# accompagnatore turistico / guida turistica



## marina_janis

Ciao a Tutti,
vorrei sapere come si traduce in inglese la professione di ACCOMPAGNATORE TURISTICO.
Ho trovato molti termini, ma ne vorrei uno sicuro.

TOUR LEADER?
TOUR REP?
TOUR MANAGER?


grazie della collaborazione
M


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## Benzene

Ciao marina_janis!

Ti scrivo tutti i vocaboli che conosco:

"*accompagnatore turistico*" = "*courier*", "*tour leader*", "*conductor*", "*guide*".

Bye,

Benzene


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## Tristano

In genere diciamo "tour guide" in AE. Mai "courier"! Nemmeno "conductor" che ha un altro significato...

Tristano


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## anglomania1

Tristano said:


> In genere diciamo "tour guide" in AE. Mai "courier"! Nemmeno "conductor" che ha un altro significato...
> 
> Tristano


 

Hello, 
I totally agree -  it's the same in BE, too!
I'd go for tour guide, 
Anglo


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## You little ripper!

According to the Oxford-Paravia dictionary:

*Accompagnatore*
 ~ turistico (travel) courier. 
*Guida*
~ turistica tour guide, travel courier. 

Marina, can you give us some context so that we can be sure of what we are translating?


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## Tristano

Charles Costante said:


> According to the Oxford-Paravia dictionary:
> 
> *Accompagnatore*
> ~ turistico (travel) courier.
> *Guida*
> ~ turistica tour guide, travel courier.
> 
> Marina, can you give us some context so that we can be sure of what we are translating?



Regardless of what the Oxford-Paravia says, "travel courier" or "turistic courier" is not something we would ever say in AE--- they both sound ridiculous.

Tristano


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## bridgespotter

A previous thread in this forum came to the conclusion that Tour Escort might be the best term to describe accompagnatore as  distinct from a Tour guide who has a different range of duties.


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## You little ripper!

Tristano said:


> Regardless of what the Oxford-Paravia says, "travel courier" or "turistic courier" is not something we would ever say in AE--- they both sound ridiculous.
> 
> Tristano


Tristano, there are over 34,000 Google listings for *travel courier* and most of them are American. A *travel courier* is someone who travels without luggage to fill a seat a company has purchased in order to send goods or papers. The reason they do this is because it is faster; the getting there is faster and so is the custom clearance (as opposed to regular cargo).

What we need to know from Marina is whether this is what she is refering to, or whether she means a *tour guide*.


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## anglomania1

Charles Costante said:


> Tristano, there are over 34,000 Google listings for *travel courier* and most of them are American. A *travel courier* is someone who travels without luggage to fill a seat a company has purchased in order to send goods or papers. The reason they do this is because it is faster; the getting there is faster and so is the custom clearance (as opposed to regular cargo).


 
Hello,
so a travel courier, by your definition above, is basically a courier and nothing to do with tourism, which I think is the meaning Marina is looking for. 
I quote:come si traduce in inglese la professione di ACCOMPAGNATORE TURISTICO
What's wrong with tour guide? It renders the idea and is immediately recognizable to Brits, Americans, Australians ecc.
Anglo


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## london calling

anglomania1 said:


> Hello,
> so a travel courier, by your definition above, is basically a courier and nothing to do with tourism, which I think is the meaning Marina is looking for.
> I quote:come si traduce in inglese la professione di ACCOMPAGNATORE TURISTICO
> What's wrong with tour guide? It renders the idea and is immediately recognizable to Brits, Americans, Australians ecc.
> Anglo


 
I think tour guide's fine, but may I add that as a kid, when we went on holiday abroad, there was always a "travel courier" with us, a kind of assistant who worked for the tour operator. He dealt with any problems we had, organised and took us on guided tours....


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## anglomania1

london calling said:


> I think tour guide's fine, but may I add that as a kid, when we went on holiday abroad, there was always a "travel courier" with us, a kind of assistant who worked for the tour operator. He dealt with any problems we had, organised and took us on guided tours....


