Cruise Guiding

Cruise Guide Training Online is LIVE

2011-11-02T04:22:00.000-07:00

The President of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA), Ros Newlands O.B.E., and the CEO of Progress International Tourism & Business Services Ltd (Progress International), Grant Holmes, would like to take this opportunity to inform all affiliated Tourist Guides that the Cruise Guide Training Online is now LIVE.

The principle objectives of Cruise Guide Training are as follows:

To give global access to all WFTGA members to the Cruise Guide Training resources.
To empower tourist guides within the cruise ship industry and give them a collective voice.
To collaborate and optimise synergy with cruise lines and tour operators within the industry.
To eradicate the use of unqualified tourist guides within the cruise ship industry.
To support the promotion by tourist guides of the host cruise destination in their role of tourist ambassadors.

To participate all affiliated Tourist Guides need to do is complete the Training Registration form, which is accessible form the above Tab with the same name.

Once registered the course cost 25 euro, which needs to be paid using the PayPal button above right.

The Training Site features 11 comprehensive Modules and is displayed in an attractive Presentation style with an interactive Methodology. All content can be downloaded and printed to keep on file.

The course is followed by an Exam and the pass rate is 70%. All successful participants will receive a Certificate from the WFTGA and Progress International.

Cruise Training in Stirling - Download ready

2011-03-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all Scottish Tourist Guides that attended the Training recently in Sterling with Mark Kemp Clark.

Your active participation and feedback is most appreciated and as promised please find below a link to download the Training Presentation.

Training Download

Please note that the Presentation is protected and Mark Kemp Clark will inform you of the Password.

Here below are some more pictures to share:

Scottish Tourist Guides take the Cruise Industry seriously

2011-03-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

Congratulations are in order to the 12 STGA Tourist Guides for their proactive participation in the recent Cruise Guide Training course held in Stirling, Scotland on Friday 11th of March 2011.

The Training was delivered by the experienced Mary Kemp Clarke (WFTGA Lead Trainer & STGA Trainer) who commented that "all participants responded very positively to the whole day and the contents of the course". Guest Speaker Ann Wilkinson of Cruise Scotland also made an appearance with a stimulating presentation.

The time-table for the 1 day Cruise Guide Training course was as follows:

MODULE 1

0900 INTRODUCTION

CRUISE INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

WHY PEOPLE CRUISE & CHOOSE A CRUISE

1030 BREAK

CRUISE PROFILES & PRODUCTS

LIFE ONBOARD

CRUISE PRIORITIES

PARTNERS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

MODULE 2

GUIDE CODE, DEFINITION & ATTRIBUTES

CONSOLIDATION

1230 LUNCH

1315 ANN WILKINSON – CRUISE SCOTLAND

PLAN, DISPATCH TRENDS & TRANSLATIONS

SHOPPING STOPS & TIPPING

1500 BREAK

TOP CRUISE COMPLAINTS & CHALLENGES

THE WIDER ROLE OF THE CRUISE GUIDE

MAKING SUGGESTIONS & GIVING OPTIONS

PROMOTIONAL LANGUAGE: POWER MESSAGES

CONSOLIDATION / DEBRIEF

1630 END

Clearly Scottish Tourist Guides are taking the Cruise Industry seriously as the Tourist Guides of the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Isles already completed Cruise Guide Training with the Trainer Viola Lier.

The last Cruise Guide Training took place in Tallin just prior to the WFTGA Conference in January 2011, whereby several Tourist Guides from all over the world participated in one of two sessions executed in English and in German by Lead Trainers Jenny Oulton, Peter Wagner and Viola Lier.

Cruise Guide Training is the creative work of Progress International in Cyprus (a leading Cruise Industry Training and Consultation Company) and is accredited by the WFTGA. It is the most recognized source of Cruise Industry Training for Tourist Guides the world over and considered to be a credible international standard.

For more details of Cruise Guide Training contact progress.international@gmail.com.

Cruising Guiding starts in mainland Scotland

2011-03-10T15:01:00.000-08:00

The Cruise Guide Training course developed by Progress International and accredited by the WFTGA will be delivered in mainland Scotland starting in Sterling on Friday 11th of March.

The 1 Day Cruise Guide Training course will be executed to experienced Scottish Guides and the Trainer is the WFTGA Senior Trainer Mary Kemp Clark.

We will keep you all posted in due course.

Tallinn Cruise Training Downloads now available

2011-02-21T14:47:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce that both the English and German versions of the Cruise Guide Training 1 day course held in Tallinn are now available for Download exclusively for participating Tourist Guides.

