Tour Guiding & Trip Planning
I understand tourism from the visitor’s perspective because I’ve spent years working directly with visitors.
I can provide insight into interpretation, storytelling, itinerary design, guiding and the overall visitor journey — helping turn a good experience into an exceptional one.
I can help you plan your trip, then facilitate it when it happens.
To get the ball rolling, drop me an email at mattpointon89@gmail.com
I have been a professional tour guide in Scotland, England, Japan, Qatar and Australia.
My tour guiding rate is £400 per day or £275 per half day. This does not include expenses, travel, vehicle or gratuities. This is in line with the standard pricing model in Scotland for a freelance tour guide.
[Responsible] Tourism Development
Tourism is changing. Destinations are under pressure to manage growth, communities want greater benefits from visitors, and businesses need to adapt to a rapidly changing industry.
I help tourism businesses, destinations and communities navigate those challenges and turn ideas into practical action.
With more than 15 years of frontline experience across tourism, guiding, education and destination development, combined with an MSc in Responsible Tourism Management, I bring together industry experience, strategic thinking and a deep understanding of how tourism works on the ground.
What I can do for you
Tourism Strategy & Development
I can help you understand where your destination or tourism business is now, where you want to go, and how to get there.
From destination strategies and action plans to individual projects, I turn big ambitions into practical, achievable steps.
Sustainable & Responsible Tourism
Sustainability should be more than a statement on a website.
I help organisations develop tourism that works for visitors, businesses, communities and the environment — creating meaningful experiences while ensuring that tourism delivers long-term value to the places people come to visit.
Destination Management
Successful destinations require more than attracting visitors.
I can help bring together businesses, communities, local authorities and other stakeholders to tackle shared challenges, identify opportunities and develop tourism that benefits the whole destination.
Tourism Product Development
Great tourism experiences don’t happen by accident.
Drawing on years of experience designing and delivering tours and visitor experiences, I can help develop, improve and position tourism products that are commercially viable, distinctive and genuinely valuable to visitors.
Community & Stakeholder Engagement
Tourism works best when people have a voice in shaping it.
I can facilitate conversations between businesses, communities, government and the third sector, helping different interests find common ground and turn competing priorities into collaborative solutions.
Sustainable Transport & Tourism
The way visitors move around a destination is becoming increasingly important.
I am particularly interested in the transition towards lower-carbon tourism transport and how destinations can make sustainable travel practical, attractive and commercially viable for both visitors and tourism operators.
Why work with me?
Because I understand tourism from both sides of the fence.
I’ve worked directly with visitors as a guide and educator. I’ve worked with tourism businesses. I’ve been involved in destination development, community engagement and strategic projects. And I’ve seen first-hand the challenges involved in turning policy and strategy into something that actually works on the ground.
That means I don’t just produce reports (though I am very good at this).
I help people make things happen.
Whether you need a fresh perspective on your tourism business, support developing a destination strategy, help bringing stakeholders together, or someone to take a promising idea and turn it into a workable project, I can help.
Let’s move tourism forward.
If you have a tourism challenge, an idea that needs developing, or a destination that wants to do things differently, I’d be interested in hearing from you.
Email me: mattpointon89@gmail.com
