Gregor Banford: Life as a Tour Guide and Why Everyone Should Consider Joining A Tour.
By: Josh Smith
Tags: Tarvel, Tourism, Travelling, Australia, Travel Advice

Hey, everyone, my name is Gregor, I’m an avid traveller and have worked in and out of the travel industry for a number of years. I became hooked on travelling after my first proper trip away from home, it really sparked something in me that I could not ignore.

I had just left school and one of my friends had moved back to South Africa, after months of speaking about visiting and talking about how amazing it would be I decided to take one of the biggest steps I had ever taken in my life. I went to Soth Africa and I very quickly discovered realised I had discovered something that I loved doing.

The trip completely changed my outlook on life. I soaked in every single moment but 6 weeks just wasn’t enough for me. I had this new itch that I just had to scratch. — Get your head out of the gutter that does not mean what you think it does, I had a huge urge (again not what you think) to go and see more of the world and I had to find a way to go and do it.

After trying to settle back home, even starting an apprenticeship but I knew deep down that my travelling days weren’t over. Sadly after finishing my apprenticeship, the industry I worked in, hit a massive decline. I was made redundant! What are the chances of that? After that, I was very lost and not sure at all what direction to go in. The little travel bug I developed years ago decided to come creeping back. I decided right there and then that it was the best thing for me to do was to go an explore the world. It would be a fresh new start where I could go explore the world and hopefully find something that would help give me some drive.

Deciding to travel made so much sense to me, I grew up in a fairly big town but it was still in its own bubble, everyone knew everyone’s business and if you didn’t know someone personally you certainly knew someone who did and this just didn’t fit into how I wanted my life to go. I completed my application for an Australian working holiday visa and spent 2 of the most nerve-racking and yet exciting weeks of my life waiting for an answer… only to find out I was accepted after 2 days but the email went to my junk mail and I was too stupid to check. Then my nerves really started to set in and so much was going through my head, I argued and agonised with myself constantly asking if I was making the right decision.

I decided I would book something in Australia so that I had something to look forward to and be excited about, I also thought that doing this would make the trip feel all that more real but the hardest part was what to do? I hadn’t ever travelled on my own before and what if I booked something and messed it up! What if I booked a trip and I was the only person on it and I didn’t meet anyone, searching frantically for something that I would enjoy but also would help me get over my anxiety, this is where I discovered Intro Travel It was a group that I could book onto and join other travellers that were coming to the country for the first time; they would help me set up in Australia, as well as taking part in some awesome activities! Getting to do a surf lesson was on my bucket list from day one of booking my trip and getting to have a go on the first week of being in the country was all too perfect.

After joining my group and having one of the best weeks of my life! I began to travel down Australia’s famous East Coast with a few members of the group that I had met. We went white water rafting in Cairns; to seeing the stunningly white sand on Whitehaven Beach I kept going until I reached Sydney.

With a few pennies in my pocket and the visa being called a working holiday, the holiday part was over and it was time to find a job and it just so happens that Intro Travel was looking for a Group Leader. So guess what that is exactly what I did.

I have to be completely biased and say that everyone should travel at least once in their life, it can do wonders to your mental health, your confidence and you will meet people from all walks of life that will become some of your closest friends but I do also know that your first time travelling or even times after that, you can be a nervous wreck and filled with different emotions. You’re leaving your family and friends behind to venture into the complete unknown. All of these things and plenty more can make it a hard decision but if you want help with any of these worries then I would 100% recommend that join some sort of tour or welcome trip. T

With most tours you will get an airport pick-up which means your greeted by a friendly face from the time you arrive, it will also normally include accommodation for however long you are part of that tour so it’s another thing you won’t have to worry about. The Group Leaders tend to have been in the country for a few months and have gone through the same emotions you have, so they can empathise with you as well as being a wealth of knowledge that can show you a few tips and tricks to getting about the country as well as hostel life and being a backpacker itself. You will get a different experience from a tour if you’re on a working holiday visa or just on an extended holiday. With the working holiday, they will often help you set up bank accounts and tax numbers meaning all the boring stuff is out the way and hassle-free which I can say is the part for me that really helped. Tour groups will give you a great insight into the country you’re about to discover and let you experience the culture as well as take part in some really amazing activities but they will still leave you lots of room after that for onward travel to go and experience your destination at your own pace and give you the confidence to go off on your own.

During my time working for Intro Travel, every time I ran a group they got on so well and within the 10 days they were together they became like family. After the tour is over, most went on travelling together making memories that will last for life. During the pandemic, I have stayed in touch with so many people I met on groups who have been so keen to share what they have done since and how that one week completely changed their life. I have even been on zoom calls and participated in quizzes with groups I ran and even though I may have only been with them for a short part of their trip, it’s great to see the impact I have had on their travelling experience. It’s truly amazing to see how great these people still interact and even though maybe in different countries or different parts of the same country, they still make time for each other, all because that tour they booked meant so much to them. So much so that next week a couple that first met and got together on one of my groups are about to welcome their first baby into the world and I can say for certain that both of them signing up for that group, got more than they bargained for! — I’m sure I’m in with a chance of being the godfather.

I guess what I am trying to say is if you have any doubt or worries at all join a tour can really help you to settle in and give you the confidence to go and travel solo. Tours are not what people always imagine someone with a flag that you have to follow and blowing a whistle and demanding you around they are much more relaxed than that. They have built-in time to take to relax and do your own thing and they are an epic way to meet people. Joining a group does not make you any less of a traveller than someone who is doing it all themselves and I can promise you that once you do one you will 100% be back to do more because they make everything so easy.