All participants need to do is download the files from the links top left (under the title WFTGA Tallinn). Each PDF file is Password protected. Passwords are available from the WFTGA Cruise Guide Trainers or Felicitas Wressnig.

For support or more information simply email: progress.international@gmail.com.

Compliments to the organizers of the WFTGA in Tallinn

2011-02-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of Progress International and Cruise Guide Training to compliment Laura Taul and her team for their excellent organization at the WFTGA conference in Tallinn. Everything seemed to be executed with great precision and passion.

In particular the timing seems to be just perfect by holding such a key conference in Tallinn right at the start of a year as the city begins to enjoy the recognition of being "European Capital of Culture" in addition to the moment Estonia joins the euro.

It should also be said that the tireless efforts of Ros Newlands, Pat Blain and Felicitas Wressnig have once again ensured the continued success of the WFTGA.

My sincere thanks to all the organizers, the WFTGA, all delegates and participants for a well managed and interesting conference.

For more details go to: http://wftga2011.konverents.eu/

Cruise Guide Training Tallinn pictures

2011-02-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

Well done to all participants of the recent Cruise Guide Training in Tallinn. Here are some pictures and we encourage welcome any more pictures if you would like to send them.

Cruise Guide Training in Tallinn

2011-01-30T02:48:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce that at this precise moment of writing (12:00 - 31.1.11) 2 Cruise Guide Training 1 day courses are currently in progress at the WFTGA Conference base in Tallinn as follows...

1 day course in English
Conducted by Jenny Oulton and Peter Wagner

1 day course in German
Conducted by Viola Lier

We would like to take this opportunity to thank pall delegates that have taken this proactive move to participate.

Updates on this Training will follow soon.

Grant Holmes

CEO

Progress International

14th WFTGA Convention 2011 January 29 - February 4, 2011

2011-01-25T02:01:00.000-08:00

Message from the Tallin Guide Association

The Tallinn Guide Association is glad to welcome the members of the WFTGA to hold the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations Convention in 2011 in Tallinn!

Tallinn Guide Association is a union of 156 tour guides in Tallinn and has been a proud member of WFTGA since 2007.

For the 2011 Convention we have suggested a comprehensive programme both for the participants in the Convention and for those accompanying them under the Theme Culture as a Unifying Guide.

In 2011 Tallinn will be the European Capital of Culture, and naturally this became the underlying idea for our whole programme.

Our intention in drafting the programme has been to meet the expectations of members who want to learn and experience something new to enhance their professional skills, and also to provide a good experiential background to the training and discussions during the workshops organised together with the WFTGA.

Tours and excursions taking place during the Convention week as well as pre- and post tours enable you to take a walk through the history experiencing the Medieval times as well as the modern culture on the crossroads of Europe.

We would be honoured to host the WFTGA Convention 2011 and warmly welcome you to Tallinn!

14th WFTGA Convention Programme and Registration Information

The Cruise Guide

2011-01-25T01:42:00.000-08:00

1. Guides Are Ambassadors
2. Options and Suggestions
3. The Benefits of a Cruise
4. Behavioural Characteristics
5. Speaking to Groups
6. Non-Verbal Communication
7. Body Language
8. Cultural Test
9. Physical Contact
10. Facial Expressions
11. Personal Distances
12. Boundaries
13. Guest Greeting

Guest Service

2011-01-25T01:40:00.000-08:00

1. Guest Service Definition
2. Importance of Guests
3. The Term "Cruise Guest"
4. Guests' Expectations
5. Handling Complaints
6. Le Cafe
7. Le Cafe - LISTEN
8. How to Listen
9. Le Cafe - EMPATHISE
10. Understanding
11. Le Cafe - CONFIRM
12. Le Cafe - ACTION
13. Le Cafe - FOLLOW UP
14. Le Cafe - EXCELLENT
15. Guests' Complaints
16. Top Cruise Complaints
17. Costa
18. Swan Hellenic
19. AIDA
20. Star Clippers

