Page 36 - Tropic Magazine Issue 38

TROPIC • COVER STORY
Passion and pride
TOUR GUIDES
Words: Renee Cluff
Do you recall a time when
a tour guide left you with
lasting memories and
connections to both people and
a place? Perhaps it was their
extraordinary knowledge, or
their storytelling ability.
Maybe their passion for what
they were showcasing
was infectious. Or possibly, they
changed how you looked at
the world.
2 facilitate transformational feel-good
36 • Tropic • Issue 38
1
At a professional level, Tourism Tropical moments for guests by taking the
North Queensland CEO Mark Olsen visitor experience to a whole new level
has the data on just how valuable good of understanding that could never be
achieved by seeing a place by yourself.
guides are for destination marketing.
From a personal perspective, he knows “Ultimately tour guides need to be good
the memories guides can create are storytellers as their stories help to build
priceless. “I have been fortunate to the greatest holiday memories for people.
explore incredible parts of Tropical North
Queensland such as the Split Rock Art
Galleries at Laura with the late bush
tracker, Kuku Thaypan Elder George
Musgrave,” Mark told Tropic. “His stories One good tour guide can
will live with me forever and continue leave a lasting positive
to shape my view of the world.
“I also experienced this recently on impression of a trip in just
Dreamtime Dive and Snorkel which one afternoon
elevated storytelling and knowledge
sharing to the next level by combining Mark Olsen
marine knowledge with the local stories CEO, Tourism Tropical
of the Gunggandji people. It was a North Queensland
transformational experience.”
These lasting impacts guides have on “They are critical in looking after the
tourism experiences and promotion assets of not just the company they work
ensure industry and government bodies for, but of the region and the country
who invest in training see the returns. they represent.”
Tropical North Queensland is a pioneer With borders now open and lockdowns
as the only place where three high-quality a thing of the past, there are plenty of
tour guide accreditation programs new opportunities to join the honoured
overlap. Savannah Guides was founded guiding fraternity, whether it be as a
in 1988 as the first professional tour diver, a bungy master, bird watcher or
guiding organisation training guides a white-water rafting specialist. “Tour
to be the protectors and interpreters guiding is an incredibly enjoyable job
of the outback. The Master Reef because it involves dealing with happy
Guides program and the Wet Tropics people on holidays who choose to come
Ambassador program have followed to on their tour to learn about their place,”
further train guides to understand Mark said. “It is a personal commitment
and interpret the region’s World and a lifestyle choice to become an
Heritage Areas. “These programs exceptional tour guide living and
stimulate ongoing learning to allow working in the world’s oldest
continuous improvement and rainforest or its largest and most diverse
engagement with the environments reef system.”
they work in,” Mark said. “Tour guides Even better if you know how to
spin a yarn.