At 14, Alice Riggins Stevenson packed what little she owned, climbed onto a Greyhound bus in East Texas and left home. Things with her dad had unraveled, so she set out on the long road to Dallas to be with her mother. 

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“I planned that bus trip,” Riggins Stevenson says now, laughing at the memory. “So I can say I’ve been planning bus trips since I was 14.” 

That moment — equal parts rebellion and revelation — quietly set the course for a career that would span more than three decades and make Riggins Stevenson one of Dallas’ most seasoned tour guides. 

Now, as the city braces for the global spotlight of the FIFA 2026 World Cup, she’s focused on a problem most visitors will never consider: Who will tell Dallas’ story? 

Behind the program 

Riggins Stevenson doesn’t call herself a historian or a performer. She prefers something more fitting for someone who has spent a lifetime understanding cities. 

“I’m an interpreter of history,” she says. “You’re interpreting what you see. You’re not trying to be a historian or an entertainer — you’re sharing information.” 

That philosophy anchors the new training program she built to prepare a fresh generation of professional guides.  

The idea came to her last year, as she thought about the tidal wave of visitors North Texas would receive for the World Cup. She reached out to VisitDallas, the official marketing organization for the city of Dallas, with a pitch: a dedicated tour guide training program. 

The concept quickly gained momentum, and before long the program found a home at Dallas College’s Culinary, Pastry and Hospitality Center. 

Dallas College said the Certified Tour Guide Program was designed to focus specifically on preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.  

Related: Federal authorities ramping up arrests, prosecutions before FIFA World Cup arrives

“The demand is growing for trained professionals who can represent the city with knowledge, professionalism and cultural awareness,” said Shiwanda Hamilton, coordinator of continuing education instruction in the School of Business, Hospitality and Global Trade at Dallas College. 

Riggins Stevenson said the program went far beyond hospitality basics. It was immersive, demanding and grounded in a real-world context.  

The program, which spans five weeks and wraps up on May 9, consisted of weekly three‑hour sessions. 

In the classroom, Riggins Stevenson brings a magnetic energy. Her more than 30 years of experience makes students lean in, eager to absorb every detail during the three‑hour sessions. 

She walks them through the stories rooted in the land long before Dallas existed — Indigenous cultures, cotton, railroads and urban expansion. Then, she covers architecture, infrastructure, storytelling, crowd management and even voice pacing. 

She said students didn’t just memorize facts; they learn how to bring their knowledge to life. 

World Cup reality 

Riggins Stevenson noted there are fewer than 20 certified guides in Dallas — an astonishingly low figure for a region that hosts one of the busiest international airports in the nation, the largest arts district in the country and millions of annual visitors. 

“We have a gap in Dallas — qualified tour guides,” she said. “Not greeters. Not concierges. People who can get on a motor coach, lead a group and actually show them the city.” 

Mark Thompson, senior vice president of tourism and operations for VisitDallas, saw the same gap and the same urgency. With the World Cup approaching, he said the stakes couldn’t be higher. 

“This is a moment for Dallas to shine on the global stage,” Thompson says. “Millions of visitors will be forming their first impressions of the city. Certified guides help tell our story in a consistent and compelling way, and that matters when the world is watching.” 

Related: Almost $1 million spent on downtown Dallas upgrades for World Cup

The numbers backing that urgency are staggering.  

Projections show that North Texas could see between 3 and 4 million visitors during the World Cup matches in June and July.  

According to Tourism Economics, airline bookings for June arrivals to the region are running 46.6% ahead of last year for all flights, with international arrivals at more than 100%. 

The strongest international demand is coming from the countries that will play at AT&T Stadium during the World Cup. Argentina, the Netherlands, Japan and the United Kingdom. 

Hotels and short‑term rentals are bracing for the same tidal wave.  

Thompson said hotel revenue projections are up 30% for June and about 50% for July, while short‑term rentals are pacing an astonishing 69% ahead of last year’s revenue for the same period. 

For Thompson, the message is clear: The world is coming, and Dallas needs guides ready to meet them. 

Related: Security tops Dallas World Cup costs, with city seeking federal funds to offset expenses

“They serve as trusted ambassadors,” Thompson said. “People are far more likely to engage with someone knowledgeable, approachable and officially recognized.” 

Thompson said the program meets an immediate need but also creates a long-term workforce legacy for the industry. 

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That legacy, he said, includes multilingual guides who can connect with visitors from Dallas’ fast-growing international markets. 

Riggins Stevenson said she’s focused on preparing multilingual guides — not translators. 

“If you just translate, you lose so much,” she said. “You reinterpret. You make it apply to them.” 

A new generation of storytellers 

Among the students leaning forward in Riggins Stevenson’s classroom is Matías Sada, who arrived in Dallas from Argentina 23 years ago.  

Sada, an executive advertising producer, has been helping newcomers ever since — guiding them to the right grocery store, the right restaurant and the right place to buy a TV. 

With Dallas preparing for the World Cup and thousands of Argentine fans expected, Sada felt a tug. He wanted to help visitors understand Dallas not just as a destination, but also as a layered, living city. 

Related: How English fans evolved and what Dallas should expect when they come for the World Cup

He didn’t initially picture himself standing at the front of a bus with a microphone. But after two decades here, he realized how much he still didn’t know. That curiosity pushed him into the course. 

“I’ve always liked helping people, and being a tour guide lets me do that,” he says. 

His version of guiding has started online. He recently launched an Instagram account to help Spanish‑speaking visitors navigate Dallas. 

“As a Latino living here in Dallas, I can show people things — little curiosities about what life in the United States is really like,” Sada said. 

For him, being useful carries a deep emotional weight. His grandfather made his living in Argentina opening taxi doors for visitors. 

“My grandfather has always been my example — he showed me what it truly means to help people,” he said. 

In Riggins Stevenson’s classroom, Sada sees a way to honor that legacy — by becoming a new kind of door‑opener for Dallas. 

A different kind of guiding 

Conrado Morlán, who has called Dallas home for nearly three decades, also participated in the program.  

He arrived from Mexico City 28 years ago, built a career in technology and eventually became a project manager for Toyota. 

His work demanded clarity, leadership and the ability to guide teams through uncertainty — skills he never imagined would one day point him toward an different kind of guiding. 

His unexpected path began with a simple decision: volunteering for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.  

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He started as a stand-up volunteer at Fair Park and eventually moved to help operations at AT&T Stadium. As volunteer preparations ramped up, Morlán saw a gap in support for global visitors and multilingual crowds. 

Someone in the volunteer group posted an announcement for a tour guide training course. That was the turning point. 

“I’ve lived in Dallas a long time,” he said, “but I really did not know much about the city I live in.” 

Inside the classroom, something clicked. Buildings he once ignored now carried meaning. Streets he had driven for years revealed layers of history. 

“You start to understand how the city was formed,” he said. “The people who built it, the stories behind it. It gives you a different perspective.” 

Full circle ride 

For Riggins Stevenson, preparing certified tour guides goes well beyond the World Cup. Even with the surge of visitors expected in Dallas this summer, she’s focused on the long-term impact. 

“What I really want is a new generation of tour guides,” she said. “Fresh, young people who can carry this forward.” 

From a teenager chasing independence to a woman shaping how a global city presents itself to the world, the arc feels almost inevitable. 

“I didn’t know it then,” she said. “But that bus ride was the start of everything.” 

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