International Guides Conference. Urban Adventures Team in Krakow.
We live in a world where the wide variety can make our lives way more difficult. How often do you stand in front of a store shelf trying to figure out which item to purchase? This choice can really affect your life. For instance, a good tour company will make your trip absolutely unforgettable even if the weather was suboptimal. The question is how to find a company like that. Urban Adventures International Guides Conference provides the answer to this question and even something more.
Trip to Krakow
We in ExploRussia believe that in order to create the best experience for tourists, it is necessary to keep learning and improving. There is always room for professional development. This year we went to an international guide conference organized in Krakow by Urban Adventures for this purpose. NB! ExploRussia is operating Day Tours under Moscow Urban Adventures global brand.
It was a very productive week with over 100 tour guides from different cities and continents. For most of us, the conference was a great chance to meet colleagues from other countries and feel the international spirit of the global team. At the end of the day, we all have the same mission – to create the best day ever for our guests.
Guides conference experience exchange
“What a wave of energy, different questions, experiences and expertise coming together. I was blown away with motivation and with this feeling which we call in our network Togetherness. Just loved it!” Ruslan, ExploRussia Co-founder
It started with the workshop session for ExploRussia guides and managers, where we worked on specific skills. It may seem like being a tour guide is mostly about historical knowledge. But in reality a guide must also be a good communicator and have good interpersonal skills .
“The best part, for me, personally was the training session preceding the conference. Here I had a chance to practice public speaking and improve presentation skills which is essential for any good guide” Maria, Moscow local guide
Photo is made by David Vuit https://www.facebook.com/davidvuit/
On the third day, we entered a huge room full of guides also looking to get inspired.. The space was full of enthusiasm, good energy, friendly atmosphere and, togetherness. It was a great opportunity to learn about some guiding aspects, and how to create ‘wow moments’ for the most unforgettable journey.
Guides about the conference
Yulia, Moscow local guide “Seeing all these charismatic and talented people makes you want to become one like them. It is really crucial and valuable to understand that you are on the right path. You do what you are meant to do. Events like this big conference can definitely help with that.”
“I was right, this conference gave me a new angle of view to Urban Adventures and made me confident that I made a right choice to decide to be a guide earlier this year.” Olga, Moscow local guide.
The final day was celebrated with a party where a guide of the year was announced. Yes, there is such an award in the guiding world and hopefully one day a winner will be from Russia. This year two of our tour guides, Polina Koshleva and Tanya Neyman, were the nominees. It is certainly a very tough decision to pick only one tour guide when there are so many professional and outstanding people. Moscow team proved that each of us is a special person with incredible tour guiding skills. Some of our colleagues from other countries even realized that Russia is a place to visit.
“The Moscow team was so warm and outgoing. During the conference, the Moscow team was gracious enough to bring some treats from their home city. I had to try them all, they alone were worth going to Moscow for.” Shawn, US
Photo is made by David Vuit https://www.facebook.com/davidvuit/
“Moscow people were easy going and opened to conversations. They seemed to be a great team and just good friends to each other. All the participants were very professional and skilled.” Anastasia, Germany
“Such a wonderful time with great people from Moscow Team! Being honest, their positive attitude to our training exceeded my expectations. Working with so engaged, hardworking, open and smart people is pure pleasure for any trainer. I wish every tourist had a guide with such professional attitude to their job and so kind simultaneously. Keep up with good work, never stop to develop and enjoy your job! You are already walking on “The Art of Guiding” Mateusz, Poland
For our team it was a great time to bond with each other and discuss future plans, what we can bring home from the conference, how could we refresh the existing tours and create new ones. Definitely, for our team, it was the trip of the year! With all the new ideas and knowledge, we expect the upcoming year to be absolutely fantastic!
This text was written by our local guide Tanya Neyman. Tanya is passionate about Moscow! Tour the city with her during your travel to Moscow.