Skills and Techniques

2011-01-25T01:35:00.000-08:00

1. Suggestions and Options
2. Power Messages
3. Guiding Language
4. Future Excursions
5. Presentation Skills

Guiding Operations

2011-01-25T01:29:00.001-08:00

1. Code of Guiding Practice
2. Cruise Guide Definition
3. Cruise Guide Attributes
4. The Cruise Guiding Plan
5. Preparation
6. Pre-excursion Set-up
7. Dispatch Tendering
8. Operational Challenges
9. Tender Dispatch
10. Tourist Guide Elements
11. Introducing the Tour
12. Things NOT to Do
13. Excursion Overview
14. Safety Issues
15. Poor Timing Outcomes
16. Shopping and Tipping
17. Gratuities and Tipping
18. Translating
19. Effective Translation
20. Proactive Tourist Guide
21. Promotion
22. Excursion Conclusion
23. Feedback

Teamwork

2011-01-25T01:28:00.000-08:00

1. Value Chain Partners
2. Importance of Teamwork
3. Consequences
4. Teamwork Analysis
5. Involvement
6. Collective Responsibility

Cruise Industry

2011-01-25T01:25:00.000-08:00

1. Speed of Progress
2. Ongoing Expansion
3. European Market Potential
4. Market Share
5. Fleet Breakdown
6. Cruising Destinations
7. The Era of Megaships!
8. Cruise Market Segments
9. Cruising Trends
10. Why People Cruise
11. Choosing a Cruise
12. Cruise Products
13. Cruise Guest Profiles
14. Life On Board
15. Maritime Terminology
16. Ship Vocabulary
17. Cruise Priorities

Intercruises wins Seatrade award for the "Mamas & Papas" Excursion

2011-01-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services, one of the worlds leading ground handling and port agencies within the Cruise Industry recently won the desirable award for Shore Excursion Innovation, which was presented at the 2010 Seatrade Insider Cruise Awards.

More specifically, Intercruises achieved this recognition for their unique ‘Mamas & Tapas’ tour, which reflects a "Local Living Experience’ and is operated exclusively by the Intercruises Mediterranean team.

The 'Mamas & Tapas' concept provides Cruise Passengers with a truly authentic 'real life' Spanish experience through visiting actual traditional family homes, suitable for accommodating small groups of people and sourced by the experienced Intercruises team. Here Cruise Passengers interact with each host family, as they are escorted through the living quarters of their home, before enjoying a full 5 course meal, utilizing all the secrets of home-cooked local cuisine 'Made by Mama’ of course - who else?

Meritxell Corbalan (Product Manager Mediterranean and Matteo Busilacchio, Operations & Product Supervisor Mediterranean) said upon collecting this interesting award on behalf of Intercruises
“A great deal of hard work went into developing this excursion and I’m delighted we won,”. She went onto say“Mamas & Tapas is a completely original concept that provides the authentic experience that passengers are searching for. When developing shore excursions we strive to appeal to all passenger demographics, while delivering a special or unique experience; Mamas & Tapas achieves this.”

The awards event occurred in Nice on the first night of recent Seatrade Med exhibition, which was hosted in nearby Cannes. Intercrusies representatives attending the ceremony included Virginia Quintairos, Regional Director Mediterranean; Olga Piqueras, Operations Director and Mark Robinson, Managing Director.

“I want to congratulate the team; they thoroughly deserve this award for taking a good idea and turning it into a fantastic shore excursion. This award proves the quality of shore excursions we offer, with hundreds delivered by Intercruises worldwide, from the classic city and historical tours, to adventure, volunteer and local living experiences. ” Stated Mark Robinson, Managing Director Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services. “

ABOVE PICTURE CAPTION
This picture captures the moment that the Intercruises team collected their award at the Seatrade Insider Cruise Awards ceremony in Nice, France.
Pictured left to right: Tony Heuer, President of Fidelio Cruise; Matteo Busilacchio, Intercruises Operations & Product Supervisor Mediterranean; Meritxell Corbalan, Intercruises Product Manager Mediterranean; Mary Bond, Seatrade Editor.

Intercruises finalize integration with Select Tours Australia, within their worldwide framework

2010-09-10T00:57:00.000-07:00

With the news that Intercruises have now finalized the integration of Select Tours Australia within their worldwide framework, we can understand reading between the lines, that they are in fact the largest global Ground Handler serving the Cruise Industry.

Clearly the strategy of operating each destination agency independently, whilst respecting all the complexities of a local operation in synergy with unifying them with a strong set of values and standards is working for Intercruises.

This news is a significant development for Intercruises, which consolidates their position in the Cruise Industry with another well orchestrated arrangement in place created by the progressive and client satisfaction orientated Managing Director, Mark Robinson.

In reality, Intercrusies now offer Cruise Lines the world over an opportunity to utilize one global Company for all Ground Handling services, which must be tempting for Cruise Lines that operate on a global scale and seek to reduce their corporate overheads in a climate of cost reduction.

