Free walking tour
A Free Walking Tour [ fɹiː ˈwɔkɪŋ tɔː (ɹ) ] is a free guided city tour . The participants evaluate the work of the tour guide by making a donation at the end of the tour. Donations can be the fee of the tour guide (for example in the case of the Moscow Free Tour ) or given to the administrative organization (for example Free Guided Tours San-Francisco ). The desire to raise the highest possible donation income is the strongest motivation for the tour guide. This is to increase the quality of free walking tours compared to classic tours that work on a prepaid basis. Free walking tours typically have a pre-determined calendar schedule and take place regardless of the weather or the number of participants.
term
The English term "Free Walking Tour" is used worldwide, there are minor variations. Translations of the term into other languages are not known (not even in the case of guided tours that take place exclusively in a language other than English). "Free Walking Tour" describes the tour itself, but also the business model and the social movement that supports and spreads the phenomenon.
history
The Free Walking Tour was invented in Berlin in 2004. The concept spread in the late 2010s. According to an estimate by the portal Freetoursnetwork.com, free walking tours existed in 206 cities and 75 countries around the world in 2016. The implementation of the idea will be continued as far as possible in its original form and without significant variations, despite the broad geographical distribution. Free walking tour logos often include images of legs or footprints.
Forms of organization and cooperation
Both independent tour guides and collectives most often choose the legal form of a non-profit organization or a limited liability company. Large organizations have guided tours in many cities around the world (for example Free Tours by Foot). Small organizations and independent free walking tour guides often form associations (e.g. United Europe Free Tours). The organization that initiated the association usually takes on the management function (for example Free Walk Switzerland for all organizations in Switzerland). The individual organizations are often networked with one another. In large cities such as Krakow, Reykjavík or St. Petersburg, the organizations of free walking tours not only compete with traditional tour operators and independent tour guides, but also with each other. In particularly large metropolises such as Berlin, London or Moscow, the range of free walking tours on offer is so great that tour guides compete with one another within the same organization. Some tour guides (for example Sandemans New Europe in Berlin) include breaks in the tour that take place in a café . In this case, the tour guide receives food and drinks from the restaurant as a reward for attracting customers.
criticism
Classic tour operators criticize free walking tours because of price dumping and the poor quality of the tours. The latter stems from the fact that the tour guides on the free tours often do not have the appropriate qualifications.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Agnes Molnar: Street economist - the city guide . In: Capital , G + J Wirtschaftsmedien GmbH & Co. KG, April 25, 2014. Accessed January 25, 2016.
- ↑ Дарья Черкудинова: Moscow Free Tour: Как заработать на бесплатных экскурсиях (Russian) . In: The Village , October 15, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ↑ Free tours by locals in Europe cities (Updated) ( English ) October 20, 2015. Accessed January 25, 2016th
- ^ Roger Wade: List of free walking tours around the world (English) . In: PriceofTravel , December 7, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ↑ freetoursnetwork ( English ) Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
- ↑ Vicky Baker: The rise of the 'free' city tour (English) . In: the Guardian , June 12, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
