Tour Guides and Escorts
Hospitality and TourismO*NET 39-7011.00United States
Escort individuals or groups on sightseeing tours or through places of interest, such as industrial establishments, public buildings, and art galleries.
- Median annual earnings
- $38,463
- Projected change
- +11.7%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 67.35K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
31.7% of the workforce
Growing to 75.23K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What tour guides and escorts do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Describe tour points of interest to group members, and respond to questions.
- Escort individuals or groups on cruises, sightseeing tours, or through places of interest, such as industrial establishments, public buildings, or art galleries.
- Monitor visitors' activities to ensure compliance with establishment or tour regulations and safety practices.
- Conduct educational activities for school children.
- Research various topics, including site history, environmental conditions, and clients' skills and abilities to plan appropriate expeditions, instruction, and commentary.
- Provide directions and other pertinent information to visitors.
- Select travel routes and sites to be visited based on knowledge of specific areas.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $25,582
- 25th percentile
- $30,950
- 50th percentile
- $38,463
- 75th percentile
- $50,602
- 90th percentile
- $75,818
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $38,463 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+11.7%faster than average
202567,347 jobs
2035 projected75,228 jobs
7,881 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 31.7%
- Associate degree
- 31%
- High school diploma or less
- 25.9%
- Certificate
- 7.7%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 2.1%
- Some college
- 1.5%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Tour Guides2,052 postings
- 02Drivers/Tour Guides174 postings
- 03Lead Tour Guides117 postings
- 04Kayak Guides87 postings
- 05Tour Ambassadors82 postings
- 06Zipline Guides43 postings
- 07Museum Guides39 postings
- 08Museum Educators33 postings
- 09Student Tour Guides30 postings
- 10Tour Guide Managers28 postings
- 11Guides18 postings
- 12Museum Docents17 postings
- 13VIP Tour Guides17 postings
- 14Adventure Guides16 postings
- 15Park Ambassadors16 postings
- 16Tour Guides/Office Assistants14 postings
- 17Campus Tour Guides13 postings
- 18Escorts13 postings
- 19Admissions Assistants and Tour Guide11 postings
- 20Museum Ambassadors11 postings
Top employers
- 01Us Ghost Adventures441 postings
- 02Secret Food Tours61 postings
- 03Ghost City Tours50 postings
- 04Travel & Leisure Group Ltd47 postings
- 05Underground Donut Tour22 postings
- 06Cedar Point21 postings
- 07Historic Tours Of America20 postings
- 08E&J Gallo Winery18 postings
- 09Guest Services17 postings
- 10Guydeez17 postings
- 11Hilton Grand Vacations17 postings
- 12Delaware North16 postings
- 13Walking Tours15 postings
- 14Legends Global14 postings
- 15Molson Coors13 postings
- 16New York Power Authority12 postings
- 17Kualoa Ranch11 postings
- 18Omni Hotels & Resorts11 postings
- 19Pintours11 postings
- 20Unlimited Biking San Francisco11 postings
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