This document provides a historical overview of tour guiding from ancient times to the modern era. It describes how tour guiding evolved from guides in ancient empires known as "periegetai" or "exegetai" who helped travelers, to specialized guides during the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Grand Tour who ensured safety and educated travelers. It also discusses how Thomas Cook established the modern tourist industry in the 1800s and standardized tour operations, and how guide training developed in Europe to professionalize the industry.

1. HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND OF
TOUR GUIDING
By: MNS/AAJ

2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF TOUR GUIDING
• Tour Guiding is one of the world's oldest
profession, it began evolutionarily and not
revolutionarily from the Ancient Empire, the Middle
Ages, the Renaissance and the Grand Tour with the
modern tour guide.

3. • The Ancient Empire travel developed
from 3000 BC to 500 A.D.
• Guides are named “periegetai”
(leaders around) or exegetai
(explainer) in the Greek language.
The tasks of “Proxemos” were to help
fellow people travel abroad.
Tour Guiding in the Ancient Empire

4.  Herodotus “The first travel
writer”
 was able to provide numerous
references to guides. Negative in
particular of guides who were inclined
to recite wit great opportunity, dates,
dialogues and other information
about who lived hundreds of years
ago.

5. Tour Guiding in the Middle Ages
• The period between Rome's fall and the Renaissance is
known as the Dark Ages (500 A.D. and 1508 A.D.).
• Rome's fall has led to a decline in trade and the economy
in general and a decline in travel desire.
• Guides positions are pathfinders, protectors, security
escorts and even bridges during this era are stressed to
ensure safe passage.
• A guide was paid a large fee, according to Casson, a
historian, because he not only led the way but also created
safe behavior for the travelers.

6. Tour Guiding in the Renaissance and Grand Tour
• Tour Guiding during the Renaissance and the tour
guide's Grand Tour image was greatly enhanced
during the Renaissance.
• It was during this period that the Grand Tour, a
prescribed route from England through France,
Germany, Australia, Switzerland to Italy, was
traveled by young men of the upper classes from
Britain.

7. • Grand Tourist was expected to return from his travel with a broadened
mind, a good command of foreign languages, self-reliance, a highly dev. taste
and graceful manner.
• Cicerone was expected to be articulate, multi-lingual and well-versed in
many subjects including history, literature, architecture and current events.
• Vicesimus Knox (an expert on education) – the ideal tutor was a grave,
respectable man of mature age who would watch over the morals and religion
of his pupil.

8. • For this reason they hired a vetturino a driver of the Italian for four-
wheeled carriages called veturra, was able to find things with highway
robbers to ensure the safe conduct of the tourist.
• Francis Bacon is a British writer remarked on the need for a personal
guide/courier when traveling specially one who was a linguist and who
knows the right people to meet and the proper things.

9. Tour guiding in the Modern Age
• During the 18th and 19th century travelers to and within the New World
were explorers rather than pleasure travelers.
• The first travelers were ordinary often indigent explorers who traveled a lot
to find a new way of life.
• Charles Dickens, Francis Trollope, and Alexis de Tocqueville (The 3 well
known European writers who visited the New World in the 19th century)
traveled widely and wrote comprehensive accounts of their travels but rarely
mentioned guides.

10. The Tour Guide in Europe
• No evidence exist of organized training for guides before the 12th century
other than the company training given by the Thomas Cook Travel Agency.
• England was on of the 1st countries to regulate and train guides.
• The competitive, aggressive approach by tour guides towards visitors and
with each other prompted the London Country Council and the Regent
Street Polytechnic to open a training course for guides in 1936 to 1939.
• European guides have been widely regarded as having the most advance
training and the highest guiding standards in the world.

11. FOUNDED THE MODERN TOURIST
INDUSTRY - THOMAS COOK
• Thomas Cook ( Nov. 22,1808 - July 18, 1892)
of Melbourne Derbyshire,
England founded the travel agency.
• Thomas Cook & Son (popularly nicknamed
Cook’s Tours) that became Thomas Cook AG
before eventually becoming Thomas Cook
Group in 2007.

12. THOMAS COOK EXCURSIONS PANELS

13. • In 1805 he offfered the Grand
Circular Tours of Europe
• In 1866, he introduced the Hotel
Coupon.
• From 1847 to 1922 , Thomas Cook &
Sons published Tourists handbooks
for the differenct countries of
Europe.

14. • Israel guides is the world’s best trained, most highly respected and best
paid guides.
• After the 2nd World War the London Country Council reestablished its
guide training program at Regent Street Polytechnic in 1949 and the
“Approved Guides” which accredited guides with a badge and certificate.
• Guiding training and regulation in most European countries served as
model for the world where, until recently, few advancement in the
professional status have been achieved.

15. THANK YOU!!!
By: MNS/AAJ