Tour director vs tour guide

The differences between tour directors and tour guides can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a tour director has an average salary of $49,279, which is higher than the $32,323 average annual salary of a tour guide.

The top three skills for a tour director include yellowstone, travel arrangements and public speaking. The most important skills for a tour guide are local history, customer service, and safety practices.

Tour director vs tour guide overview

	Tour Director	Tour Guide
Yearly salary	$49,279	$32,323
Hourly rate	$23.69	$15.54
Growth rate	20%	-
Number of jobs	5,034	1,043
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	34	34
Years of experience	-	2

Tour director vs tour guide salary

Tour directors and tour guides have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Tour Director	Tour Guide
Average salary	$49,279	$32,323
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $102,000	Between $18,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Harley-Davidson
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between tour director and tour guide education

There are a few differences between a tour director and a tour guide in terms of educational background:

	Tour Director	Tour Guide
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Southern California	Stanford University

Tour director vs tour guide demographics

Here are the differences between tour directors' and tour guides' demographics:

	Tour Director	Tour Guide
Average age	34	34
Gender ratio	Male, 49.3% Female, 50.7%	Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 9.8% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 9.9% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between tour director and tour guide duties and responsibilities

Tour director example responsibilities.

Cover all national shows, obtain credentials, VIP tables, parking as appropriate, manage meet and greets, etc.
Manage communication and event preparation with partners, venues, artists, and staff ensuring logistical requirements are manage effectively.
Perform administrative cruise staff duties when not acting as in-house DJ.
Develop, organize, and execute group and personalize VIP tour programs in Russian.
Use creativity (such as costumes and jokes) to host lively bingo sessions that ensure guests return for the fun.
Host many events throughout the duration of a cruise, consisting of trivia's, games, parties and bingo sessions.

Tour guide example responsibilities.

Manage the canoe landing including guests, workers, and canoe traffic in a way that all run smoothly and safely.
Aid clients with matters regarding passports and visas.
Receive multiple positive reviews on the company Facebook page.
Complete extensive training as well as first aid, CPR and a certification.
Maintain alertness for any problem solve calls via radio and communication with management.
Spearhead all creative activity for online marketing (Facebook), and other social media sites5.

Tour director vs tour guide skills

Common tour director skills

Yellowstone, 30%
Travel Arrangements, 11%
Public Speaking, 9%
Tour Operations, 7%
Tour Guides, 6%
Expense Reports, 6%

Common tour guide skills

Local History, 22%
Customer Service, 19%
Safety Practices, 16%
Public Speaking, 8%
Front Desk, 4%
Facebook, 3%