If you’ve ever travelled overseas in a tour group, there’s always a… tour guide.
You might be wondering why I’m writing an article on becoming a local tour guide, that’s because…
I found out that you can be a part-time tourist guide and earn S$1,520 a month!
But, you will have to go through the hurdle of completing a five to seven-month course.
Believe it or not, for those who’ve gone through the ‘Ordinary Level’ examinations, if you’ve got a B4 for English and/or Chinese, you will qualify for this course.
Now that you’re quite drawn to this idea, let’s find out more!
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TL;DR: How to Be a Tour Guide in Singapore & Obtain a Tourist Guide License
Skip here:
- What does a tour guide do?
- How much does a tour guide make in Singapore?
- How many hours do tour guides work?
- What qualifications does a tour guide need?
Being a Tourist Guide in Singapore
Tourist guides or tour guides are professionals in the hospitality and travel sectors who show tourists around interesting locations.
Tourist guides can take groups or individuals on excursions outside as well as through historical sites, museums, and other locations.
They typically have pertinent cultural, historical, and practical information that they may impart to travellers.
In order to give visitors a memorable experience, businesses and organisations frequently employ guides, these individuals may be exceptionally knowledgeable and skilled in the locations, culture, or leisure activity of their choice.
For those who aren’t aware, you need to have a license to conduct paid tours for tourists in Singapore.
What Does a Tour Guide Do?
Depending on the type of tour guide they are, they are responsible for a variety of services.
While factors such as group size, mode of transportation, age, and length of the trip can vary, tour guides are normally charged with providing entertainment, responding to inquiries, and disseminating pertinent information to the groups or persons they are escorting.
Moreover, sometimes it may be necessary for some tour guides to be bilingual in order to clarify texts, engage with locals, and deal with a variety of consumers.
Some tours also call for the guides to make bookings, buy tickets, and work under time limits. It may be crucial for them to schedule trips in advance so they can anticipate any problems or specific needs.
So, you should be well-versed in information such as knowing where to get the cheapest tourist SIM card or travel data, how to take public transport in Singapore, and which ride-hailing service to use.
Types of Tour Guides
If you think that being a tour guide is just bringing tourists around, you’re wrong.
Let’s take a look at some common tour guide types.
- Historical Guide: Bring tourists to historical landmarks and points of interest such as ruins, temples, battlefields and other sites of historical importance
- Adventure Guide: Bring tourists on excursions that might otherwise be out of reach for them. The guides are required to have relevant facts, information and navigation skills to lead the tourists. For example, climbing rafts, crossing rivers, hiking or trail riding
- Museum Guide: Museum guides offers background information on exhibits, works of artefacts and artists to museum-goers
- Nature Guide: Bring tourists to outdoor points of interest that are less extreme than those of adventure tours, but will require some form of hiking and walking focusing on subjects such as geology, ecology and ornithology
- City Guide: Bring tourists on a tour of a city using bikes, buses, rickshaws, cars or on foot. These guides will point out cultural and historical sites, famous eateries and architectural points of interest and at times, bring them on a cultural immersion
- Park Guide: These guides bring tourists to theme parks, zoos, and national parks and point out noteworthy attractions for their guests.
Specifically in Singapore, because we are really small, you tend to see more historical, museum, nature and city tour guides.
How Much Does a Tour Guide Earn?
You should know by now that as much as Singaporeans love to travel, our little red dot in itself is a global tourist hotspot.
Make a trip down Fullerton Boulevard during a normal weekend, and you will be surprised to see the number of tourists camping for a photo with the Merlion.
In fact, the tourism sector currently contributes 4 per cent to Singaporeās Gross Domestic Product – impressive uh?
Now, with so many tourists in Singapore, you will also expect to have more tour guides to bring our foreign guests around the island.
You might be wondering how much a tour guide makes?
A lookup on Salary Expert showed that the average annual base salary of a full-time local tour guide is S$31,553, equivalent to S$15.17 per hour.
An entry-level tourist guide (1-3 years of experience) earns an average salary of S$24,585, while a senior-level tourist guide (8+ years of experience) earns an average salary of S$37,410.
As a part-time tourist guide, your salary will depend on the number of tours you conduct.
Based on TripAdvisor, a half-day tour with a private chauffeur starts from S$380, while some top-rated guides can charge you USD390 (S$553) for a four-hour tour.
Charges will also vary based on the:
- Experience of the tour guide
- Level of commentary required (for example, a museum tour vs a walking tour)
- Your tour agency (if any).
Just for context, assuming you can consistently conduct a half-day tour at S$380 every Saturday, you will earn an extra S$1,520 per month!
That’s not too bad for a side hustle, right?
Do note that only STB can issue a tourist guide or travel agent license. Similarly, for anyone who wants to sell or supply tours with conveyance (ie transport), a travel agent license is required.
How Many Hours Do Tour Guides Work?
The number of hours depends on the job.
While part-time work is possible and seasonal work is very common, especially during holidays.
During the tourist season, you can expect to spend 40 to 50 hours a week or more.
If you’re focusing on tours around historic structures, you could possibly follow regular hours as these historical sites will close at a certain time. Do expect more weekends and evenings though.
How To Get a Tourist Guide License in Singapore
First and foremost, anyone who wants to be a Singapore Tourism Board (STB) certified tour guide has to go through the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSG) Tour Guide Course to obtain a Tourist Guide License.
