Tourism

Start with who needs tours and visitor experiences and why. Around visitors, hotels and cruise lines drive demand in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.

• List 10 offers or suppliers in the UAE with price per guest in AED and who buys.
• Interview 5 people from visitors, hotels and cruise lines: what do they buy now, how often, what do they pay, what annoys them?
• Learn three terms: Itinerary timing (the minute-by-minute plan of a tour); Capacity (the safe number of guests per tour); Shoulder season (the weeks between peak and low season).
• Write a one-page brief: user, need, hoped-for price, and the rule that matters most.

Activity. Complete the market table, five interview notes and the brief.

Standard to meet. Price ten offers, interview five users, and state one need in one sentence.

Know the rule before the work. Main hazards here: heat illness and unsafe activity. Hazard thinking means list each step, ask what could go wrong, and decide the control.

• Ask your local authority or free zone which licence, permit or inspection applies. Write the answer and the date you asked.
• For each step (design the experience; brief the guide; run the tour; collect feedback) write the hazard and the control.
• Use a hierarchy: remove the hazard, replace it, separate people from it, change the way of work, then protective equipment last.
• Keep a one-page incident rule: who you call, what you stop, what you record.

Activity. Draw the flow and mark hazard and control at each step.

Standard to meet. Name a hazard and a control for every step, and answer the licence question in writing.

The work is a short chain: design the experience, brief the guide, run the tour, collect feedback. Learn each link, then link them with records.

• Write a checklist for each of the 4 steps: input, action, check, output.
• Time each step three times and note the slowest.
• Record a defect or delay each time it happens: what, where, cause, fix.
• Measure guests rating 4 or 5 out of 5; this is your main number.

Activity. Run the chain three times (simulated or real) and fill the log.

Standard to meet. Complete three logs, and give the slowest step a cause and a fix.

What you do not measure you cannot improve. Your main measure is guests rating 4 or 5 out of 5.

• Define guests rating 4 or 5 out of 5: what counts, what does not, and over what period.
• Draw a simple chart of the last 10 results and mark the average.
• Find the top two causes of loss with a tally sheet, then fix the biggest one first.
• Check measuring tools: are they accurate, clean and in date?

Activity. Collect a tally for one week and make a Pareto chart.

Standard to meet. Complete the tally, name the biggest cause, and plan one fix with a date.

Know the cost of one guest before you set the price. Include materials, labour, energy, transport, licence share, waste and a safety margin.

• Cost per guest = total cost divided by guests sold (not made).
• Margin = (price minus cost) divided by price.
• Break-even units = fixed costs divided by gain per unit.
• Test the price with two users and write down the answer.

Activity. Build the cost sheet with AED on every line and have your mentor check it.

Standard to meet. Check that no cost is missing, and calculate the margin twice by different routes.

Customers return when you keep promises. Promise only what your workflow can deliver.

• Write a one-page offer: what is included, what is not, price, time, how you fix mistakes.
• Write a short script for the first call or visit.
• Agree dates in writing; confirm each change.
• Handle a complaint in four steps: listen, apologise for the impact, fix, record what changed.

Activity. Present the offer to two users and note changes.

Standard to meet. Write an offer with scope, price, time and a fix rule, and collect comments from two users.

Small, real and recorded. Change one thing at a time and learn quickly.

• Keep a daily log: date, units, cost, delays, defects, safety notes.
• Hold a 15-minute review each week with your mentor.
• Write down every complaint and what you changed.
• Take photos only where allowed and never of people without consent.

Activity. Complete 30 days of the log and four weekly reviews.

Standard to meet. Log 30 days, give each defect a cause, and keep weekly notes.

A decision beats a feeling. Compare plan with result and choose to scale, change or stop.

• Make a before and after table: cost per unit, defects, delays, repeat users.
• Write three lessons.
• Decide scale, change or stop, with the numbers behind it.
• Give two peers one strength and one fix each.

Activity. Present to a review room and collect one written comment from a user.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers, and give two peer reviews.

A tour balances story, pace, comfort and safety.

• Plan timing with breaks and shade.
• Set capacity and guide ratios.
• Brief on water, sun and local etiquette.
• Prepare a wet or hot weather plan.

Activity. Plan a half-day tour with a safety brief.

Standard to meet. Set timings, capacity and a weather plan.

Guests rate quickly. Ask well and act on it.

• Ask three short questions after the tour.
• Track average rating and top complaint.
• Test a price change with a small group.
• Thank guests and invite them back.

Activity. Collect 10 feedback forms and summarise.

Standard to meet. Name the top issue and fix.

A guide is responsible for guests' safety and for the place being visited. Both need a plan made before the trip.

• Carry a first-aid kit, a list of guest health notes with consent, and emergency numbers on every trip.
• Brief guests before moving off: heat, water, sun, safe distances from animals and cliffs.
• In a medical event, call for help first, then give only the first aid you are trained for.
• Protect the site: take rubbish out, keep to paths, respect local customs and dress rules.

Activity. Draw up an emergency card and a 5-point guest briefing for one trip.

Standard to meet. Calculate the numbers correctly; keep the briefing under 3 minutes; check off water and first-aid items.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Parts of a tour

Notes: Name itinerary timing, capacity and shoulder season and say what each does. Notes: use a desert or city tour for visitors and ask learners to mark the start and end times.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Heat and activity safety

Notes: Describe the hazards of heat illness and unsafe activity and why summer needs indoor or evening options. Notes: show one safe and one unsafe tour plan; learners mark the water breaks and the limit on guests.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Brief a guide for one stop

Notes: Write a one-stop brief with a timed itinerary and a capacity limit and give it to a competent supervisor for approval. Notes: check water, shade and a safe number of guests are written down.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Run a 30-day tour pilot

Notes: Design, brief, run and review tours for a real or simulated group and report guests rating 4 or 5 out of 5. Notes: price at AED 260 per guest against AED 160 cost, a gain of AED 100 or 38.5 per cent; write down every complaint.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Compare tours and decide

Notes: Compare two tours by guest rating and gain per guest and decide to scale, change or stop. Notes: a tour that cannot hold the safe capacity at the planned price is changed first.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Coach tour guides

Notes: Set briefing, heat and capacity rules and a weekly review for a small team of guides. Notes: sample five tour records and feedback forms against the plan.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design the experience system

Notes: Design a tourism system with seasonal plans, safety audits and a 12-month plan. Notes: at 300 guests a month and AED 100 gain each, gross gain is AED 30,000; present one risk, one saving and the plan.