Does the sentence tourists were waiting for directions have a participial phrase?

Yes, the sentence "Tourists were waiting for directions" contains a participial phrase.

Here's why:

* Participial Phrase: A participial phrase is a group of words that acts like an adjective and includes a participle (a verb form ending in -ing or -ed).

* Participle: In this case, the participle is "waiting."

* Phrase: The entire phrase is "waiting for directions."

The phrase "waiting for directions" modifies the noun "tourists," telling us what the tourists were doing.