Here below is the official Press Release for your interest:

PRESS RELEASE

Intercruises Shoreside and Port Services, a leading ground handling and port agent providing services to ocean and river cruise lines, has announced the opening of new offices in Australia after the official rebranding of Select Tours Australia to Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services which takes effect from October 1^st 2010. Select Tours was acquired in November 2009 and following a period of transition, has been integrated as part of the Intercruises family.

Jeff Mangano, founder of Select Tours Australia and cruise industry veteran with over 29 years experience, will continue as General Manager of the business reporting to Mark Robinson, Managing Director of Intercruises. Sarah Glaied, also previously of Select Tours Australia, has been promoted to Operations Manager of Intercruises Australia, reporting to Jeff Mangano.

“We have been working as part of the Intercruises business since 2009, but this rebranding completes our integration. The acquisition has been a very smooth process and we foresee a prosperous future as Intercruises Australia. Personally, as founder of Select Tours, it is satisfying to know that our good work will be continued.” Stated Jeff Mangano, General Manager of Intercruises Australia.

Intercruises Australia is currently operating in over 25 ports, including Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and Melbourne. More ports will be added in line with market trends and to meet client demands. The services offered by Intercruises include turnarounds, shore excursions, port agency and pre & post hotel reservations.

“This acquisition was strategically important for the continued expansion of Intercruises and further demonstrates the strength and potential of the Australian market,” said Mark Robinson, Managing Director at Intercruises, “The success achieved by Select Tours Australia over the years will be complemented by our global expertise, presence and resources, allowing clients to receive the same levels of service they have become accustomed to when working with us in various destinations worldwide.”

Founded in 1991, Select Tours Australia specialised in providing services for cruise ships in Australian ports. Based in Sydney, they worked with the world’s leading cruise lines and delivered shore excursion and turnaround services. Over the years Select Tours Australia received a variety of accolades for their development of revenue targeted excursions and high passenger satisfaction. Within the last year they had also moved into the port agency business.

About Intercruises Shoreside and Port Services

Intercruises Shoreside and Port Services is an experienced global business offering exceptional ground handling and port agency services to the ocean and river cruise industry. Teams committed to service and dedicated to clients provide local insight and practical knowledge that is enhanced by global expertise and presence.

Mark Robinson

Managing Director of Intercruises Shoreside and Port Services

9 dead in Portuguese cruise ship tour bus crash in Morocco

2010-09-08T00:46:00.000-07:00

Nine Portuguese tourists were killed and 14 injured when their tour bus plunged into a ravine in northern Morocco on Wednesday, the interior ministry said. Eight of the dead in the accident near the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta were female, including a teenager, and one of the injured was a Moroccan guide, medical sources added.

"It was very foggy and drizzling," a witness said. "The coach skidded and fell into a ravine."

A Spanish government representative in Ceuta said the bus was carrying Portuguese tourists who arrived on Wednesday morning in the enclave on a cruise ship.

Witnesses quoted by Portuguese media said it was in a convoy of buses when the accident happened some 15 kilometres (ten miles) from Ceuta.

The injured were ferried to hospitals in Tetouan, Fnideq and M'diq, near Ceuta, the Moroccan police said, adding that the driver of the bus was among them.

A spokesman for the Lisbon-based tour operators, Classic International Cruises, told Portuguese Sic television that 44 tourists were aboard the bus when it crashed at 0645 GMT.

It was also carrying the Spanish driver, a Moroccan guide and a representative of the tour company, spokesman Nuno Fonseca said.

The bus belonged to a company in Ceuta, where the cruiseliner Funchal had docked with some 400 Portuguese tourists aboard.

With its 15th century cathedral and duty-free shopping, Ceuta is a popular destination for cruise ships and day trippers from mainland Spain and neighbouring Portugal.

Ceuta, along with twin enclave Melilla, enjoys a status similar to Spain's other autonomous areas such as the Basque region and Catalonia.

Source: http://www.middle-east-online.com

Cruise Guiding Comment

Having been on the excursion to Tetouan on many occasions personally, it comes as no surprise that such an unfortunate accident has occurred, because the road conditions are less than desirable, especially in poor weather conditions. We trust that a full investigation is conducted by the Moroccan authorities as to the underlying causes of the accident, with preventative measures set in place for the future, as fog and drizzle are common in the area.

Regardless of all the safety procedures conducted on board cruise ships and the dangers of the sea, in real terms cruise passengers are more likely to be involved in an accident on board the transportation to the port or on a Tour coach.