Before you apply for these courses, there are some entry requirements you have to fulfill and they are:
| Language | Entry Requirements | Qualifications |
|---|---|---|
| English | i) GCE 'O' Level Certificate with a minimum Grade B4 in English; or ii) WSQ Workplace Proficiency Literacy Level 6 in the English language |
|
| Chinese | i) GCE 'O' Level Higher Chinese / Chinese as the first language (min. Grade C6); or ii) GCE 'O' Level Chinese as a second language (Min. Grade B4); or iii) WSQ Business Test Level 4 in the Chinese language; AND ā iv) Primary 6 pass or WSQ Workplace Proficiency Literacy Level 3 in the English language |
|
| Other Languages | i) Have a high standard of proficiency in the guiding language; AND ii) Primary 6 pass or WSQ Workplace Proficiency Literacy Level 3 in the English language |
These courses are provided by SkillsFuture-approved training centers and they are:
- Singapore Chinese Chamber Institute of Business (SCCIOB)
- āāTourism Management Institute of Singapore (TMIS)
- William Angliss Institute Pte Ltd (WAI)
To be a qualified Singapore tour guide, you will have to pass all the relevant assessments conducted by these training providers BEFORE you can apply for a Tourist Guide Licence with STB, which costs $72 and the license validity is three years.
While the license application costs just $72, you will need to fork out course fees of around $2,980.
Thankfully, Singapore Citizens are able to use their SkillsFuture credits for these courses. Lucky for you, we have previously written a guide on how to choose SkillsFuture courses and how to make use of these credits.
For those who are curious about what the process is like, you will attain a WSQ Statement of Attainment after you’ve completed each course and passed the assessment.
Of the three training providers, William Angliss Institute Pte Ltd (WAI) is the only training centre which requires you to go through six courses.
This is a brief look at each provider’s course fees and outline:
| Singapore Chinese Chamber Institute of Business (SCCIOB) | Tourism Management Institute of Singapore (TMIS) | William Angliss Institute Pte Ltd (WAI) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course Duration | 5 months (Full-time) or 7 months (Part-time) | 5 months (Full-time) or 7 months (Part-time) | 4 months (Full-time) or 7 months (Part-time) |
| Mode | Group discussions, presentations and case studies | E-learning - 50 hrs Applied Learning - 182 hrs Assessment - 14 hrs Trainer-Student Ratio - 1:20 |
|
| English | Create Customer Experience (22 hours): TGS-2022014157 Tourist Guide Operations (115 hours): TGS-2021009192 Tour Leading Operations (107.5 hours): TGS-2021009614 | Create Customer Experience (22 hours) EL: TGS ā 2018505078 CL: TGS ā 2020505680 Tourist Guides (102.75 hours) EL: NC/NAP (TGS ā 2020504025) CL: NC / NAP (TGS ā 2020505681) Conduct Tour (108.5 hours) EL: TGS ā 2020504029 CL: TGS ā 2020505683 | Promote Singapore as a Tourist Destination & Apply Tourism Knowledge (2 units) Write Tour Commentary (1 unit) Conduct Tour (1 unit) Create Customer Experience (1 unit) Handle Arrival and Departure of Visitors (1 unit) Note: There is a 2 hour (nominal) assessment for each unit |
| Chinese | |||
| Attendance & Certification | Maintain at least 75% attendance in all courses and pass the end-of-course assessment to receive 3 WSQ Statement of Attainments before you apply for the license | Maintain at least 75% attendance in all courses and pass the end-of-course assessment within 2 attempts, to receive 3 WSQ Statement of Attainments before you apply for the license | Maintain at least 90% attendance in all courses and pass the end-of-course assessment to receive 6 WSQ Statement of Attainments before you apply for the license |
| Application Fee including GST (non-refundable) | $139.10 | $160.50 | Unavailable |
| Fees Before SkillsFuture Deduction | $5,992 | $5,597.97 | $6,610.46 |
| Nett Cost Fees | Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident 21 and above: $3,192 Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident 40 and above OR SME sponsored: $2,072 | Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident 21 and above: $2,982.09 Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident 40 and above: $1,935.74 | Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident: Up to 70% funding For Singapore Citizens aged 35 years old and above and earn a monthly income of not more than $2,000, under the Workfare Training Support (WTS) Scheme: 95% SkillsFuture Funding For Singapore Citizens aged 40 years old and above, under the Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy (MCES): 90% SkillsFuture Funding |
Do note that the exams can be challenging,Ā andĀ inĀ orderĀ toĀ pass, youĀ mustĀ notĀ onlyĀ beĀ knowledgeableĀ aboutĀ Singapore’sĀ historyĀ andĀ legacyĀ butĀ alsoĀ haveĀ effectiveĀ publicĀ speakingĀ andĀ tour-guidingĀ abilities.
Would You Be a Local Tour Guide?
As we transition into a post-pandemic era, tourism has returned and we’re seeing an uptick in the growing tourism industry in Singapore.
In a tour guide position, youāll have the opportunity to satisfy your adventure cravings daily. This is especially so if you’re a people person.
Similarly, when you’re leading tours, you’ll be given the chance to explore places where you would not have gone on your own or skip any entrance fee since it’s usually covered as part of the tour.
But of course, alongside these qualities, you will need to have a passion for serving your guests – if you spot a rare bird on a walking trail, you need to point it out to your guests instead of chasing it down to snap a photo.
What are your thoughts? Share them with us in the Seedly Community!
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