The Professional Guide's Handbook: How to Lead Adventure Travel Trips and Expeditions

by Colby Brokvist

Overview

Professional guides have a lot of skills to learn and perfect to become successful. In the first book of its kind, The Professional Guide’s Handbook covers everything contemporary guides need to know to become successful in their profession. Professional Guide and educator Colby Brokvist covers skills for success, ethical standards, sustainability issues, leadership, and how to utilize all these skills when on the job.   

The Professional Guide’s Handbook offers insight, wisdom, and real-life anecdotes from the author’s own worldwide adventures as an expedition leader. Readers will find a thorough and thoughtful text that looks at everything from leadership skills to the importance of stewardship practices in the outdoor industry. They will develop a better understanding of travelers and their expectations to group management frameworks. It will leave readers empowered, enlightened, and ready to lead their next trip with renewed confidence. Colby Brokvist has more than 20 years of experience in the travel and expedition industry and is a technically competent and accomplished outdoorist. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682753132
Publisher:	Fulcrum Publishing
Publication date:	05/17/2022
Sold by:	INDEPENDENT PUB GROUP - EPUB - EBKS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	359
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Colby Brokvist is a professional guide who leads worldwide expeditions for some of the most acclaimed companies in adventure travel. He was inspired to pursue guiding as a career during a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail in the summer of 2000. Since then, he has led hundreds of adventure travel departures, ranging from backpacking and trekking adventures to mountaineering and rock-climbing trips, sea kayaking and sailing voyages, and wildlife safaris. His expeditions have taken him to destinations as far-flung as Greenland, Antarctica, Africa, and Patagonia, as well as across the United States and Canada. In addition to fieldwork, Colby assumes a variety of managerial, operational, and consulting roles within the adventure travel sphere. His work centers on guide training, guide team management, and itinerary development. He sits on the board of directors for the Polar Tourism Guides Association and is a certified Senior Polar Guide through the same organization. He calls Boulder, Colorado, home.

Table of Contents

Foreword Sam Ham xiii

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xxii

Part I Adventure Travel and Guest Expectations

Chapter 1 Introduction to Adventure Travel 3

Adventure Travel 101 3

Transformational Travel 7

The Value of a Guide 9

The Guide as an Enabler 10

The Guide as an Architect 11

The Guide as a Counselor 12

The Guide as an Interpreter 12

Chapter 2 Guest Expectations 15

Understanding Guest Expectations 17

What Guests Want 17

What Guests Need 19

Meeting Expectations 24

Fundamental Proficiencies 25

Techniques for Meeting Expectations 29

Exceeding Expectations 39

Part II Leadership Strategies and Teamwork

Chapter 3 Leadership 45

Successful Leadership 46

Communication 48

Active Listening 49

Body Language 51

Conveying Purpose and Vision 52

Briefings 55

Leadership Styles 57

Self-Awareness 61

Chapter 4 Expedition Teams 63

Effective Teams 63

Expedition Behavior 66

Psychological Safety 71

Team Formation 74

Chapter 5 Leadership Teams 83

Coguiding 84

Communicating with Your Colleagues 85

Working Relationships 89

How Coguiding Fails 92

Local Operators 96

Special Guests 99

Part III Trip Planning and Operations

Chapter 6 Trip Planning and Logistics 105

Strategic Planning 108

Research and Scouting 111

Itinerary Research 112

Educational Research 113

Planning the Trip Scout 114

Executing the Trip Scout 115

Personal Preparations 118

Trip Planning 120

Trip Preparation 125

Final Preparations 127

Chapter 7 Risk Management 131

Risk Management Planning 132

Risk Assessment 134

Risk Management Strategies 138

Contingency Plans 140

Risk Monitoring and Situational Awareness 144

Culture of Safety 147

Safety Briefings 150

Chapter 8 Decision-Making 155

Intuitive versus Analytical Decision-Making 157

Minor versus Major Decisions 159

Heuristics and Cognitive Biases 160

Heuristics 161

Cognitive Biases 163

Making Good Decisions 165

Decision-Making Models 167

Habits of Good Decision Makers 174

Task Saturation 180

Uncertainty 183

Decision-Making in Groups 191

Groupthink 192

Risky Shift 194

Guest Perceptions of Risk 194

Chapter 9 When Things Go Sideways 199

Challenging Guests 200

Methods for Managing Challenging Guests 200

Challenging Situations 209

Emergencies and Crises 213

Chapter 10 Welcome Gatherings and Trip Orientations 225

Understanding Welcome Gatherings 226

Goals 227

The Guest Experience 231

Planning, Managing, and Facilitating the Event 234

Planning the Event 235

Managing and Facilitating the Event 237

Part IV Interpretation and Responsible Visitation

Chapter 11 Interpretation 241

Thematic Interpretation 243

Creating and Using Themes 244

Storytelling 248

TORE Model 257

Developing a Sense of Place 261

Sense of Place Through Experience 264

Sense of Place Through Social Interactions 267

Chapter 12 Responsible Travel and Sustainability 271

The Power of Tourism 272

Responsible Guiding 276

Visiting Local Communities 278

Exploring the Outdoors 282

Responsible Photography 285

Creating Stewards and Ambassadors 287

Discussing Local Issues 290

Hurdles to Discussion 291

How to Talk About Local Issues 293

Part V The Professional Guide

Chapter 13 Being a Professional Expedition Guide 299

Getting a Foot in the Door 300

You and Your Employer 301

Compensation 304

Self Care 305

Behind the Glamour 307

Conclusion 311

A Summary of Professional Guiding 312

The Overarching Qualities of a Great Guide 313

Ordinary to Extraordinary 315

Reference List 317

Index 325

About the Author 333