Pirate Excursions cause Cruise Lines to lose Millions

2010-08-02T00:32:00.000-07:00

The term “Pirate Excursion” is a fairly recent phenomenon and refers to the arrangement of a NON official Cruise Line operated Excursion. They are not bound by any particular Cruise Industry standard, often unlicensed Tourist Guides are utilized and generally they are recommended for a number of qualifying reasons, which this article will identify.

In essence to rise of Pirate Excursions has come about as hungry Operators and Touts seek to jump on the Cruise Industry bandwagon, without the consent of the Cruise Lines, in conflict with the operation and against the spirit of the Cruise Industry itself.

We all know that in the last decade the growth of Cruise Tourism has reached truly staggering proportions and in recent years at least this is in stark contrast to practically all other major recession impacted Tourism sectors. This success is built on the foundation of an excellent value service for the money the Passenger pays, offering exceptional vacation diversity and a host of other advantages over the average land vacation. The Cruise Market, averages around 10-12 new Mega vessels new builds each successive year in recent times, all between 2,000 - 5,000 passengers per ship (lower berth capacity), which extrapolates into literally hundreds of thousands of new Cruise Passengers annually.

In Europe (Mediterranean and Northern Europe particularly) Excursions comprise (or should do for a well managed vessel) 50% – 60% of the total On Board Revenue. In turn On Board Revenue should represent (for a well run Cruise Line at least, depending upon the model) one third of the total income for a Cruise Line, with the remaining two thirds originating from cabin sales. Clearly we are talking in the millions when we speak about Excursion projected revenue and having personally managed a fleet of 8 vessels (former Festival Cruises fleet) where all the On Board revenue is concerned, Excursion performance is quintessential to the overall income success and in many respects it becomes the blood lifeline of the Company, paying for the salaries on board, port fees, maintenance and a huge share of the operational costs. There is far more to organizing Excursions on a global scale than the average Cruise Passenger is aware of and one of the key components to a successful itinerary is the ability to synchronize Excursions thereby visiting the key attractions of the destinations frequented in synergy with the timing and complexity of the on board operation, meal times and activities.

With potentially millions of borderline Excursion Passengers at stake, opportunistic Agencies and Operators that have generally not invested anything into the Cruise Industry, the local destination or the product, have organised themselves to feed off the mega vessels that frequent the port cities around the world, by offering cheaper copy tours of their own.

At Festival Cruises we counted the Pirate Excursions and calculated (by dedicating crew to count people and buses) the annual losses caused by Pirate Excursions (in 2002) to be in the region of 3 million euro. After implementing a raft of proactive measures to counter the issue, we managed to reduce this dramatic loss in 2003 by 2 million euro. Since this time, the situation has deteriorated significantly on a worldwide scale and the bottom line of Cruise Lines is being seriously threatened by Pirate Excursions, which will only translate into other charges going up in the long run for the Cruise Passenger.

Now, many Cruise Passengers reading this article will immediately reply with a knee jerk reaction and say that Cruise Line operated Excursions are simply “too expensive”. What is the harm of participating in the cheaper Pirated Options on offer? There are even so called Cruise friendly Websites promoting this behaviour just because it’s cheaper! The reality however is that there is a host of reasons not to participate in Pirate Excursions. Here below is the Top 6!

Challenges and consequences of Pirate Excursions

1. NON QUALIFIED GUIDES

Pirate Excursions are commonly arranged utilising non-qualified or illegal Guides leaving no opportunity to regulate standards. The motive for this is usually to reduce Tour Costs and undercut Cruise Lines. Such practices do not respect the rights of licensed Guides, local laws and the study/work they have to do in order to obtain a professional license. The World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations WFTGA is concerned about this issue, as Tourist Guides are professionals and their trade should be respected on a global scale.

2. INSURANCE

There are often Insurance issues, whereby in the unlikely event of an accident the local small Agency and/or sales agent often do not possess adequate coverage if any. All key Cruise Lines feature Insurance that covers at least 3 million USD. This is often a requirement when contracting, depending upon the Cruise Line’s internal policy. Pirate Excursions are generally low cost and Insurance is one of the factors that are usually cut from the equation and there are no set standards. Moreover, Guests participating in non Cruise Ship arranged Excursions are not covered by the Cruise Line or ships Insurance, as they take matters into their own hands and go against the Cruise Lines recommendations.

