Guide Relief Fund Update

When we launched ToursByLocals in 2008, our goal was to create fair and reliable income for professional tour guides everywhere. Back at the start of the pandemic, we were deeply concerned for our local guides – all 4546 of them – whose livelihoods depend on travellers visiting their cities and regions.

So in April 2020, we started to reach out to thousands of the guides on our platform to learn how this pandemic had already impacted them – affected their lives, their careers and their families. We heard stories of guides who couldn’t access government relief, guides with children and elderly parents to support, guides who couldn’t afford to make payments on their touring vehicles. Obviously ToursByLocals was also struggling under the weight of the pandemic, but we were determined to help them.

To do so, we created a $400,000 ToursByLocals Guide Relief Fund to provide the guides in need with long-term, interest-free cash advances. And we grew this fund throughout 2020 and 2021 by contributing 100% of proceeds from all gift cards sold for the next 14 months. We knew tourism would come back, and come back strong, so the guides could gradually return the payment in small increments through their future tour bookings. This is now starting to happen.

We’d like to thank the many travellers who contributed to this fund by purchasing gift cards to use on their future trips. You all made a real difference to people’s lives around the world.

While the program to direct gift card purchases to the fund has now ended, the Guide Relief Fund is still up and running. In the past 15 months, we provided financial support to 321 guides in 88 countries and continue to receive applications from guides. While the pandemic is not over, we hope we have made it through the worst of times, and that these individuals can soon get back to doing what they do best: sharing their unique local knowledge and insight with adventurous, curious travellers.