IATG Code of Ethics

The Institute of Australian Tour Guides is an association representing a number of work functions which we collectively know as Tour Guiding. According to our category we may be employed on a full time, part time, contract or voluntary basis — as a tour guide, tour conductor or tour host - we may be working individually, or in association with other tour guides; with members of associated service industries, or in cases such as incentive programmes, with clients’ representatives. Whatever the function, whatever the situation, we as Tour Guides must perform professionally, conscientiously and ethically. As members of IATG we have a duty to our employers and clients, to the tourist industry, our peers and fellow IATG members and not least to ourselves, to conform to a code of principles and ethics which are defined hereafter.

To violate this code is to do a gross disservice to ourselves, our profession, our employers and clients and can lead to withdrawal of membership of this Association.

Tourism has become one of Australia’s most important industries. Any assurance of continuity of growth of our industry depends on a number of interrelated factors such as marketing, scheduling, pricing, facilities and attractions -but in the final analysis it depends on Customer Satisfaction.

As Tour Guides our role in this is unequalled - for the Tour Guide, together with the Tour Manager, has the facility for determining the success or failure of any programme. It is our professional standards - our ability to heighten the pleasure, to smooth out the difficulties that count at the end of the day. The marketer, promoter, operator arid hotelier may well depend on our service for final Customer Satisfaction.

Many of our skills can be acquired from comprehensive training programmes, but the ability to communicate and the capacity to please are intrinsic qualities without which all else is to no avail. In the utilisation of these skills let this Code of Ethics and Principles be our Bible.

Self Esteem

There may be many reasons why you are a Tour Guide. Most important must be the pleasure derived from successful utilisation of your various skills - the self esteem that comes from a job well done. Nothing is more satisfying that a well-earned thank you from your clients. This may not always come easily. There may be occasions when your efforts seem to be unappreciated and your pride is hurt. As a true professional you will ask yourself, “What was my problem?” not “What was theirs?”

A job proficiently performed is no job at all if the client is not pleased. You must be at all times sensitive to your clients’ reactions; know not only how to talk but when to talk; know when they are alert and when they are tired; when they are attentive and when they are bored; when they are delighted and when they are disappointed; when they approve and when they do, not and be able to adapt your presentation to suit the mood of the occasion.

It is imperative that you have immediate client approval. You must be neat, clean and tidy in your appearance. Never overdress and avoid fashions or styles that are controversial. Smart clothing and provocative styles are at best distracting and divisive - at worst may cause envy, resentment and disapproval. If wearing an employer’s uniform do so with pride; if not, always dress appropriately and discreetly to suit the occasion. The client has after all come to see the sights — not you.

Avoid presenting your ideas and opinions, but present information factually and honestly. Your art is to open their eyes and minds to their surroundings - not to reflect your own attitudes and prejudices.

Above all be sensitive to your clients’ fears and apprehensions. A “difficult” client is merely an unhappy or insecure one.

Your art is to keep your group united in common accord. Never do for one group member what you are not prepared to, or do not have the time to, do for all.

Job satisfaction and self esteem come from how your clients see you, and this will very much depend on how you see them. If to you they are ignorant or inattentive, f or fools - then you are in the wrong profession, If you needs must complain of your clients to your contemporaries then you are admitting failure as a Tour Guide.

Your clients may have limited knowledge of local scenic attractions, fauna and flora, customs and lifestyle, goods and services. They may be reliant upon you, and have a right to expect clear, truthful and unbiased information, It is your responsibility to build up a comprehensive store of knowledge and to keep this constantly updated. It is not always possible to answer queries from personal knowledge; such answers must be sought by reference and passed on as soon as possible. To fabricate an answer is to mislead and is an ethical violation.

You must ensure that the information given is:

• accurate, honest and unbiased — both from source and in interpretation; sensitive to the national and ethnic tastes and cultures, and to the social and sexist attitudes, of your clients;
• expressed clearly in words that are comprehensible to the group and not liable to misinterpretation; and that you
• relate to common factors and experiences a cold day and a crowded street may mean one thing to an Indian, another to an Icelander;
• are discreet in reference to items of common value “rich and poor, expensive and cheap, exclusive and ordinary are personal values which should not be imposed upon clients.