3. DELAYED DISPATCH

As Pirate Excursions do not operate with the cooperation of the Cruise Line, they are dispatched at the very end, mixed with the general disembarkation. This can extrapolate to a significant delay, especially so on Mega Cruise Lines with up to 5,000 passengers. Timing can be critical for certain Excursions. Cruise Guests usually complain about this and there are all kinds of potential timing consequences. For example if a Pirate Excursion is late returning to the vessel, the ship will not wait, as it’s not a ship authorized Excursion. The organizers of the Pirate Excursions are unlikely to compensate Cruise Guests either. With a late dispatch this can be a common, yet major issue. Cruise Lines guarantee that regardless how late a Cruise Ship organized Excursion returns to the vessel, that the Guests will not miss the ships departure. This guarantee is easier for the Cruise Lines to uphold, as they manage the dispatch and ensure a timely departure. Excursion departures are usually coordinated with traffic and local conditions in mind also.

4. SHIP ACTIVITIES

Pirate Excursions are not coordinated with the ships activities either, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, special on board events and entertainment etc. Often people on Pirate Excursions return to the ship only to find that they missed the main Restaurant eating times or even a major activity.

5. REVENUE

In essence Cruise Lines cover only the fundamental operational and administrative costs or most of it with the Cruise ticket itself, depending upon the Cruise Line market concerned. In reality the actual profit comes from the generation of On Board Revenue, which as previously indicated, for a well managed operation represents one third of the income. Hence, roughly speaking when many Cruise Lines sell a cabin, it is subsidised to a degree in view of the On Board Revenue potential. Excursions represent a significant part of this essential revenue for the Cruise Lines, who depend on it pay salaries, fuel, maintenance and general costs etc. Pirate Excursions and Guests that purchase them essentially wage economic war with the Cruise Line in addition to causing the above mentioned challenges, because when a Pirate excursion goes wrong, the Cruise Guest still generally complains to the Cruise Line.

6. CONVENIENCE

In most cases for ports around the world, only the official Tour Operator of the Cruise Line is permitted to enter the port with coaches (preferably parked by the ship) and official Tourist Guides for the convenience of the Guests on Security grounds. Pirate Excursion Operators that do not have the right permission to represent the Cruise Line are usually forced to park coaches outside the port, causing their Guests a further delay and hassle to embark them. The distance from the ship depends upon the port and actual docking position.

For the above mentioned reasons there is a general feeling within the Cruise Industry that something needs to be done about Pirate Excursions. At Off Radar Cruise News we will be bring you all the latest developments on this sensitive topic.

Grant Holmes

Publisher

Off Radar Cruise News

President of WFTGA and Pioneer of Cruise Guide Training awarded O.B.E.

2010-06-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

President of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations, (WFTGA), Rosalind Newlands has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.), for services to Tourism.

The news was conveyed on the Birthday Honours List of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 2010.

The Off Radar Cruise News Team would like to extend our collective congratulations.

Rosalind Newlands has more than 27 years experience as a tourist guide, tourist guide trainer and tourism management consultant, and is currently the Course Director for the University of Edinburgh for the Blue Badge Training Course in Scotland, a position that she has held for 20 years. More recently she pioneered the Cruise Guide Training concept with Grant Holmes CEO of Progress International Tourism & Business Services Ltd to establish a set of standards and good practices concerning Guiding for the Cruise Industry. We will report more on this in the coming weeks.

Her passion for the importance of tourist guide skills and training and the effect of tourist guides on visitor experience, has crossed the continents of the world. Rosalind is now in her second term as President of The World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations, and in that role she actively promotes the aims and objectives of the organisation.

P&O Cruises unveils new celebrity speaker programme

2010-05-15T01:10:00.000-07:00

P&O Cruises has announced a new line up of celebrity guest speakers who will be entertaining passengers on board this summer.

P&O Cruises managing director, Carol Marlow, said: “We have a varied array of guest speakers from the worlds of sport, music, stage, screen, broadcasting and much more.

“We will, of course, be welcoming back some of our passenger’s favourites, but as many of our passengers travel with us regularly we will be offering new guests across the fleet.”

Passenger’s favourites on board include John Challis and Sue Holderness aka Only fools and horses, ‘Boycie&Marlene’; British actor, Sir Donald Sinden; ex-jockey, Bob Champion and retired footballer, Jack Charlton.

New talent who will be sharing their stories and experiences include TV presenter, Nick Owen; ex Bath & England rugby union star, Gareth Chilcott; actress, Shirley Anne Field and boxing legend, Sir Henry Cooper.

