In a city as popular as Porto, there is no shortage of competition among guides. Borja ensures that there can be 50 free tours available in the city. "We all have clients. We all eat." For Borja, there are several aspects that guarantee the quality of such tours. The most important is that platforms first show the highest-rated by the customer. At Revolutours, guides also have to pass "very tough exams, in addition to an audition to be part of the team." He holds the title of official guide of Spain, but downplays the controversies that may arise between official and unofficial guides. "I see it as normal, just like what happened with taxis and Uber. But in Porto, we coexist quite well. There is a good vibe, and that is very nice."
"I had never spoken in public before"
In Florence, another worldwide tourist hotspot, we find María Blanco Toscano. In her name, it seems like her future as a tour guide was written, but this 44-year-old woman from Huelva gave her first free tour on October 18, 2022. María remembers the date because, in reality, she remembers almost everything. "I have a very good memory. Clients tell me their names, and I don't forget them throughout the entire tour." Hers is a 2.5-hour historical walk that she has perfected to become one of the highest-rated. "It's very entertaining: time flies by."
María remembers her first tour very well. She was so nervous that she thought she was going to faint. I had never spoken in public in front of anyone. But this official tour guide - in Italy, the title is mandatory - quickly became a good storyteller. María gestures, makes tourists laugh, gets into the story. She says the free tour has changed her. "I am not the same person. Now I present in front of architects, engineers, philosophers, and teachers who evaluate me daily... So you can imagine how much I have studied." A mother of two girls, María conducts one free tour a day. "We are the best guides in the whole city. We give it our all. And we are different guides."
It was in Italy precisely where Sara Fernández discovered what a free tour was last year. I can do this, she thought. And she did. Since last January, this Sevillian architect and mother of three daughters has been offering a two-hour historical tour through the city center of Switzerland called "In Zurich as at home."
Open and talkative, Sara affirms that her secret is to show the city with the same affection and detail as if she were showing it to a friend or family member, something she had done countless times in the 11 years she has been living there. "I want them to take a welcoming vision, so that people who will only spend one day in Zurich will leave with a beautiful image." The reviews prove it, although beyond these, Sara has been surprised by the human connection created during the tour. "Many people hug me, shake my hand, and then we somehow continue to stay in touch. That really catches my attention. And the applause at the end.