In this series I'm contacting a number of Tour Guides from around the world and asking them how they’ve been affected by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, what restrictions their individual governments have imposed, the impact, what they’ve been doing to keep their business ticking over, what their thoughts are for the future …and things like that.

This post features Frank, a lovely guy, who I first met a number of years ago when he came on one of my tours in London. Frank's company Asado Adventure in Buenos Aires is a little bit different from some of the other guides I'll be including here, as his tours involve actually going to his house to eat food. Sounds intriguing? Well, read what Frank has to say about it. 

Tell us a bit about your company?

My name is Frank Almeida and I have been a tour guide in Argentina since 2016. I am originally from Chicago. I followed my then-girlfriend, now wife, because she was missing home and wanted to be back near her family and I have always been curious what it would be like to live outside of the States. That was in 1999. In 2002 I created a gourmet cookie brand called 'Sugar and Spice' and I had the cookie factory up until 2015 when I sold it. I then went into food tourism and created Asado Adventure.  The idea behind this tour was to recreate the weekend family asado (grill) that is a big part of Argentine culture but that visitors rarely would get to experience because they would need to be invited to someone’s home. I receive visitors into my home and I show them how to light the grill and they make the chimichurri, a classic south American parsley and vegetable oil based sauce that accompanies steak dishes. They put the salad together, we then go shopping for some additional ingredients and visit the wine shop, bakery, and butcher shop and then head back home and finish putting everything together and have the food grilled by a professional Argentine grill master and we sit down to eat. Since then, I have added a full-day food and neighbourhood tour of Palermo Viejo and a craft-beer tour as well. Currently, I am developing an online half-hour quick streaming class on how to make chimichurri. This will be available shortly.

How has your government’s approach to Coronavirus impacted you and your business?

The Argentine government went into lockdown mode on March 20th. Before then, they had recommended social distancing and suggested that people should stay home except for essential outings like grocery shopping, medicine, etc. But once the order came down to lockdown, all of my touring activity ceased and I had to process a lot of cancelations. Argentina placed a strict stay-at-home order. We were only allowed to walk to the local shops for food and using automobiles or public transportation was not allowed except for people who had essential jobs. Basically, all of my business screeched to a halt as we saw all tourists head to the airports to leave the country. Everything was closed and at first only a small handful of restaurants offered to make dishes for pick up. The whole city looked like a ghost town and it was eerie walking down desolate streets that would normally be teeming with tourists.

Have you been self isolating / in lockdown? If so, how long and what’s your top tip for surviving?

At first, as a family with our two teenage daughters, we were consuming news about the pandemic and we hunkered down and came up with schedules for taking care of the house with the cooking and the cleaning. We also started watching a little more TV together. The girls started baking more and I also started looking up recipes to try new things to eat. We even tried some of the Instagram food trends like Dalgona coffee and mini pancakes (cereal pancakes). For Dalgona I incorporated sweetened condensed milk and Bailey’s turning out to be very successful experiments. 

What have you been doing during this period to keep your business ticking over?

I have been working on a virtual class where I teach people how to make chimichurri live. This is a very short class that only takes 30 minutes. I am doing this with a multinational technology company that is currently in beta testing so I can’t say who it’s with, but it’s going great so far and shortly it will be available to the American market first. In the meantime, I am working on having it available directly through my own website as well. I have also been doing a lot of cleaning, cooking, and house maintenance.

What have you most missed about not being able to do tours?

I have mostly missed meeting new people and introducing my neighbourhood and local foods to them. I miss the interaction and the walking around. So basically I miss the people and being outside.

How are you feeling about the future? Do you foresee changes in the tour guiding industry?

I think for the time being there will have to be changes. There will be no more handshakes for one when meeting someone. We have to get used to wearing masks and once we start loosening restrictions, we need to be more aware of our surroundings and how to stay safe. I think smaller activities that take place out in the open will be safer than large group tours for one. I have never liked being bussed around for a tour with a large group of people myself, but I would imagine that more people will want to avoid those types of activities in the near future. I think small private tours will be in a better position. I also think that these new virtual tours might also have a place in the market going forward.

