No one knows a city’s secrets and hidden delights better than a local. There are numerous reasons to rely on local advice when planning a trip to a new place and new internet based tour services connect travelers with such local insight.
Avoid Tourist Traps
Some people enjoy climbing onto a bus with a hundred strangers in a foreign city to listen to a tired speech as they drive past historical and interesting sites. Luckily for the rest of the tourist population, there is a growing industry supporting more personal options. Instead of following a herd of people being pushed along a tour path, independent tour guides offer a very different dynamic.
Individual or small group tours that are provided by independent tour guides carry profound value in personal attention. The tour can be adapted to meet the expectations of the specific group or person, moving at the pace of the traveler, not of the guide. Speeches performed by commercial guides leading large groups are replaced by interactive discussions with the guides of these smaller groups. Personalities are expressed more openly and local guides are able to add personal touches that large companies cannot.
Experience Authentic Culture as a Tourist
Online travel businesses such as Localguiding.com choreograph the connections between travelers and independent tour guides. Local Guiding is not only a directory of unique tour options provided by knowledgeable local tour guides, but also a resource where the same tour guides can answer specific questions and offer assistance with tour choices. Moving beyond the FAQ lists of major tourist sites, travelers get personal attention before they even meet their guide.
The evolving world of travel has brought eco tourism and adventure tours to heightened popularity as traveler demands for new, unusual and exciting experiences increase. People don’t want to spend their money and their vacation time on tours that are processed, packaged and delivered as consumer products. They want to experience something authentic and personal.
Personalized Tours by Knowledgeable Locals
Imagine the benefits of going on a personalized tour of an historical place without the limitations of sharing it with a large group. Not only can local tour guides provide unique experiences of popular sites, but they enjoy the freedom to decide what to share with their clients. This creative freedom allows intuitive development of personalized travel experiences for tourists by guides who can enjoy sharing their city and knowledge without a script and a microphone.
While large tour companies generate the guise of a cultural experience in the rigid framework of business and sales, independent guides share the personality of their city in creative ways that bring true tastes of the local culture to the traveler. This personalized form of travel is sure to become the expectation as tourists discover the possibilities that exist beyond mass tourism. Developing this niche of tourism could expand travel markets in healthy and exciting new ways.
Heather Ozmun - Heather Ozmun moved from her native city of San Diego, California to Austin, Texas in 1998 where she began a career as a paramedic. After ...
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