Tour guides who provide local colour and insight will figure prominently in the stories tourists share once they're back home. Photo / Rafael Ben-Ari, 123RF
Passion, knowledge, that's what we want in our tourism service, writes Pamela Wade.
The stories you've been reading in this Travel magazine, and the photographs you've looked at, have one main purpose: to inspire you to go to those places and see for yourself. Yes, they should also entertain and
inform you but, particularly in the case of stories resulting from familiarisation trips provided by the operator, the expectation is that readers will fork over their hard-earned in order to replicate that experience.
The thing is, once you're on the ground at that destination, the location is only half the story, if that. Snow-capped mountains, luminous lakes, turquoise seas and white-sand beaches will always be beautiful, but your enjoyment of them, and your memories, will be coloured by the people you encounter there.
The travel agent who puts your itinerary together, the staff at the airport, ferry terminal or bus station, those who look after you on your journey, the concierge, chamber maid, motor camp manager, tour guide and the guys who throw you off a bridge with a bungy tied to your ankles have the power to make or break your holiday (in the case of the bungy operator, hopefully not literally).
If they do their jobs well, with enthusiasm and humour, efficiency and understanding, your money will have been well spent. If, however, they mix up your bookings, greet you with indifference, omit to warn you that museums are closed on Mondays, scoop up your pyjama bottoms with the dirty towels, or are surly, cold or just plain rude, you'll rue every dollar that's now gone forever. And you'll tell everyone about it when you get back home.