Source: P&O Cruises

Cruise Guiding Comment

Guest Speakers are popular on single language Cruises, especially where a more senior Guest profile is on board, hence this news coming from P&O is a positive consolidation of the service they have offered in the past.

Interestingly, the World Federation of Tourists Guides Association will soon be offering a new service to Cruise Lines with a host of highly experienced Guides and Guest Speaker that will also support with the promotion of Tours within a region. For more information contact Grant Holmes: progress.international@gmail.com.

WFTGA Convention 2009

2009-01-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

The 13th WFTGA Convention will be held in Bali Indonesia from Sunday Jan 12, 2009 until Friday Jan 16, 2009 - Eco -tourism: The Tourist Guides Role. WFTGA Convention of promises unparalleled opportunities for delegates and individual guides to exchange views and information. Country–representatives would be able to form small or regional groups to address their own needs and requests, and to provide advice and solutions to problems encountered. As for individual tourist guides, they would be able to learn new skills that may not be offered at their home country, and to establish new friendship and contacts. From the lectures and workshops that covers a wide variety of subjects, all participants should be able to have clearer mindset of our guiding profession and would want to enhance beyond their guiding profession.

Progressive move by the Shetland Islands

2008-06-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

The World Federation of Tourist Guides Associations is launching its one day Cruise Guide Training Course in Shetland on 11th June 2008. This will be the first course to be conducted in Northern Europe by WFTGA Senior Trainer and qualified Scottish Tourist Guide Viola Lier.

WFTGA has developed this training in co-operation with Progress International at the request of the Cruise Industry. Cruise travel is the largest growing sector of the world tourism industry. Cruise calls in Northern Europe increased by 16% in 2007. Shetland received approximately 50 calls per year.

The Cruise Guiding Course is for qualified Shetland Tourist Guides, members of the Scottish Tourist Guides Association, and is designed to improve their awareness of the needs of the cruise industry and of cruise guests. Cruise calls are the major source of guiding work in Shetland.

The course is being supported by Island Vista - a Shetland based excursion operator who said:

Island Vista was formed in January 2007 with the aim of providing a quality visitor experience, organised and co-ordinated by an experienced and professional local team with many years intimate knowledge of our Island home . Shetland is a unique place, and if visitors are given a quality excursion will almost all say that Shetland has been the best place they have visited on their holiday. This is a quote heard many times. For a number of years we have seen the need to provide a much improved quality of service for our visitors. To encourage the big agents to sell excursions not previously offered and allow us to show off more of Shetland’s natural beauty and unique culture. In order to achieve this we need high quality guides with local knowledge and expertise in many specialist subjects and languages who are highly trained and enthusiatic about their heritage and take pleasure in sharing this experience with our visitors.

So what is the attraction for Shetland Tourist Guides. A qualified Shetland tourist guide said:

I particularly enjoy interacting with visitors to Shetland and being able to bring to life a small part of Shetland for them. In meeting guests from all over the world and achieving a connection with Shetland to the part of the world they come from is particularly satisfying. It is a wonderful experience to share Shetland with a large group who have never visited here before and hadn’t previously appreciated what we have in our islands and being able to exceed their expectations.

WFTGA is the global forum for qualified and licensed tourist guides. Members are tourist guides associations from 50 countries worldwide. WFTGA President Rosalind Newlands is also a Scottish Tourist Guide. She said:

I am delighted that the first one day course will take place in Scotland. We launched the Cruise Guide Training Course in Cyprus in January 2008 and we are now receiving requests for this training from all over the world. We believe that it is essential that tourist guides fully understand the special requirements of cruise guests and are ready to meet and exceed their expectations.

Contact Details:

Rosalind Newlands
President
World Federation of Tourist Guides Associations

Telephone: +44131477 2204
Mobile: +44 7885 329 538
Email: info@wftga.org
Website: www.wftga.org

Tourist Guides Target the Cruise Market

2008-02-01T14:22:00.000-08:00

The World Federation of Tourist Guides Associations in conjunction with Progress International is launching a new training course for tourist guides, who undoubtedly provide a key service for cruise ships, as part of the value service chain. Shore excursions are a highlight of the overall cruise experience and they are invariably the core reason why cruise guests select a particular cruise ship itinerary in the first instance. Excursions also generate important economic benefits to the local communities of each respective destination in addition to the cruise companies.