 

Hello LC, 
that's interesting - I've never heard of it - but then, we never had any organised holidays, it was always at my aunt's house in Broadstairs!!!
Anglo


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## You little ripper!

anglomania1 said:


> Hello,
> so a travel courier, by your definition above, is basically a courier and nothing to do with tourism, which I think is the meaning Marina is looking for.
> I quote:come si traduce in inglese la professione di ACCOMPAGNATORE TURISTICO
> What's wrong with tour guide? It renders the idea and is immediately recognizable to Brits, Americans, Australians ecc.
> Anglo


Anglo, marina is more than likely refering to a *tour guide* as you say, but since one of the definitions given by the Oxford Paravia for *accompagnatore turistico* is *travel courier* it's best to be certain.


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## pupazzo77

Ciao,

solo un piccolo ragionamento:

*accompagnatore* = chi accompagna, chi fa da *guida*

Quindi , fino a quando Marina non ci darà maggiori informazioni, il termine "*tourist guide*" mi sembra quello più adatto, no?

By the way "*tourist guide*" is also the definitions given by the "http://www.garzantilinguistica.it/index.html"

Che bello discutere di queste piccole sfumature! 

SY

Pup@zzo77


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## Tristano

In AE si dice "tour guide", mai "tourist guide"...

Tristano





pupazzo77 said:


> Ciao,
> 
> solo un piccolo ragionamento:
> 
> *accompagnatore* = chi accompagna, chi fa da *guida*
> 
> Quindi , fino a quando Marina ci non darà maggiori informazioni, il termine "*tourist guide*" mi sembra quello più adatto, no?
> 
> By the way "*tourist guide*" is also the definitions given by the "http://www.garzantilinguistica.it/index.html"
> 
> Che bello discutere di queste piccole sfumature!
> 
> SY
> 
> Pup@zzo77


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## carrie83

I think the right one is tour rep or holiday rep. I did this job and they called me this way. 
the Cobuild dictionary says: 
a holiday rep: is someone employed by a holiday company to help look after people when they are on holiday.
tour guide: is the same as a holiday rep.


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## Zenof

london calling said:


> I think tour guide's fine, but may I add that as a kid, when we went on holiday abroad, there was always a "travel courier" with us, a kind of assistant who worked for the tour operator. He dealt with any problems we had, organised and took us on guided tours....


 
_Accompagnatore turisti_co is different from _guida turistica_

Anytime I go on holiday (especially if it's a group, at least 20 - 30 people) and it's organized by a Tour Operator, there's always "un _accompagnatore turistico/responsabile del viaggio"_ that travels with us, looks after us fixing any problem we have.
Then there's the tour guide _[guida turistica]_ (different person, different job) that takes us sigthseeing and explains anything about history, sorroundings etc.


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## Tristano

Zenof said:


> _Accompagnatore turisti_co is different from _guida turistica_
> 
> Anytime I go on holiday (especially if it's a group, at least 20 - 30 people) and it's organized by a Tour Operator, there's always "un _accompagnatore turistico/responsabile del viaggio"_ that travels with us, looks after us fixing any problem we have.
> Then there's the tour guide _[guida turistica]_ (different person, different job) that takes us sigthseeing and explains anything about history, sorroundings etc.




Giusto.

Dunque: "the tour operator" is the tour company that is organizing the trip and is ultimately responsible for the hotel bookings, all the guides, etc. The "tour guide" is the person who actually takes the folks around on the tour. I believe that if we are going to insist on a difference between "accompagnatore" and "giuida" then I would say that the former is the "tour rep" while the latter is the "tour guide".


Tristano


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## Zenof

Tristano said:


> Giusto.
> 
> Dunque: "the tour operator" is the tour company that is organizing the trip and is ultimately responsible for the hotel bookings, all the guides, etc. The "tour guide" is the person who actually takes the folks around on the tour.
> 
> Tristano


 
Sorry Tristano, perhaps I didn't understand perfectly.

We use the word Tour Operator meaning the company that organizes the tour, and then "l'accompagnatore turistico" is a Tour Operator's employee that comes with us on tour, and at last there's the "guida turistica", that takes us around for a couple of hours or a day only.
For example, during a tour in Italy visiting Venice, Florence and Rome, you'll have just a "accompagnatore turistico", but you may have several "guide turistiche", each in every city you visit. 

So, are you saying that you use the same word - tour operator - for both the company and the employee?

