Learning is constant in this profession

Vimal Chander Joshi interviews Satish Kumar Goswami, vice president of Delhi’s Tourist Guide Association.

What makes a tourist guide’s work different?

It is a glamorous profession. You travel a lot, stay in big hotels, and enjoy the company of people from diverse backgrounds. It’s enriching too. You have to be well read as your knowledge gets tested every time you are at work. The only element that bogs you down is the uncertainty involved in the profession. If a bomb blast happens in one part of India, the entire tourism sector suffers. So does our business. Every political, social and climatic deviation has a bearing on the earnings of a tourist guide.

You have been a tourist guide for more than two decades now. How has the time changed for guides?

Things have changed considerably. Earlier, the infrastructure didn’t support tourism the way it does now. There was no bus service from Delhi to Jaipur. If there was a group of 40 tourists, there was no way that all could be bundled together. But now there is a regular bus service. The hotel industry, too, has developed in recent times, which makes things easier for travellers. I still remember the time when there used to be only one dhaba on the Delhi-Agra highway, and now there are plenty of motels en route.

Which language should guides learn to woo the maximum number of tourists?

One can learn any language — French, Italian, German, Japanese and Russian. Nevertheless, English-speaking guides are the most common and those who are fluent in any foreign language earn Rs 300 to 400 per day over and above their normal fees.

Tourists are normally curious. How do you handle their  relentless quizzing?

It’s true that our clients are quite inquisitive. We have to read up on history, archaeology, religion, politics and everything else about our country. I am a postgraduate in history from the University of Delhi and I still read books on history to keep myself updated. Currently I am reading Gulbadan Begum Ka Humayun Nama. You never stop learning in this profession.

Guides should also attend workshops, conferences and short courses, which add to their skills. The association organised a skill enhancement course on Buddhism in December last year. A similar course on Delhi’s heritage monuments was held sometime back.

Author: HT Horizons

Date: 14th April, 2010

For further details about relared courses and colleges please click below:

Related courses and colleges