WFTGA International Trainers will be the sponsored guests on board the Costa Concordia from 26th January to 3rd February 2008 to discover more about the special requirements of cruise guests from the independent experts of Progress International in collaboration with the Costa Cruise team. WFTGA International Trainers will subsequently launch a global cruise guide training programme from Larnaca for tourist guides across the globe, to enable them to better meet the expectations and constantly evolving demands of the cruise industry and their clients.

WFTGA President Rosalind Newlands said:

“Many cruise guests are visiting new destinations but often they will return independently if they have a good experience. Tourist guides are usually the only local person that visitors meet and they are therefore ambassadors for their city or country and can influence whether the visitor will decide to return. Tourist guides are also representatives of the cruise ship companies and their shore agents and it is vital that they fully understand the expectations of the guests and of the whole cruise experience. In that way they will be able to tailor their tours appropriately and help the visitors enjoy the experience and plan future excursions during the cruise.

Tourist guides who take part in WFTGA Cruise Training will receive a certificate and pin from the World Federation of Tourist Guides Associations to add to their own qualifications. Cruise companies and their clients will know that the “WFTGA Cruise Tourist Guides” are not only fully qualified and/or licensed guides for their city, region or country but also specially trained to meet and exceed the expectations of these very important guests.”

The first WFTGA Cruise Training Course will take place in Larnaca, Cyprus from 4th to 6th February 2008. For future bookings and further information, please contact WFTGA on info@wftga.org

Note for Editors

The World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) is a not for profit, non political organisation which groups together, around the world, tourist guide associations; individual tourist guides; tourism partners of both the WFTGA and member associations; educational institutes in tourism for tourist guides; convention and visitors bureaux and affiliate members who have direct or indirect association with tourist guides. WFTGA has members in 53 countries and represents around 93,000 tourist guides around the world.

The WFTGA’s main purpose is to promote, market and ensure that tourist guides are recognised as the ambassadors of a region. WFTGA offers services to our members but also communicates to those in search of the services of professional area specific tourist guides and where to hire them. We also actively promote our members’ associations and industry partners worldwide.

WFTGA supports the UN WTO Responsible Tourism Campaign and Green Globe.

The next biennial WFTGA Convention will be held in Bali Indonesia in January 2009 - Eco-tourism the Tourist Guides Role

Cruise Industry Facts & Figures

RAPID GROWTH

-> The cruise industry is the fastest growing segment in Tourism achieving more than 2,100 percent growth since 1970. More than 12 million people took a cruise vacation in 2006. Industry estimates an addiitonal 1.5 million more will cruise in 2007.

INCREASED CAPACITY

-> Nearly 40 new ships were built in the 1980’s & 1990’s comprising a total of 80 new ships. In comparison by the end of 2007, 88 new ships will have been introduced since 2000.

CRUISE EVOLUTION

-> Strong growth has fueled the continuing evolution of the cruise vacation experience. Cruise lines have expanded itineraries to include diversified ports of call and convenient embarkation ports. Also innovative onboard amenities and facilities.

FUTURE GROWTH

-> The industry’s commitment to adding new capacity is based on high growth potential. 83% of adults never cruised and there remains a significant untapped market in Europe.

DEMONGRAPHICS

-> Cruise Lines cater to a diverse demographic mix. Cruisers average 50 years of age, with above-average ($104,000) annual household income.

CRUISE SALES

-> 90% of all cruise vacations are booked through travel agents, and account for more than half of all vacation sales among travel agents.

MARKET SHARE

1) Carnival Group 44% approx

Carnival Cruises, Costa Cruises, Princess Cruises, P & O Crusies, Cunard, Ocean Village, Holland & America, Seabourn Cruises & Windstar Cruises.

2) Royal Caribbean International RCI 25% approx

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises & Pullmantur Cruceros.

3) Star Group 11% approx

Star Cruises, NCL & Orient Lines

4) Other 20% approx

Main Player in other is MSC

BUSIEST CRUISE REGIONS

1) Caribbean

2) Mediterranean

3) Baltics / Fjords (summer only)

Best emerging regions are Asia and Eastern side of South America (Brasil)

EUROPEAN CRUISE STATISTICS

-> Cruise companies, shipyards & cruise passengers account for €8.3bn ($10.7bn) of direct expenditure in Europe, according to the EU economies report February 2007.

-> ECC expects direct expenditure to increase by 50% to €12.7bn by 2010. Italy, the UK and Germany accounted for two thirds of direct expenditure

-> The industry already provides 180,000 jobs across Europe with this figure predicted to rise to over 250,000 by the end of the decade.