Thanks for your understanding


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## lingogal

Hi all,

As a teacher who has taken many student groups abroad from the U.S., I can tell you that we in fact can and do use the word "courier". In my experience, the courier is the person who works for the travel company as a sort of liaison, ensuring airport-to-city transportation, working with bus drivers, hotel personnel and restaurants for group meals. What the courier usually does NOT do is give guided tours, explaining culture and history and so on. That is often left to "tour guides" or to the teacher when site visits are made. Some companies do not provide a courier, but others have a clear separation between the courier, the person handling the logistics of travel, and the guides who provide on-site cultural, linguistic, historical information. 
Hope this helps.


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## Zenof

Really helpful.
Thanks Lingogal


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## london calling

Hello, lingogal!
Yes, I remember package holidays in the 70s with a so-called "travel courier" who at this stage I think was a courier and tour guide all rolled into one, because he did everything you just mentioned! Maybe the Tour Operator couldn't afford to pay two salaries!


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## Tristano

Zenof said:


> Sorry Tristano, perhaps I didn't understand perfectly.
> 
> We use the word Tour Operator meaning the company that organizes the tour, and then "l'accompagnatore turistico" is a Tour Operator's employee that comes with us on tour, and at last there's the "guida turistica", that takes us around for a couple of hours or a day only.
> For example, during a tour in Italy visiting Venice, Florence and Rome, you'll have just a "accompagnatore turistico", but you may have several "guide turistiche", each in every city you visit.
> 
> So, are you saying that you use the same word - tour operator - for both the company and the employee?
> 
> Thanks for your understanding



I had added to my comment:

 I believe that if we are going to insist on a difference between "accompagnatore" and "giuida" then I would say that the former is the "tour rep" while the latter is the "tour guide".

The "tour operator" is a company, but could actually be one person, certainly.

Tristano


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## anglomania1

Tristano said:


> I had added to my comment:
> 
> I believe that if we are going to insist on a difference between "accompagnatore" and "giuida" then I would say that the former is the "tour rep" while the latter is the "tour guide".
> 
> The "tour operator" is a company, but could actually be one person, certainly.
> 
> Tristano


 
This sounds right to me, for what it's worth! 
I've never liked "courier", I'm sure it's correct, but it makes me think of someone delivering parcels!
Anglo


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## You little ripper!

anglomania1 said:


> This sounds right to me, for what it's worth!
> I've never liked "courier", I'm sure it's correct, but it makes me think of someone delivering parcels!
> Anglo


 Anglo, that is one of the meanings of *travel courier*. Check out Post 8.


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## marina_janis

Eccomi qui, dopo molto silenzio, a rispondere e a spiegare a cosa mi riferivo con il termine accompagnatore turistico.
Dunque di professione sono accompagnatore turistico, ovvero sono la persona che si occupa di accogliere i turisti all'aeroporto (cioè faccio dei transfer da/per aeroporto), accompagno i croceristi stranieri in escursione in italia ed evito che si perdano o altro, accompagno gruppi italiani e stranieri fuori italia nelle loro vacanze e a tutto ciò si aggiungono i servizi ai congressi internazionali ecc. Insomma si può dire che mi occupo della logistica del viaggio.
La professione di accompagnatore turistico non è quella della guida, perchè gli esami abilitanti e le licenze sono diversi. La guida fornisce informazioni artistiche-storiche, l'accompagnatore fornisce nozioni più strettamente tecniche, ma anche culturali.
Detto ciò, devo fare i biglietti da visita in inglese e cercavo la traduzione che meglio può conglobare tutte le mansioni di un accompagnatore turistico.
All'estero spesso si usa "tour leader", ma anche "tour rep" e "tour manager".
Ecco volevo sapere cosa scrivere nella mia business card.
Grazie della collaborazione


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## aramesh

Gradirei dare il mio contributo come accompagnatore turistico da quasi 10 anni:

Lavorando in Italia, mi sono sempre presentata come "Tour escort", termine a mio avviso adatto a definire una professione che è altra cosa rispetto a quella di "Guida turistica". L'Italia è uno dei pochi, se non l'unico, Paese in cui la legislazione turistica prevede due figure distinte: quella dell'accompagnatore, che rappresenta l'agenzia e si occupa degli aspetti organizzativi di escursioni e viaggi, stando in contatto con vettori, ristoratori, e fornendo continua assistenza ai clienti (l'accompagnatore può seguire un gruppo per tutta l'Italia o Europa o quel che sia); la guida è, invece, la sola che può fornire, provincia per provincia, le informazioni storico, artistiche, culturali della provincia in cui opera (accompagnatori e guide hanno diverse licenze). Riassumendo, se un accompagnatore sta a bordo di un pullmann tutto il tempo del viaggio, può fornire informaioni culturali sulle località presso cui si passa o anticipare qualcosa di ciò che si vedrà una volta arrivati alla meta, ma non può spiegare nulla una volta a terra.

