As tour leaders are the first-line attendants facing the tourists, they play an important role in the travel agency, especially in Asia. The group package tour has become one of the main modes in outbound travel. Based on previous studies about tour leaders’ origin, role and personality, this article attempts to identify the unique characteristics of tour leaders compared to employees of other service industries. The article extracts the characteristics of a tour leader from existing literature with the goal of developing a conceptual framework. Finally the managerial implications for both tour leaders and travel agencies are discussed.