“I studied tourism in Vancouver and worked in Sydney, and then I finally achieved my goal of working in an English-speaking environment when I came back to Japan in 2018 and joined Discova,” she says.
Yuki loves being a guide but acknowledges that it’s tough to get a head start in Japan. Most guides in the country are freelancers and get work based on their existing connections in the industry. Hence, she considers herself lucky to have retained her office position at Discova while foraying into guiding.
“Eileen Yee, my supervisor, gave me a big opportunity to lead GIT groups after I received my license. But this was also a challenging time as the country had just started reopening its borders and wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming influx of tourists,” she says.
Yuki, who was recently promoted to a Guide Development Leader, is now responsible for training and maintaining excellent relations with guides in her country and expanding Discova’s guide pool in Japan, which would be especially helpful during peak season.
“Phoy Phen from Discova’s Guide Academy had also kept in touch with guides in Japan during the pandemic, and thanks to him, we have great guides working with us. I am happy to collaborate with him and improve our guiding services together,” she says.