Do you think life / business will go back to normal?

I’m not sure if we can go back to normal like we knew without a vaccine in place. I would imagine that once we do get a vaccine that we will most likely go back to normal, but we should also require that our governments focus on pandemic reactions and have a better idea of how to respond to these types of things going forward. There are plenty of really good examples of societies that were able to react quickly and control this thing before it got out of hand even though the majority of us did not experience that. Going forward, that would be a choice.

What have you been reading / listening to / playing / watching? 

I admit that I have started watching way more TV than I had before. I watched mostly series like Better Call Saul, Killing Eve, Billions, The Kominsky Method, Chernobyl, Tiger King, Crashing, The 100 and a little bit of regular TV like Blackish and Modern Family. But one thing that my daughters have grown to love is sitting down to watch Last Week Tonight, The Daily Show, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. They grew up with me watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report when they were younger. Now that they are teenagers they started to understand why I liked those so much.  I also purchased a subscription to the New York Times because I just wanted to have more access to the news. Considering everything that has been going on lately, I have no shortage of up to the minute information. I am also still getting used to running inside my house which is a bit boring, but it’s what I have. Starting on the 8th of June we will be able to go running outside in our own neighbourhood and only between 8pm and 8am. That is better than nothing.

Is there something in your city that you’re most looking forward to getting back to / revisiting?

I am looking forward to just being social again and going out and interacting with friends face to face. That first social pint is going to be excellent! I am also looking forward to sharing food with future guests to Argentina on my tours. I admit that when I have a lot of tours I start skipping a lot of the eating, but not always. I try to eat and drink alongside my guests as much as possible.

Have you found any positives from the current situation?

At first it seemed a bit scary what we were all living through, but the silver lining was that we got to spend more time together as a family. We cooked together more; we cleaned the house together more; we watched TV together more often. Fortunately, our house is big enough that for a great part of the day we could each have our own space without being on top of each other, but we would come together for shared activities. Our teenagers who normally would be more distant, have started sharing more during dinner and having more conversation, for example. 

If you think you might be heading to Buenos Aires in the next couple of years, then Frank would like to offer anyone reading this article a 10% discount on any of his Asado Adventure Tours, using the code: ASADOFRIEND at the checkout (and only redeemable if you use the above link and valid throughout 2021 and 2022).

​Also in the series:

#01 - Silvia in Rome
#02 - Mark in Amsterdam

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​In this series I'm contacting a number of Tour Guides from around the world and asking them how they’ve been affected by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, what restrictions their individual governments have imposed, the impact, what they’ve been doing to keep their business ticking over, what their thoughts are for the future …and things like that.

Mark's been doing his tours in Amsterdam for the last seven years. I met him a couple of years ago when he came to London and did two walks with me over the course of a particularly cold, wet and snowy weekend.

​Tell us a bit about your company?

That Dam Guide is Amsterdam’s best rated small group and private tour company. I started the company in 2013 to offer small group tours, 8 people max, at a reasonable cost. My basic tour is a 3-hour history and general info walking tour on the old town. The Red Light District gets its own 90-minute walking tour. About 5 years ago I started offering driving tours through lovely countryside to windmills, a family farm and, in the tulip season, to Keukenhof Gardens and tulip fields.

How has your government’s approach to Coronavirus impacted you and your business?

I am a sole trader and use freelance guides. The Dutch government has been pretty supportive to freelancers and sole traders. They have given us all between 500 and 1500 euros a month depending on our circumstances. This is now being extended to October. The amount I get is nowhere close to my lost earnings but it does cover my rent and food. Museum, hotels, cafes, bars were closed until the 1st June so there have been no tourists in town. Planned meetings of more than 2 people were also banned so that precluded walking or driving tours.

Have you been self isolating / in lockdown? If so, how long and what’s your top tip for surviving?

