Being a tour guide in Niagara during the winter months lacks the sort of 'fly by the seat of your pants' frenzy that it generates in the busy months. Winter Festival of Lights Tours and Private Tours are great fun and certainly break up the monotony of the slower Niagara tourism season. For someone who is used to talking non-stop for months in a row, the pace can be quite an adjustment. One day you have 40 attentive adults intent of hearing everything you have to share with them about Niagara Falls. The next day you can't even persuade your teenager to pick up his towel off the bathroom floor. But hey, I have no reason to complain.
UPDATE: Niagara Ghost Walks now runs through the winter
My father often reminded us to be grateful, especially at the dinner table. "Eat all your food", he would say. Then he would remind us, "There are starving people over in France, you know". I had time to reflect on that concept this week. While researching for an article I was writing on Bukisa, Some Of The Most Dangerous Countries To Visit, I was struck with a sense of gratitude and appreciation for how fortunate I was to be a Niagara Tour Guide as opposed to........let's say............a Somalian tour guide. Undoubtedly their phones aren't ringing off the hook. The Somalian Cruise Ship industry is a hard sell as well, no doubt due to the exorbitant fees they are demanding. ATM's are non existent so tourists are encouraged to carry plenty of cash. I spent quite some time on google, searching for a link to a Somalian tour company or private tour guide that I could 'talk shop' with. Finally, I concluded that it was a waste of bandwidth and I'd move it over to my 'bucket list'.
Moving on, I decided to see what was hot in the Afghanistan tourism industry. Success! Turns out that a group of laid off Afghans translators and security aides put their heads together to come up with an unserviced market. Apparently they saw some real undeveloped potential in Adventure Travel in Afghanistan. Their tour company, The Great Game Travel Company, offers a 4-day getaway that they describe as the perfect weekend getaway; a 12 day adventure package that offers a 'breathtaking tour that allows you to see the best of Norther Afghanistan; and a deluxe 16 tour that is promised to be a legendary journey. They also offer tailor-made itinerary to feet the individual traveller. Their Vision on the About Us page on their website indicates that they seek to give their customers the trip of a lifetime. The website's 'Why Afghanistan?' page was so compelling that I wouldn't be surprised if they have already set their sites on the next Olympic Games bid. They've even received some free publicity in the form of a top notch article in Time.Com that is well worth the read at Afghanistan's Very Careful Tour Guides. With only a few thousands tourist types in the entire world choosing Afghanistan for their holiday destination, I doubt they spent too much time on the Market Viability portion of their business plan but you've got to give them credit for persisting through the dry times. I tried to invite them to be my friend on Facebook but I couldn't find them. I'll work on that.
Finally, I came across another 'start-up- tour company in Iraq. According to their website, Babel Tours, they are the first Tour Operators in Iraq. Their invitation to Tour Operators to be the first in our countries to program Iraq vacations caught my eye. I filled out the information request form and received a confirmation thanking me for my 'demand' and promising to get back to me within three 'working days', however long that is.
As a Niagara Tour Guide, it's important to be resourceful in the slower winter months. Who knows? Maybe we can work something out. Or maybe I'll carve my own niche by starting up my own little gig in Somalia. Now that would really put the DiverCity in Divercities Tours. In the meantime, please visit DiverCities Services to see what we currently have to offer.
UPDATE: Niagara Ghost Walks now runs through the winter
My father often reminded us to be grateful, especially at the dinner table. "Eat all your food", he would say. Then he would remind us, "There are starving people over in France, you know". I had time to reflect on that concept this week. While researching for an article I was writing on Bukisa, Some Of The Most Dangerous Countries To Visit, I was struck with a sense of gratitude and appreciation for how fortunate I was to be a Niagara Tour Guide as opposed to........let's say............a Somalian tour guide. Undoubtedly their phones aren't ringing off the hook. The Somalian Cruise Ship industry is a hard sell as well, no doubt due to the exorbitant fees they are demanding. ATM's are non existent so tourists are encouraged to carry plenty of cash. I spent quite some time on google, searching for a link to a Somalian tour company or private tour guide that I could 'talk shop' with. Finally, I concluded that it was a waste of bandwidth and I'd move it over to my 'bucket list'.
Moving on, I decided to see what was hot in the Afghanistan tourism industry. Success! Turns out that a group of laid off Afghans translators and security aides put their heads together to come up with an unserviced market. Apparently they saw some real undeveloped potential in Adventure Travel in Afghanistan. Their tour company, The Great Game Travel Company, offers a 4-day getaway that they describe as the perfect weekend getaway; a 12 day adventure package that offers a 'breathtaking tour that allows you to see the best of Norther Afghanistan; and a deluxe 16 tour that is promised to be a legendary journey. They also offer tailor-made itinerary to feet the individual traveller. Their Vision on the About Us page on their website indicates that they seek to give their customers the trip of a lifetime. The website's 'Why Afghanistan?' page was so compelling that I wouldn't be surprised if they have already set their sites on the next Olympic Games bid. They've even received some free publicity in the form of a top notch article in Time.Com that is well worth the read at Afghanistan's Very Careful Tour Guides. With only a few thousands tourist types in the entire world choosing Afghanistan for their holiday destination, I doubt they spent too much time on the Market Viability portion of their business plan but you've got to give them credit for persisting through the dry times. I tried to invite them to be my friend on Facebook but I couldn't find them. I'll work on that.
Finally, I came across another 'start-up- tour company in Iraq. According to their website, Babel Tours, they are the first Tour Operators in Iraq. Their invitation to Tour Operators to be the first in our countries to program Iraq vacations caught my eye. I filled out the information request form and received a confirmation thanking me for my 'demand' and promising to get back to me within three 'working days', however long that is.
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| DiverCities Tours: Niche Tourism at It's Best! |
"I travel a lot. I hate having my life disrupted by routine."
------Caskie Stinnett
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