FOR one hair-raising moment on a 15-day tour of Europe, CTC Holidays' tour leader Dennis Chuang feared he was on the receiving end of an indecent proposal.

He was resting in his hotel room in France at the end of a long day when he got an unexpected visit from a member of his group - a retired beautician whose companion was a loutish, unreasonable man who had been giving Mr Chuang much grief throughout the journey.

She asked to use his bathroom and, after spending a few minutes inside, called out: "I've filled the bathtub for you. You can come and take your bath now."

The gesture was really her way of making up for her friend's behaviour, but it still took him some seconds to recover from his shock.

"She had even put aromatherapy scents into the water," recalls Mr Chuang, 36,who has been a tour guide and leader for 15 years.

"Later, she even made me instant noodles and, the next night, minced pork porridge. I experienced the nicest - and nastiest - passenger on the same trip."

These days, tour leaders and tour guides are not just people who tag along to ensure the trip runs like clockwork.

With the year-end holidays around the corner, here's something else to ponder too: Some tour leaders have become leading attractions in their own right.

These A-listers have become so good at their job that they draw repeat business from clients. A few have even become mini-celebrities with fans who shower them with thank-you cards, cakes and bird's nest soup, long after the trip is over.

SA Tours' Jason Ang, 38, who has been in the business for 15 years, once received a box of ang ku kueh from a middle-aged female customer. She was so besotted with him, she went to his favourite confectionery to buy the Chinese snack made of sticky, glutinous flour.

And then there's the ultimate flattery - marriage proposals and even, gasp, stalkers.

"The mother of one of my passengers proposed on behalf of her daughter who was also on the same tour," says the roly-poly Mr Chuang, who is single.

"She said that if I agreed, she would be happy to die."

Though he turned down the proposal, the love struck daughter signed up later for another tour, this time with a friend to help suss out her prospective husband. He declined her advances again.

His colleague, Mr Gideon Ting, 36, receives love letters from adoring females."Some, when they talk to you, come so close as if they want to kiss you," he says.

Other cheeky customers tease him about how they can see the waistband of his Calvin Klein underwear above his low-waist jeans.

At one agency which declined to be named, one woman was so smitten by a tour leader that after the trip was over, she visited his agency and spent days staring forlornly at him through the glass doors of his office.

She gave up only when he politely asked her to stop doing it.

Housewife Jenny Tan, 60, has travelled with Mr Chuang more than five times over the past five years to countries like Spain, Portugal and Japan.

She says: "He just makes me feel so comfortable and he is so caring towards us. Sometimes, my friends even tease him and ask if we can match make him with their daughters."

Star guides

WHILE cases of infatuations may be extreme, tour leaders have become almost as important as the destination.

Agencies are often besieged with requests from customers who want to join tours led by specific guides.

CTC gets an average of five to eight such requests a month during the off-peak season and more during the peak period, says Ms Joycelyn Su, senior manager of its outbound tours division.

Such requests are met when possible, but most agencies prefer not to make any promises so as to give fair exposure to each tour leader in their stable.

Chan Brothers Travel's director of marketing communications Ivy Tan says: "In the best interest of customers, we will always review the overall performance of the tour leader, his knowledge, experience and competency in the new assignment, before acceding to such a request."

But in a nod to demand, SA Tours organised five Star Tours earlier this year to destinations like China, Europe and South Africa.

The 'stars' were its top tour leaders like Mr Ang and his colleague Keith Ng, 41. Their photos were plastered on publicity materials, says SA Tours' marketing manager Jenny Sim.

All the 100 or so places were snapped up by eager customers and the agency is considering a second instalment of Star Tours.

What makes one tour leader a star and another a mere chaperone?

For starters, while everyone must oversee the requisite transport,accommodation and meal arrangements, A-listers are invariably those who go the extra mile for their customers.

SA Tours' Mr Ng, for example, often gets coaxed to do some karaoke singing on the tour bus. He obliges because "it's what the customers want".

He says: "For the older generation, I sing Teresa Teng. For the younger ones, Ising A*mei."

CTC's Mr Ting, who has logged 10 years in the industry, invites passengers on his United States tours to his room for a nightcap.

"On the first two nights, I buy the wine. After that, everyone chips in. So whenever they drink wine, they can remember me."

Post-trip service is equally important, with some tour leaders devising novel methods to maintain good ties with customers.

One way is to assign a code name to every tour group, says Mr Chuang. For example, when a group he was leading got marooned in the Swiss countryside after the bus broke down, he announced that their code name was 'helicopter' because of the local police choppers flying overhead to make sure no one was hurt.

"So every time someone from that group contacts me, he or she says 'helicopter', and I know immediately who the person is."

Through e-mail, SMSes and calls, some tour leaders become friends with their customers. They get invited to weddings, full-month baby parties and drinking sessions.

No licence needed

WHILE Singaporeans who lead tourists around Singapore must be licensed by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), those leading Singaporeans abroad who do not need a licence or certification.

The industry is largely unregulated and so it is hard to pin down how many tour leaders there are. But there are about 750 travel agencies registered with the STB.

The National Association of Travel Agents has an outbound tour leader registry but it is not compulsory for them to sign up. Currently, it has about 50 names.

As a gauge, big agencies like SA Tours, Chan Brothers and CTC Holidays have between 50 and 100 freelance and in-house tour leaders each.

For aspiring jet setters, O-level qualification usually secure a position as a counter staff member at an agency where you can learn the ropes.

Understudying an experienced guide on a trip is the next step. After that, he will be assigned to lead short trips before graduating to long ones.

Trips to Asian countries like China or Thailand are typically less challenging as host countries insist local guides are hired.

Tour leaders get a basic monthly pay of $850 to $1,200. With commission and allowances, they can make up to $3,000 in good times.

Though they may get commissions from shops which they introduce tourists to, or sign up to lead optional tours during the trip, there is a cap on the number of 'extras' that can be offered per trip.

SA Tours, for example, limits shopping stops to just one or two per destination, with a maximum of three for countries like China, says Ms Sim. In a move to upgrade the industry, more training is on the cards.

In July, the Workforce Development Agency set aside $500,000 to train 800 staff -100 new entrants and 700 current employees - in the tour and travel servicessector.

Professional tour leading is one of the modules offered by the Tourism Management Institute of Singapore, which administers the courses.

WDA says about 250 staff members will be attending the upgrading courses over the next six months. About 80 people have already done so.

Though the prospect of 'free' travel may be alluring, tour leaders warn that the job is no walk in the park.

Dynasty Travel's Mary Teo, 38, once fell so sick she lost her voice while leading a group to China. But she had to soldier on because the Caucasians in her group needed a translator at all the sights.

The frequent flying - they go overseas at least once a month - also means that tour leaders with families, like Ms Teo's colleague Chong Hwee Min, 34, have to leave their loved ones behind.

Mr Chong, who has two young children and is married to a corporate airline ticketing executive, says leaving home is always difficult but his family is understanding.

And with Singaporeans making more than 25 million visits out of the country last year - a fair proportion on guided tours though no figures are available - prospects look good for those with high-flying ambitions.

Tour leaders who do well can expect to be promoted to management roles. Meanwhile, some Travel Idols can expect to draw attention, and more, from their globetrotting fans.