Northern Ireland

The New Normal: Tour guide Aidan Walker on managing a new business during Covid

Tour guide Aidan Walker had only set up his own business a year before the pandemic hit. Claire Simpson speaks to the owner of Walking Tours Belfast about managing a new business during lockdown and the future of tourism in the north.

Aidan Walker of Walking Tours Belfast said his business has been hit by the pandemic. Picture by Hugh Russell 
Aidan Walker of Walking Tours Belfast said his business has been hit by the pandemic. Picture by Hugh Russell  Aidan Walker of Walking Tours Belfast said his business has been hit by the pandemic. Picture by Hugh Russell 

2020 was supposed to be a big year for Aidan Walker. The 61-year-old, from south Belfast, had retired from his marketing role at BT and was working hard to establish his new business, Walking Tours Belfast.

But lockdown has seen his hard work almost wiped out.

“Last year we did all the work,” he said.

“This year my plan was to reap the benefits of all of the effort. I had my last walking tour on the Sunday before lockdown, March 22. Really everything I had booked was cancelled for the next couple of weeks. There have been no cruise ships since March. All the private work was cancelled and there won’t be any for the remainder of this year.”

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Mr Walker trained as a tour guide in 2017 and retired from his marketing role the following year.

In March 2019, he set up Walking Tours Belfast during a tourism boom in Northern Ireland.

“I think 2019, from speaking to other tour guides and tour companies, was the zenith,” he said.

He added: “I love history. If I go away on a city break I always take a walking tour. It’s the best way to get your bearings and find out what bars and restaurants to go to.

“I wanted to have another thing to do that was outdoors and allowed me to meet people."

His company offers walking tours of Belfast, including a popular walk - Belfast’s Troubled History - which covers the impact of the Troubles on the city.

Tours can be booked through his own website and popular third-party sites including Airbnb, Expedia, GetYourGuide, Trip Advisor and Viator.

Mr Walker said lockdown meant he had no bookings between March and the start of July.

However, he did hold an online pub tour for a networking organisation in England.

“They sat on their laptops over Zoom, had a drink, and I told them about the pub they weren’t in,” he said.

“I think they enjoyed it. It was around about June and then the pubs opened in July.”

Aidan Walker of Walking Tours Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
Aidan Walker of Walking Tours Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell Aidan Walker of Walking Tours Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell

His company also works with another guide, Kerena Crowe, although the pandemic has meant Mr Walker is working on his own for the moment. And because his business was only recently set up, he did not qualify for financial support from the British government.

Normally, tour guides work intensively during the busy summer months before the quiet winter season. As well as his tours, Mr Walker also works for a company which takes tourists on day excursions around the north, including to the Giant’s Causeway.

However, the lack of tourists over the summer meant that his business and other tour guide work is “more or less on hold”.

“The numbers are down significantly. Six or seven people would be a good day (now) and we’re only offering tours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” he said.

His first booking after lockdown restrictions were eased was on July 11.

Covid restrictions mean that his tour can only take a maximum of 10 customers. And he has reduced the number of tours he offers to one walk a day between midday and 2pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

“We’ve had to invest in audio headsets so that people can stand at a distance and hear us," he said. 

"If you’re only making a couple of hundred pounds a week it’s a significant investment. To be honest my costs this year, including having to get my books done by an accountant, the outgoings have nearly swallowed any income this year.

“I’m not overly hopeful for next year. At the minute it feels almost like a hobby more than a job... You get a bit of exercise, meet new people and get out of the house. It’s a very safe activity.”

Aidan Walker of Walking Tours Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell <br />&nbsp;
Aidan Walker of Walking Tours Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
 
Aidan Walker of Walking Tours Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
 

Mr Walker also does tours for cruise ships and private companies. He said he was fortunate that owning his own tour company has meant that he is still able to work.

“There are other guides who only did cruise ship work or extended tours on coaches going around Ireland for two or three weeks - they haven’t worked this year at all,” he said.

The lack of cruise ships coming to Belfast - one of the biggest drivers of tourism - has come as a blow.

“In terms of the opportunities next year, it’s hard to know whether people will travel again,” he said.

“I don’t imagine we’ll get cruise ships in the short term next year unless there is some drastic change like a vaccine. One of the things about the cruise ship market is that the people who come to Belfast are generally older. They might have some connection with Ireland or they’re maybe doing a cruise of the British Isles. They’re in that age bracket where they are at risk from Covid."

Mr Walker said his customers this year so far have been “mainly from these islands”.

“You do get Americans and Lithuanians and others but they’re all people who actually live either in England or Ireland,” he said.

“I’ve had people who are studying in Oxford or Cambridge and have come over (to the north) because we’re somewhere that was perceived as safe.”

Despite the tourism downturn, Mr Walker has no plans to give up his fledgling business.

“I’ll keep doing it," he said. "It might be the year after before (tourism) comes back again.”

Mr Walker said if the north’s Covid rules were relaxed slightly it could benefit the tourist industry.

He said the change in the north’s pub curfew, which is 11pm rather than 10pm in England, “could be enough for people to party here rather than party in England”.

“Whenever we had our first booking in July it was with people from Scotland,” he said.

“The only reason they came here was because the pubs in Scotland were closed and the pubs in Ireland (which also serve food) were open.

“People follow the sun. If there’s something that’s available here - and it would be the fundamentals of bars and cafes - and the rules are less stringent people will come. But I suppose there’s a potential downside that they might bring Covid with them.”

To book a walking tour visit www.walkingtoursbelfast.com