Pertanto, "tour guide" in Italia non è assolutamente adatto per "accompagnatore turistico".

I hope this helps!!!

Ho scritto la mia risposta mentre arrivava quella di marina_janis...che conferma quel che dicevo!!!!

Scusate la mancanza di tempismo!!!

Aramesh


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## You little ripper!

marina_janis said:


> All'estero spesso si usa "tour leader", ma anche "tour rep" e "tour manager".
> Ecco volevo sapere cosa scrivere nella mia business card.
> Grazie della collaborazione


Any of those would be OK, marina. Even 'tour escort', as aramesh suggested.


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## xmas50

Se posso anch'io dire la mia: ho iniziato la mia carriera di accompagnatrice turistica 30 anni fa come courier. Poi, mi sono resa conto che negli USA nessuno mi capiva quando dicevo di essere una *courier*, o meglio, dovevo sempre spiegare quello che facevo; quindi, sono diventata *tour leader*, ma anche questo termine (che a me sembra molto chiaro) a volte veniva confuso. Per finire, ho optato per *tour escort*, che sembra nessuno fraintenda piu`. Forse, pero`, sarebbe meglio precisare *tour escort for groups*, che cosa ne dite?
Sono d'accordo che tour guide e` tutt'altra cosa, professionalmente parlando.

ciaooooo


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## MagicalChild

L'accompagnatore esiste solo in italia. Non è traducibile.


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## london calling

MagicalChild said:


> L'accompagnatore esiste solo in italia. Non è traducibile.


Non direi proprio...... Hai letto tutti i post precedenti?


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## MagicalChild

london calling said:


> Non direi proprio...... Hai letto tutti i post precedenti?


 
sì, infatti nei post precedenti mi era sembrato che non si fosse arrivati ad una traduzione chiara ed in diversi ne hanno fatto notare l'ambiguità.

che io sappia la figura di accompagnatore turistico (e la relativa licenza) è una cosa tutta italiana e le altre figure menzionate come il tour leader o il courier hanno funzioni diverse. 

CIAO!


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## L'equilibrista

Sottoscrivo quanto detto da aramesh,
anch'io voto per "tour escort" per tradurre "accompagnatore turistico".

In Italia l'accompagnatore e la guida sono due figure nettamente distinte.

Il primo si occupa dell'assistenza ai clienti durante un viaggio/vacanza/crociera e magari capita che dia informazioni (faccia un po' "da guida", ma in maniera blanda).
Per fare l'accompagnatore, che io sappia, non sono necessari patentini o esami.

La seconda si occupa esclusivamente di trasmettere contenuti artistico-culturali di un luogo/monumento etc., in genere si trova già sul posto da visitare e per essere esercitata necessita del conseguimento del patentino.


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## mutsil

hi to everybody, what about "tour or tourist attendant" I mean for a person that can not do the tour guide but that has been employed by the museum to give to the customers information about the masterpieces?


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## london calling

mutsil said:


> hi to everybody, what about "tour or tourist attendant" I mean for a person that can not do the tour guide but that has been employed by the museum to give to the customers information about the masterpieces?


Ciao, si dice "museum guide".


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## furs

May I revive this old thread, since the correct answer does not seem to have been provided yet (and I have got my license as an 'accompagnatore turistico' in the meantime... as one is necessary for this job in Italy, contrary to what #33 said).

The accepted translation of this term in the tourism industry is 'tour leader' or 'tour manager'. 'Tour rep' or 'tour escort' appear to be much less commonly used, if one can trust google statistics.


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## back o' bourke

Having worked in tourism, I can confirm that "ACCOMPAGNATORE TURISTICO" means someone who accompanies the group (Tour Escort) from one place to the other but does not provide the history of the sites visited. That is the job of a Tour Guide ("GUIDA TURISTICA"), which requires a specific license. A Tour Operator is the company that arranges the tours, led by either a Tour Guide or Escort.


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