Knowledge

How Tour Guides Divorce Tourists

Unique excursions

If you go on a trip on a tour, then the day after you check in you will certainly have an appointment with a guide. It’s no secret that his earnings directly depend on how many excursions he sells. Needless to say, that the prices will almost certainly be inflated. Take your time, look around, talk to other guests, and most likely you can find excursions much cheaper, not in the hotel, but in the city.

Shopping

Buying an excursion program at any travel agency, on the way to the pyramids / waterfalls / caves you are likely to stop at the textile / jewelry / carpet factory, where sellers will offer you great discounts – as for their people. But you should realize that the prices of such products will almost certainly be inflated, and part of the proceeds the owner of the factory will certainly give the tour guide.

 

Tipping

Some guides are particularly insistent that tourists leave a tip after the tour. No matter how interesting the program is, the extra gratuity of the guide is your own business. Remember that and do not let yourself be manipulated.

Currency exchange

Sometimes it happens that tourists don’t have enough local currency to buy anything during the tour. A smart guide will always come to your aid and exchange your Euros/Dollars into the local Tugriks adding a few percent of his own commission to the official exchange rate. Do not fall for such a trick. In popular tourist spots you can almost always pay in foreign currency.

 

Lunch

During long excursions careful guide will take you to a wonderful local restaurant. Tempted by his stories, you can not deny yourself a meal in the proposed place. Except that the institution, as a rule, will be quite simple, and the prices in it – as in a Michelin restaurant. That’s how guides earn their money – part of the proceeds go directly into their pockets, so they have a vested interest in ensuring that tourists want to eat at the restaurant of their choice.