No, it was not necessary to self-isolate. Amsterdam had a fairly lax lockdown. I threw myself into doing household chores I’ve put off for years and lots of cooking.

What have you been doing during this period to keep your business ticking over?

I didn’t do anything initially and treated it like a spring staycation. Okay, I did a lot of admin, issuing refunds for all bookings! 

I’ve made a couple of little films of parts of tours, like walking through the tulip fields as I could still drive and enjoy them. 

I’ve switched all of my remaining tours that are available for booking in 2020 from small group to private tours. I feel that people might be reluctant to join a group of strangers, no matter how small. I’ve also slashed the price of the private tours to make them affordable for people who would usually book a small group tour.

I’ve spent a while buying and testing equipment and am now up and running with virtual tours. This means I am walking and filming and talking to and taking questions from people who are participating from their own home. There have been many things to learn and practice but I feel quite upbeat about these and enjoy them very much.

What have you most missed about not being able to do tours?

I miss the work so much. I love showing people Amsterdam and sharing time chatting with them. It is so rewarding making people on holiday happy and I can’t wait to do it again!

How are you feeling about the future? Do you foresee changes in the tour guiding industry?

It’s so hard to say. I hope that Amsterdam is not overrun like it was before. Mass tourism had taken its toll and locals were fed up. If things can ease back and hopefully a way can be found that limits tourism so that visitors and locals can enjoy the city in harmony!

Do you think life / business will go back to normal?

Sure, why not. There have been countless disasters and tragedies in history and life bounces back. We humans are a resilient lot.

What have you been reading / listening to / playing / watching? 

Initially I decided to escape with a bit of fiction. Usually I only read about history in general and the Netherlands in particular. I remembered loving Captain Corelli’s Mandolin so looked up the author and got lost in two recent novels of his: The Dust that Falls from Dreams (2015) and So Much Life Left Over (2018). They were GREAT! Now I’m half way through my favourite book about Amsterdam. It’s by Russell Shorto and called: Amsterdam, the Story of the World’s Most Liberal City. This is an essential read for anyone who is gong to visit the city and wants to get an idea of its history and soul.

Is there something in your city that you’re most looking forward to getting back to / revisiting?

I have missed Droog Design so much. It’s my favourite design space and they host exhibitions exploring the role of design in modern life. I’ve also sorely missed trying new restaurants and all the lovely craft beer bars. Those are now open but unfortunately until work picks up I won’t be doing much luxury spending.

Have you found any positives from the current situation?

Absolutely. With Amsterdam itself, this has been a very interesting experience for me. Because there was no real lockdown and we were allowed to go out at will for any reason, it was possible to cycle the deserted city streets. I remember being on Dam Square at 6pm on a Saturday evening and the place was deserted bar one Romanian clarinettist playing hauntingly melancholic music. Locals have had the space to experience and explore their city without the crush of mass tourism. This has been a thought provoking for all. 

Because so many countries have been in lockdown, there was the time and opportunity to connect with friends and family on video call because they were home with not much to do! This has established some routines that will continue post Coronavirus.

​Also in this series:

#01 - Silvia in Rome

​In this series I will be contacting a number of Tour Guides from around the world and asking them how they’ve been affected by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, what restrictions their individual governments have imposed, the impact, what they’ve been doing to keep their business ticking over, what their thoughts are for the future …and things like that.

First up is Silvia in Rome. I met Silvia a number of years ago when me and my dad spent a number of days in 'the eternal city'. Silvia gave us an amazing tour around Trastevere, Campo dei Fiori and the Jewish Ghetto and would highly recommend trying to book either Silvia or one of her colleagues if one day, you find yourself visiting the wonderful city of Rome.

Tell us a bit about your company?

Hi! I’m Silvia from Rome and my company is “A Friend in Rome”.  I started it in 2009 and I mainly lead walking tours, but also bike and Vespa tours. I also like arranging experiences and day trips, so last year, I started another activity called ‘Around Rome Day Trips’, devoted to these explorations just outside the city, for travellers based in Rome. 

