Position: Tour Guide
Company: Prima Whitsunday Sailing Pty Ltd
Location: On bord of the tourist vessel sailing within Whitsunday Islands located within Great Barrear Reef National Park
42/28 Island Drive, Cannonvale QLD 4802, with tours throughout the Whitsunday Islands and surrounding marine parks.
Employment Type: Full-time (38 hours per week)
Salary: $80,000 per annum + 12% Superannuation
About Prima Whitsunday Sailing
It is a sailing charter business running in the Whitsundays offering 1 night 2 day trips around the Whitsunday Islands.
On the trip we bring guests on informative guided walks around Whitehaven and other islands and lookouts depending on the trip and snorkelling at different coral sites.
About the role
The Tour Guide leads sightseeing and ecotourism experiences throughout the Whitsundays. The role involves guiding guests during sailing, snorkelling, island walks and beach visits, providing informative commentary, conducting safety briefings and ensuring guests’ safety, comfort and enjoyment. The guide also supports tour operations, maintains records and promotes marine conservation and sustainable tourism.
Key Responsibilities
- Deliver safe, engaging and informative sightseeing and ecotourism experiences throughout the Whitsunday Islands, beaches, reefs and surrounding marine parks.
- Provide a high standard of customer service to domestic and international visitors.
- Ensure the safety, comfort and enjoyment of guests during vessel trips, beach landings, snorkelling activities, island walks and other guided activities.
- Provide accurate interpretive commentary about the Whitsundays, local history, Aboriginal cultural heritage, marine life, reef ecosystems, wildlife and environmental conservation.
- Support compliance with workplace health and safety requirements, company procedures, GBRMPA requirements and relevant AMSA requirements.
- Promote responsible and sustainable tourism and encourage guests to respect the marine and natural environment.
- Work cooperatively with the skipper, operations manager and other tourism staff to support the safe and efficient delivery of tours.
Main Tasks
- Lead sightseeing, sailing and ecotourism tours throughout the Whitsunday region.
- Welcome guests and create a friendly, positive and inclusive environment onboard.
- Conduct pre-tour and pre-activity safety briefings, including emergency procedures, environmental requirements and safe passenger conduct.
- Accompany and supervise visitors during beach landings, island walks, snorkelling sessions and site visits.
- Assist guests with boarding, disembarking and safely moving around the vessel.
- Monitor passenger wellbeing, comfort and safety throughout each tour.
- Maintain accurate passenger numbers and assist with required regulatory and operational reporting.
- Provide commentary about local natural landmarks, marine ecosystems, reef conservation, wildlife and regional history.
- Explain basic sailing principles to guests, including wind direction, sail trim and vessel movement, as part of the educational experience.
- Answer guest questions and provide information about local attractions, activities and services.
- Assist with first-aid responses, including oxygen administration where required and within the employee’s training.
- Prepare and check snorkelling or activity equipment and explain its safe use.
- Record participant numbers, incidents, environmental observations and customer feedback.
- Participate in environmental education and conservation initiatives.
- Support the skipper with passenger-related matters, while not performing duties that legally require a qualified vessel crew member unless appropriately licensed.
- Follow company policies relating to safety, privacy, confidentiality, conduct, drugs and alcohol, and environmental protection.
Qualifications and Experience
- Relevant tourism or travel qualification, such as a Diploma of Travel and Tourism Management.
- Three years of experience in a similar role may substitute for the relevant qualification.
Additional or advantageous qualifications include:
- Current First Aid and CPR certification.
- Oxygen-provider competency, or willingness to obtain it.
- Shipboard safety training.
- Ability to swim confidently and supervise water-based activities.
- Boat licence.
- Coxswain Grade 1 qualification.
- Deckhand or marine vessel experience.
- Open water certification
- Snorkelling supervision or water-safety training.
- Multilingual abilities.
Work Experience
Minimum one year of experience in a similar role, including:
- Leading sailing tours throughout the Whitsundays.
- Providing commentary on local history, marine life and natural landmarks.
- Conducting pre-tour safety briefings.
- Guiding snorkelling and island excursions.
- Explaining reef ecosystems and conservation.
- Engaging with international guests and answering visitor questions.
- Promoting sustainable tourism and marine environmental protection.
Skills and Competencies
- Strong verbal communication and public-speaking skills.
- Ability to deliver engaging and accurate tour commentary.
- Group leadership and visitor-supervision skills.
- Excellent customer-service and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to communicate with guests from different cultures and backgrounds.
- Knowledge of the Whitsundays, marine life, reef ecosystems, conservation and local geography.
- Ability to conduct clear safety briefings and explain emergency procedures.
- Ability to identify and respond appropriately to passenger safety and wellbeing concerns.
- First-aid and emergency-response skills.
- Snorkelling-equipment knowledge and water-activity safety awareness.
- Environmental awareness and commitment to sustainable tourism.
- General understanding of sailing and vessel movement.
- Strong teamwork and ability to cooperate with skippers and other tourism staff.
- Organisational and time-management skills.
- Accurate record-keeping and incident-reporting skills.
- Ability to remain calm and professional in changing weather, marine and operational conditions.
- Strong work ethic, reliability, flexibility and attention to detail.
Pay: $80,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
