ Tho and shops in Đồng Khởi pay commissions to guides. At first, I would receive the commission and return it to the guests, or ask the shop to give a direct discount. Later, I received a lot of money for bringing guests to shops. However, I found this unsustainable, so I started telling guests about the commissions and if I found the products good and reasonably priced, I would recommend them. Surprisingly, the guests knew about it all, but they only bought what they found worth it. Nowadays, some companies prohibit guides from taking guests to shops. However, in my opinion, revenue from guest shopping boosts the economy significantly, creating many jobs, so guiding or taking guests shopping is not wrong, as long as the products are good and reasonably priced.
>>> Read more: Why Female Tour Guides Should Choose Inbound Tours
Importing and selling goods: Outbound tour guides can buy imported goods and resell them. It is rumored to be a significant source of income for outbound guides.
3. Misconception 3: Being a tour guide means meeting many people, and the job is very interesting
In general, this job is very challenging because it often requires mental effort or physical exhaustion, sometimes both. Mentally, you have to be like an encyclopedia, knowing and explaining various fields to answer guests’ questions. Physically, you have to start early and finish late, sitting on the bus while giving explanations and entertaining. Once off the bus, there are numerous activities, and when visiting local areas, you must connect with guests and local services. If you encounter uncooperative drivers or local services, all criticism will be directed at the tour guide. The job may not always be exciting; for example, if you specialize in Cu Chi tours, you may have to explain the Cu Chi map over 1000 times in 10 years, or if you specialize in Mekong Delta tours, you may have to talk about rice cultivation and seasonal activities over 1000 times in 10 years.
>>> Read more: Cultural Etiquette When Traveling in Vietnam Today
Being a tour guide means meeting many people. Whether it’s interesting or not, it’s hard to say. It depends on the tour; some guests are talkative and engage from the moment they get on the bus, while others are more reserved and expect the guide to provide information proactively.
The truth about being a tour guide is
1. It’s a high-pressure job, and you may become the target of everyone’s frustration.
This is very accurate; you’re not a miracle worker. Guests complain when it’s too hot, too rainy, or when there’s fog in Sapa. Sometimes, issues with food or hotels booked by the company are blamed on the tour guide. With groups of dozens of people, you have to ensure everyone is satisfied. Additionally, some guests lack manners and treat the guide as a servant.
2. If classified by social status, tour guides are considered part of the low working class
In Vietnam, being a tour guide or flight attendant may seem like glamorous jobs. But in reality, abroad, it is ranked as part of the low working class, meaning it is a job that requires less mental effort.
3. Declining health, fading beauty
This job involves early mornings and late nights, irregular eating habits. For example, I sometimes have lunch at 2-3 pm because Westerners eat a lot in the morning, so sometimes they skip lunch or get hungry very late, while Vietnamese people have a light breakfast and are hungry by 12-1 pm. Additionally, being exposed to the sun a lot can lead to bad skin, darkening, acne, and weight gain, especially for women. Some guides suffer from stomach issues due to irregular eating habits, some have joint pain, spinal issues, and neck strain from sitting in incorrect postures.
>>> Read more: Cau Tom in Vietnam with hundreds of heartwarming and humorous stories
5. Away from home, early departures, late returns, affecting family happiness, working on weekends and holidays.
In the tourism guide community, many female guides are single, there are many LGBT guides, and the divorce rate is very high. From my observation, female guides who have the opportunity to interact with foreigners find them open-minded, polite, and respectful towards women, so they may not tolerate Vietnamese men whom they consider lazy and patriarchal. However, there are cultural differences that can lead to relationship issues for some with Western partners. Moreover, guides have irregular schedules, work late, work overnight, and have to limit phone use while working, which can lead to jealousy and unhappiness in their relationships.
