The Group Leader’s role

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As you move through the tour planning process—from selecting your itinerary, to promoting your tour, to preparing your travelers for their time abroad—here's a look at a few key elements of your role as a Group Leader.

Your Role as a Group Leader

Choose your EF tour

Your Tour Consultant is your best resource to help you select a tour based on your group’s needs and interests, including which destinations rank the highest on your travel agenda and whether there are specific destinations that will especially complement your curriculum. Your Tour Consultant will help determine which tour length, pace, and price will be best for your group.

Select flexible travel options

One way we are able to offer the lowest prices is by requiring flexibility. If you are not traveling as a private group, you will need to select first-, second-, and third-choice tour itineraries. This allows us to combine you with other groups from around the U.S. that are traveling at the same time as you. Additionally, we also ask for departure date flexibility. To learn more about tour and departure date flexibility, visit Traveling with EF.

Promote your tour and recruit travelers
The next step is to get travelers excited about traveling on your tour—be it online, in your school or in your community. Host introductory meetings for travelers and parents to let them know about this exciting opportunity and then set an enrollment deadline for your tour.

Maintain contact with your group
You are your travelers’ main connection to EF. Log into your account to easily manage and maintain email communication with your group right from your Group tab. We also suggest holding regularly scheduled meetings throughout the tour-planning process. Your EF Experience Specialist will walk you through suggested topics, but some things you might want to focus on include final itineraries, payment deadlines, and packing suggestions. Also, you can keep your travelers excited about your tour by holding special events—such as potluck lunches with food from locations you’ll be visiting or movie nights highlighting the cities you’ll be exploring.

Prepare your group
We also ask that you prepare your travelers for their experience abroad. Make sure they understand that group travel requires flexibility and cooperation. Explain that accommodations and meals abroad might differ from what they are accustomed to at home. For tips on setting expectations for your travelers, please contact your EF Experience Specialist.

Travel on a Free International Training Tour
Ensuring you are fully prepared to lead an EF tour is our commitment to your school community. Through our blended learning model, all first-time Group Leaders travel to Paris, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, or Beijing on a Free International Training Tour to learn best practices from experienced Group Leaders and EF staff.

Supervise your group at all times on tour
The Group Leader (or a designated responsible adult) must accompany the group at all times, including during meals, sightseeing excursions, and optional excursions on tour. For more information on the Group Leader's role in safety on tour, read our Safety Guidelines for Group Leaders article.