Unless specifically directed by your employer, you must be general when referring to or recommending stores, restaurants or entertainments. If your recommendations are limited your clients may suspect your motives.

When guiding at a venue you must ensure that:

• all group members are accounted for;
• you lead the group at their mean speed;
• you gather the group together and face them before beginning your commentary;
• your voice is clearly heard by all without unduly disturbing the nearby public.

The venue and subject matter may not interest all members of a group tour. You must offer the disinterested an alternative distraction and arrange a time and meeting place.

We can never guarantee the undivided attention of all group members; but to lose many must be seen as evidence of a need for serious revision of your presentation.

When giving coach commentary you must ensure that:

• the information is of general interest, is presented succinctly, and is well contained within the time available;
• the interest point under discussion can be clearly seen by all group members;
• you are not discussing interest point A when passing interest point B;
• you do not direct your comments to a selected few, or allow a few to dominate discussion;
• all group members are aware of the question before an answer is given.

Above all you must at all times maintain full control of your group and keep their interest. The most carefully prepared commentary is worthless if you lack the communication skills to present it.

Your Employer: Loyalty and Confidentiality

If employed by contract you have been chosen by a responsible Tour Operator to represent them to their client. Your employer may be one of a series of Inbound Operators contracted in turn by an interstate or international operator to service the local segment of an extended group tour. Whatever the complication, it is your duty your ethical responsibility - to represent through your employer the whole chain of command, to be loyal to their wants and perceptions, and to respect their confidentiality. Failure to comply with all items in your contract places an extra burden on the next operator and reflects upon your employer’s reputation.

If you are employed on a full - time basis your terms of employment are your contract. Your work practice and presentation may vary with the product and the client, but all variations must have the approval of your employer.

It is your duty to ensure that you are comprehensively briefed - that you have a clear understanding of your parameters, the chain of responsibility, the purpose of the contract, and to ensure that such duties are fully executed to your employer’s satisfaction.

In order to ensure you are fully briefed, an appropriate check list should be prepared in advance. If your employers refuse you all the information you require, you have failed to win their trust. An incomplete briefing can lead to inadvertent misrepresentation.

In debriefing it is your duty to ensure that all matters pertaining to the operation, all difficulties encountered, all matters relevant to the on—carriage of the client are reported. No matter what the parameters of your working contract, you have a moral and professional obligation to contribute to the success of your clients’ total tour programme.

Any answer, opinion, criticism or excuse offered reflects on your employer and may be an ethical violation of your contract.

Ignorance is not forgivable.

It must be remembered that your contract is a negotiation between you and your employer only, IATG may offer guidelines but is in no way directing, nor can it be deemed to be directing, your negotiations.

Your terms of contract are a matter of confidentiality between you and your employer, and that confidentiality must, at all times, be respected.

Industrial Relations and Co-Operation

As a Tour Guide you are constantly working in close association with other related branches of the tourism industry. It is important that you fully understand their functions and responsibilities to avoid the confusion of duplication; that you compare their parameters with your own to avoid omissions. This can best be achieved by discussion before commencement of service. There is absolutely no reason why loyalty to your employer and co-operation with associated functionaries should not be compatible. After all, we are all working towards the same goal, the result of which is Customer Satisfaction.

Tour Managers

If your contract is to include the role of transferring and hosting incoming tour groups, you must during briefing determine if the group has an attendant Tour Manager, and if so, what services your employer has contracted to do on his/her part, how much of the prepared programme is included and how much optional, and who is to supervise those optional activities. Those of you who work also as tour managers know how easily these services can overlap. For example, who is to organise baggage, reconfirm flights and put in s eating requests, pay porterage etc..; who is to determine departure times, book morning calls, or handle medical and/or insurance problems. These parameters must be determined with the tour manager at the first opportunity, and if there are major differences of opinion they must be resolved by your employer.

