This group from Vietnam is led by a guide who carries a triangular flag. Another system is to carry an umbrella.
Vietnamese tour guide in Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
The guide stopped the group at one side of the station and told them how to use their tickets to get through the barrier. He then stayed behind the barrier as you see here to help them all through.
I asked him where the group was from. He said Vietnam. I assumed the flag was from Vietnam. I was wrong.
Why the flag? From the outsider's point of view, the advantage is to alert others to the fact that there is a group.
Don't tell them to move on. Waste of your time. They are all standing listening to their guide. They follow his orders. They probably don't speak English.
The real purpose is to help the members of the group. Find the guide amongst the group. To find the group if you are a member and lag behind.
Tips for guides and group leaders
1 Carry a flag of your country or language or company.
2 If your employer does not provide and pay for the flag, use an umbrella. You could use an umbrella with a Union Jack motif bought from souvenir stalls in London, England.
3 If you think that is too expensive, likely to be muddled with others, or you don't have an umbrella of the right language, or you are leading a group and speaking two or more languages, use any other distinctive umbrella.
4 You could ask a local hotel if they would donate an umbrella or let you borrow one - which advertises their hotel.
5 If your tour guide does not have a flag or umbrella, offer to lend them one.
Useful Websites
Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
