Practice English for tour guides and travel staff

Guiding tourists in English is a speaking job from start to finish: welcoming the group, explaining a place in an engaging way, answering unexpected questions, and calmly handling a problem — a late bus, a lost bag, an unhappy guest. Good English turns a tour into a memory people recommend.

Airi plays the tourist so you can rehearse it all. Practice your welcome speech, describe the sights of your city with confidence, answer curious questions on the spot, and role-play the awkward moments. Do it a few times and the words come easily when a real group is looking at you.

A quick example with Airi

I'm a tourist on your tour. So, what's special about this temple?

This temple is build in the ninth century and it is the biggest Buddhist temple in the world.

Small fix: "was built in the ninth century." Wow! Can we go inside?

Yes, but please remove your shoes and cover your shoulders before we enter.

Clear and polite — that's exactly how a good guide gives instructions.

Try a conversation like this, free600 free credits, about 8 minutes of speaking. No card.

A tour guide welcome speech in English, in six parts

The welcome barely changes from one group to the next, so it is the easiest part of a tour to script word for word. Give it six parts, in this order.

Greet the group. "Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Lisbon."
Introduce yourself. "My name is Marta, and I'll be your guide today."
Outline the plan. "The tour takes about three hours. We'll walk through the old town, stop for coffee around eleven, and finish at the castle."
Cover comfort. "It's an easy walk with a few steps, and there are restrooms at our second stop."
Set the rules. "The streets get crowded, so please stay with the group and keep your bags in front of you."
Invite questions, then start. "If you have a question at any time, just ask. Is everyone ready? Let's go."

Tour guide phrases for every moment on the route

Moment	Say
Counting the group	Let me do a quick head count.
Pointing something out	On your left, you'll see the old city wall. Straight ahead is the cathedral. If you look up, you'll notice the clock tower.
A warning	Watch your step here. The stones are slippery when they're wet.
A rule	Photos are fine, but no flash inside, please.
Free time	You have forty minutes of free time. Let's meet back here, by the fountain, at three fifteen.
A change of plan	I'm afraid the tower is closed today because of the wind, so we'll visit the market instead.
Someone is missing	We're still waiting for two people. Let's give them five more minutes.
Ending the tour	That brings us to the end of our tour. Thank you all for joining me.

Say every meeting time two ways, "three fifteen, a quarter past three", because "fifteen" and "fifty" are easy to mix up on a noisy street.

How to describe a sight in English and say dates and numbers out loud

The World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations defines a tourist guide as a person who "guides visitors in the language of their choice and interprets the cultural and natural heritage of an area". Interpreting is more than listing dates, so make three moves at each stop.

Hook. "Can anyone guess how long this bridge took to build?"
Fact, in the passive. "It was designed by a local engineer and completed in 1890." Also: "was built", "was founded", "was destroyed", "was restored".
Story. "According to legend, the architect never crossed it himself."

Years, sizes and rulers' names look easy in your notes and are easy to stumble over out loud.

In your notes	Say
1648	sixteen forty-eight
1905	nineteen oh five
1800	eighteen hundred
2008	two thousand eight, or "two thousand and eight", the usual British form
18th century	the eighteenth century, which means the 1700s
500 BC	five hundred B.C.
Henry VIII	Henry the Eighth
1,200 years old	twelve hundred years old, or one thousand two hundred years old
30 m	thirty meters, or about a hundred feet

Questions tourists ask, and what a good guide answers

Keep the answer short, then bring the group back to the tour.

A guest says	You say
How old is this church?	Good question. I'm not sure of the exact year, and I don't want to guess. Let me check and tell you at the next stop.
Can we skip the museum and go shopping instead?	I'm afraid I can't change the route for the whole group, but you'll have an hour of free time after lunch.
This isn't what the brochure promised.	I'm sorry you're disappointed. Tell me what you were expecting, and I'll see what I can do today.
My husband isn't feeling well.	I'm sorry to hear that. Let's get him into the shade. Does he need water, or should I call a doctor?

Never invent an answer. Someone in the group can look it up in seconds.

Common mistakes in tour guide English, and what to say instead

Instead of	Say	Why
In your left side is the palace.	On your left is the palace.	Say "on your left" or "to your left", never "in".
This town is famous with its cheese.	This town is famous for its cheese.	The thing a place is known for takes "for", not "with".
It was built since 500 years ago.	It was built 500 years ago.	Use "ago" on its own, without "since". "Since" goes with a starting point and "has" or "have": "It has stood here since 1526."
We will back to the bus at four.	We'll go back to the bus at four.	"Back" is not a verb here, so add one: go back, come back, head back.
The sceneries here are beautiful.	The scenery here is beautiful.	"Scenery" is uncountable, so it has no plural.

An eight-minute tour rehearsal with Airi as your tourist

Airi plays the tourist and answers out loud. The free credits cover about eight minutes of speaking, so rehearse one stop, not the whole route.

Set the scene with your own city: "Be a tourist on my walking tour of Lisbon. I'm the guide, and I speak first."
Give your welcome speech, then describe one sight with a hook, a fact and a story. Say the year out loud.
Invite interruptions: "Now ask me three questions a curious tourist would ask, one at a time."
Add a problem: "Now tell me you're tired and want to skip the next stop."
When a small fix appears, say the corrected sentence again, as if to the whole group.

How to get the most from it

Rehearse your top stories

Pick five things you say on every tour and practice them until they sound natural, not memorised.

Practice being asked anything

Ask Airi to be a curious tourist who interrupts with questions.

Handle problems calmly

Role-play a complaint or a delay so you stay polite and clear under pressure.

Start speaking today

Your first 600 credits are free — no credit card. Sign in and have your first conversation with Airi.

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Frequently asked questions

Can Airi play different tourists?

Yes. Ask for a curious tourist, an impatient one, a worried one, or a family with kids, and she will play that part. Each one makes you practice a different kind of English.

How do I introduce myself as a tour guide in English?

Use three short sentences: a greeting, your name and role, and one detail that makes guests trust you. For example: "Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Lisbon. My name is Marta, and I'll be your guide today. I grew up here, and I've been guiding for six years, so ask me anything."

How do I end a tour in English?

Signal the end, thank the group, and offer one last piece of help: "That brings us to the end of our tour. Thank you all for joining me today. If you'd like a recommendation for dinner, come and ask me. Enjoy the rest of your stay!"

Should I say "tour guide" or "tourist guide"?

Guests will understand both. The World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations calls "tour guide" an informal label and uses "tourist guide" for a professional who interprets the heritage of an area and normally holds an area-specific qualification. It uses "tour manager" for the person who manages the itinerary on behalf of a tour operator.

Is it good for hotel and travel agency staff too?

Yes. Tell Airi the scene, for example a traveler booking a day trip or a guest asking for directions at the front desk, and she plays the customer. The same polite requests, clear instructions and calm apologies carry over.

Is it free to try?

Yes. You get 600 free credits when you sign up with Google, about eight minutes of speaking, with no credit card. That is enough to rehearse a welcome speech and one stop. After that there are one-off credit packs from USD 5, with no subscription.

Last updated: 2026-10-03