Tour Hosts and Escorts

Tour Hosts and Escorts may present you with similar parameter differences. Greater diplomacy may be needed as they may not be professionals in the field of tourism; they may not be contracted by a tour operator and may therefore be unaware of your employer’s contract. Any differences arising here be resolved by your employer.

Coach Captains & Drivers

A sound and friendly working arrangement here is absolutely essential. Routings, timings, tour and meal stops, who is to give commentary must be understood before your clients board the coach so that a friendly united front can be presented. It must always be remembered that once on the road, the coach captain is in charge of the vehicle and responsible for the safety of all on board. It is both polite and professionally proper

• to allow them to supervise boarding and leaving the coach;
• to introduce them to the group;
• and to officially thank them at the conclusion of the service.

Coach Captains may of course be members of IATG and compliant with this Code of Ethics and Principles.

Airline and Hotel Staff

It is important to ensure that airline and hotel staff are aware of your contracted role with regard to group bookings, check - in, baggage handling etc. It is most improper to impede or in any way disrupt these formalities. Your duty is to co -operate to ensure smooth handling.

It is your duty to assist your clients if genuine disagreements arise, but you must mediate with great discretion as the problem may be due to circumstances of which you are unaware, and are beyond the power of the airline or hotel staff to resolve.

Whatever the circumstances, it is most unprofessional and unethical to approach such staff in a confrontational manner or to create a disturbance in front of your clients or the general public. You have not only your esteem, but that of your employer to consider.

Restaurants

Where meals are included it is essential to ensure that both your clients and the restaurant staff understand the Inclusions and the time available. It should be remembered that you are on duty during the course of an accompanied meal break, you may be required to assist in interpretation, but must not interfere with the service. If eating with your clients it is unethical to show favouritism but preferable to wait and take the last available seat. Most importantly, whether the meal be included or at the clients’ expense, it is unethical to accept or demand service superior to that being offered to your clients.

Tourist Venues

If guiding at a contracted venue you must at all times respect the aims of and in no way publicly denigrate the establishment. If the guiding is conducted in house (and possibly by a fellow IATG member) you must never correct, add to, or in any way interrupt the presentation. This will rightly be interpreted as rudeness and self-aggrandisement. If you consider the presentation misleading it may be necessary to make discreet corrections after leaving the venue. YOU should not take up the issue with the establishment, but rather report it to your employer and to IATG for necessary action.

Shopping

When shopping time is allowed in an included programme it is essential that your clients know the allotted time, and that this timing be adhered to. It you are leading the group to a contracted retailer you must ensure that the staff are aware of the allotted time. In no way must you influence sales or restrict the movement of your clients. Organised shopping can be very divisive and your greatest concern must be for the disinterested.

On all occasions your relations with other members of the tourism industry must be cordial and co-operative and their interests finely balanced with the interests of your clients. You must be fair and be seen to be fair. To influence any service for the sake of personal gain is the severest violation of this Code of Ethics and will be treated accordingly.

Your Peers: A Common Goal

Finally we must consider our relationship with each other and our Association. As professional colleagues we should at all times assist each other, either in a spirit of co- operation or of friendly rivalry. It is unprofessional to be competitive.

If you are colleagues fully employed by the same company you should work together in a common accord and for the promotion of that organisation. If you are contracted to the same operator you should co operate to enhance your employer’s modus operandi, principles and reputation, while each maintaining the confidentiality of his or her individual contract.

If, in these circumstances, you are servicing clients who have different contractual relations with your employer, you must honour those differences. If you are working together on the same assignment you have in addition a professional duty to co—ordinate your efforts and ensure that, despite your different styles, all clients receive as far as possible the same service,

As members of IATG we must honour our Code of Ethics and Principles, and are duty bound to ensure that our colleagues do the same. Any violation of this code should be reported to the Institute’s Committee for corrective action.

We must aim to be as active as possible in IATG affairs, attend meetings, seminars and social functions regularly, and canvass membership to increase our status and negotiating power. You are members of an honoured and respected profession. It is your responsibility to ensure that the highest standards are maintained and that our esteem is fortified. An Association and its Code of Ethics and Principles is only as honourable as its weakest member.

Our power to assist you and to promote our profession is in your hands.