Tour Bus Driver Certificate

Program Fee: Special pricing (Contact us for details)

Program Duration: 3 weeks

*Registration is FREE. Our advisors are available to address your questions. Price quoted are in Canadian funds, per person, per registration, and does not include any applicable taxes. Subject to change without prior notice.

Course Description

A tour bus driver is an individual in an front-line position who leads visitors (individuals or groups) on tours while driving a tour vehicle such as a bus. The tour bus driver ensures that itineraries are followed, provides commentary in an informative and entertaining manner, and creates positive and safe travel experiences for tour participants.

Course Details

Learning Objectives

Core Competency 1: Tourism Awareness

Introduction to Tourism and the Role of the Guide
Students are introduced to the tourism industry with a focus on the unique role tour bus drivers play in BC. Consideration is given to concepts and vocabulary common in the tourism sector, key players within the industry and the role of technology and social media. Students learn about the importance of promoting their brand and encouraging secondary spending through links and up-selling

Ecotourism Principles and Minimising Impact
Ecotourism focuses on uniting conservation, communities and sustainable travel. In this unit, students focus on strategies to conduct activities with minimal impact on the areas being visited.

Understanding Visitors and Managing Expectations
In this unit, students identify the attractions in their target work areas and learn what the areas have to offer visitors. Students learn who visitors to the area are and what visitors may need and expect from their visit.

Core Competency 2: Leadership in the Tourism Industry

Interpretive Communication
Students learn how to act as ambassadors for their attractions and local areas and how to use destination knowledge to provide information and advice in an inspiring way. Students learn about the role of communication, the importance of communication, verbal and non-verbal communication, active listening and how to answer questions.

Leadership and Group Management
Students learn about strategies for managing queues, overcoming accessibility issues for people with disabilities and effectively addressing visitor challenges.

Communicating Across Cultures
Students develop strategies for communicating effectively with people from different cultures and with different language levels.

Core Competency 3: Customer Service & Sales

Customer Service
Students learn about service excellence and the role tour guides play in contributing to a great visitor experience. Students learn to identify potentially challenging situations and how to manage visitor dissatisfaction or complaints.

Sales
Students learn to recognize and use opportunities to add value for visitors through effective sales techniques. Students learn the basics of cross-selling and up-selling and identify opportunities for secondary spending.

Upon successful completion of the program, students receive a Tour Bus Driver certificate.

Admission

Minimum Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 or equivalent

Program Prerequisites

Minimum age: 19 (minimum age allowed to operate a commercial vehicle)
Must have held an unrestricted Class 5 license for minimum of 2 years and have a clean driving record