How has your government’s approach to Coronavirus impacted you and your business?

We were in total lockdown for 2 months and officially blocked in our activity for 3 whole months. Museums and archaeological areas were closed on the 8th March and some are yet to re-open. Those that have reopened have strict limitations to prevent a resurgence of the pandemic. Therefore, we cannot lead tours in these places, or with just very small groups. 

One airport, Ciampino, has been totally closed, whilst the other, Fiumicino, only operated for emergencies. We’ve only been allowed to move from one “regione” to another (our counties) since the 3rd June. Restaurants have been closed, and many in the city centre have not reopened yet.

Have you been self isolating / in lockdown? If so, how long and what’s your top tip for surviving?

I was in strict lockdown for 2 months and allowed outside with restrictions for the whole month of May. Luckily I like reading and studying and I had tons of books and studying material at hand and time to dedicate. Also I like cooking, which was something many Italians started doing while forced to stay at home. I was already a reasonable cook, but my results have vastly improved. Lastly, I had already started a programme of home gym before the lockdown and it was a good way to keep fit and active. But the top resource was my sunny balcony …the only one in the house. It became my versatile room, from library to gym, from office to concert hall and dining room. I have felt less trapped. 

What have you been doing during this period to keep your business ticking over?

I have been doing research and planning future tours and put the final touches to three or four tours which were almost ready and got new ideas. I enhanced my online activity by writing a blog about the “behind the curtains” job of a tour guide. I studied a bit about marketing and social media. I started my LinkedIn page, revised my website texts with an American friend. Alongside this, I have been networking with colleagues I already know outside of Rome, but also made some new “virtual” friendship and hope to meet them soon in person. 

What have you most missed about not being able to do tours?

The relationships with new people every day, walking, being surrounded by beauty and history every day, eating gelato with new friends, meeting colleagues after the tours for a drink. I understood how much I already loved my life.

How are you feeling about the future? Do you foresee changes in the tour guiding industry?

Well, surely it will be different for a while. I’m reading what experts say and I am comforted by the fact the direction they show is more or less what I was already doing: off the beaten path tours, not crowded locations, open air as much as possible, small parties and private customised tours. I am trying now to work more with locals, which is something I already wanted to develop and now it’s an urge, as international travellers won’t probably start rebooking until the autumn (2020), but I really hope I can build a new market for my tours and especially new tours just for Italians and Romans. So, generally speaking I’m optimistic.

Do you think life / business will go back to normal?

In time, probably it will. I hope we can all learn some lessons: gratitude, the importance of relationships and not just in private life. Putting our souls in to the job we do, no matter what it is. 

What have you been reading / listening to / playing / watching? 

I read several books, especially essays on Etruscans and Suburban areas of Rome. I can’t play but listened to some good albums during my gym sessions and I’m  still watching a series of readings by an Italian actor, Roberto Benigni on “The Divine Comedy” by Dante.

Is there something in your city that you’re most looking forward to getting back to / revisiting?

I’m waiting for the Etruscan museum of Rome, Villa Giulia, to reopen as I’ve been focusing a lot of my studies on them during this period. I long to go to Babington’s Tea House here at the Spanish Steps. I had just decided to go and pamper myself there when the lockdown started, so had to put it on hold. Back then it was March and a cup of tea sounded lovely, but now maybe I will convert it to a great ice cream on a Roman terrace. 

Many sites already reopened in Rome, so I’ve already been back to St. Peter’s and the Vatican Museums, Ancient Ostia, Borghese Gallery and my favourite park Villa Pamphili. Next week I’ll go again to the Colosseum / Forum which reopened last Monday.

Have you found any positives from the current situation?

I understood how important is is to me, to be outdoors, spending time with people who share my interests, experiencing something together like trekking, biking, exploring new places. I understood how much I loved my life already, and my job, and that we do not need too much to be happy: a glass of wine and a sandwich on the grass with good friends was true bliss after the lockdown! 

If you're heading to Rome, then I highly recommend booking a tour with Silvia and "A Friend in Rome".