Niche tours create new opportunities for guides in France

Franco-Briton Jennifer Hollington never imagined becoming a tour guide. 

In 2019, having run her own company for 11 years and worked as a sales adviser for Hermès for six years, she landed an unexpected opportunity to act as a guide-conférencière (accredited tour guide) for three exhibitions by the jeweller and watchmaker Chaumet.  

The profession of guide-conférencier is strictly regulated in France. The Code du tourisme requires that guided tours of state museums and historic monuments be conducted by qualified individuals holding an official guide-conférencier card. 

The main qualification for this is a specific French degree and master’s course, but Ms Hollington obtained hers by merit of her professional experience.

The three exhibitions she guided for spawned many more, eventually becoming a viable side business.

Too much work

Franco-American Jamie Doughty has also seen steady business since he started dabbling in tours in 2014. Mr Doughty said he fell into the job, having become aware that the position was open to bilingual people with a good knowledge of history.

There is almost too much work for native English-language guides in Bordeaux and its surrounding areas, he said.

Continuing his job as a political science and comparative law teacher, he supplements his income thanks to a tour industry that is increasingly keen on hiring freelancers looking for part-time gigs.

Mr Doughty charges between €145 (for two hours) and €340 (six to nine hours) for his tours. His clients are largely cruise ship passengers, who want to experience France in a “light” way.

“They want to feel immersed while still staying within controlled or comforting contexts,” he said.

This is where his dual-citizenship is an asset. “It’s a fine line to walk. You have to highlight that you are French. On the other hand, a French guide who speaks perfect English would get remarks on their accent,” he said.

Mr Doughty’s entry into the tour guide business has coincided with an increase in more unusual or specialist offerings, with Paris leading the trend. For example, it recently introduced a Paris noir tour exploring the capital’s Black history.

Bordeaux, meanwhile, has long offered a wide array of wine tours, but Mr Doughty has carved a niche by exploring the city’s LGBT culture instead.

Ms Hollington and Mr Doughty are two of an estimated 10,000 guides holding the official guide-conférencier card.

New markets

While it is possible to offer tours without this accreditation, they both stress that it holds many advantages, not least underlining the trustworthiness of their expertise.

It also grants access to buildings designated monuments nationaux, such as Versailles, Notre-Dame or Le Louvre, which are generally on tourists’ ‘must-see’ lists.

For Ms Hollington, it has opened up new markets. She now only works with US clients via companies such as Paris Muse, a tour provider with a focus on Paris’s rich art history.

“Without that card, I would never have been able to work for these firms,” she said.

Limiting ‘Monument national’ tours to accredited guides only was introduced in 2016 as part of a government drive to curb the spread of ‘free’, unlicensed tours, whose guides do not always have the same level of knowledge or language expertise.

Whether it has worked is debatable. Browsing popular websites such as Guru Walks or Get Your Guide, it is easy to find tours of Montmartre, Le Marais or Père Lachaise cemetery for free, or as little as €3 for Notre-Dame Cathedral.

The guides are paid via tips, and their tours are limited to exploring public streets or, in the case of Notre-Dame, explanations in the forecourt only.

Online platforms

Online marketplaces specialising in such tours often approach professional guides offering them work. Mr Doughty said he has stopped counting the offers that land in his inbox.

Polly Kenion, a Franco-British tour guide in Normandy, has been similarly inundated. In return for access to their customer databases, she would have to cede 20-30% in commission. She has so far refused all offers: “Never lower the bar!” she said.

Ms Kenion has been a tour guide for more than 20 years, and has held a guide-conférencier card since 2015.

She said there is a definite distinction between the two types of guides: “The real professionals with degrees, and the others who just want to make some extra money.

“There are more and more of this second category. It’s unfair competition.

“We are trained. We work hard; it’s a profession we chose. We try to provide a richer and more authentic experience than people who suddenly improvise from one day to the next.”

For her part, Ms Hollington is more sympathetic. “You have to start somewhere,” she said, acknowledging both the struggle to make a name for herself in the business, and how little she knew when she started for Chaumet.Passion, commitment and the desire to share knowledge remain the great equalizer for long-term success in the sector.

“You have to be a people person,” said Ms Kenion. “As long as you’re well-trained, respect colleagues and do not create problems, you are welcome,” said Mr Doughty.

“I love talking, sharing and wandering by extraordinary places,” said Ms Hollington. “When I see people crying in front of a painting, I tell myself I must have done a good job.”