When I write about these things, many people are shocked and wonder what kind of job is so “scary.” But if you look at it positively and know how to control your emotions, it can be a very enjoyable job. Customers often ask me if I get bored of going to the Mekong Delta all the time. I tell them that even though I go there many times, each time is different, with different people, stories, and topics, and no matter how difficult some customers may be, they all go back home after a few days. In contrast, office workers have to deal with the same boss and colleagues every day, and if they don’t get along, they have to endure it.
So, what are the benefits of being a tour guide?
1. Learning how to be a better person
Travelers are often successful, wealthy, happy, and healthy individuals. Additionally, people from developed countries visiting a place like Vietnam are usually very open-minded and different. So, I receive a lot of positive energy and good things from them. The wealthier and more successful they are, the more punctual they are. Most customers (excluding Indians and Middle Easterners) arrive 10-15 minutes early for appointments. If they are even 2-3 minutes late, they apologize profusely. They speak to those of lower status very gently and politely. Even if they are unhappy about something, the way they complain reflects their character. Westerners value honesty, while Vietnamese people tend to make excuses, like blaming traffic or other reasons for being late, or blaming others for not completing tasks. I learn from them, so if something goes wrong during a tour, I honestly admit my mistake in not preparing well, and they are usually forgiving.
>>> Read more: Essential tourism industry terms to know when traveling anywhere
2. Changing perspectives on life
Despite Vietnamese people’s dislike for China, they are heavily influenced by Chinese philosophies: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. These have deeply shaped the development of Asians in general and Vietnamese people in particular. So, when I interact with Westerners, they bring new perspectives that I thought only existed in movies. For example:
3. About trust:
Asians are naturally skeptical, so when someone is kind and enthusiastic, they are immediately suspicious, while Westerners generally trust people. When I first started, I didn’t have a company or a brand name, but after a few emails, they transferred a few thousand dollars to book a tour. When I met them, I asked if they were afraid I would run away, and they said, “If you run, that’s your business.” Of course, this trust also depends on the cultural history of each country. But the countries with the highest happiness index in the world like Denmark, the Nordic countries, Australia, and Canada are countries with high levels of trust among people.
- About independence and self-reliance
- About pursuing dreams
- About raising children
- About relationships
- About respecting differences
- About democracy and struggle
- About sacrifice and unconditional giving
- About personal responsibility to the community
- About gratitude and positive thinking
- About financial management
(I will write a separate article about what I have learned from these customers)
>>> Read more: What is a Tip, Bo, Boa Money? When Do You Need to Tip, Boa?
4. Meeting inspiring people like in the movies
In Vietnam, it is often thought that successful entrepreneurs have to sacrifice health or family happiness, time for their children. Or successful women often have imbalanced family lives, or the wealthier they are, the more stingy they become. But I have met many successful people who still have very happy family lives, even with 5-6 children, many successful women whose husbands are very supportive and proud. I have also met many young people who live very frugally to save up for a year of travel. Some people give up everything to pursue their dreams.
>>>> Read more: Superstitions When Traveling in Vietnam Today
5. Having friends everywhere
This is one of the bonuses of the job. Because I have friends in many places, I learn a lot about the culture and history of different countries. When I go out, I have friends everywhere to take me around. In 2014, I traveled to the US for 21 days but only stayed in a hotel for 6 days, the rest was at the homes of previous customers. Staying with locals when traveling is a wonderful experience, very different from staying in a hotel.
In summary, after nearly 9 years working as a tour guide, it has changed me a lot. I am more confident, live more positively, happier, value and choose relationships more. However, my advice is that being a tour guide is very enjoyable, especially when you do it part-time (while still a student), as a hobby (when you have other sources of income), or for a few years when you are young, unless you plan to start a travel company, sell tours online, run land tours, or open a hotel, resort, homestay which require more experience and market information and can be a long-term commitment. If you simply want to be a tour guide, I do not recommend young people to pursue it as a career/profession.
>>> Read more: Vietnamese travel culture
Excerpt from Ms. VO THI BAO VI – ENGLISH TOURGUIDE.
