Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Abstract

Incoming tour guides’ performance as cultural representatives and line workers is very important in cross-cultural interactions. The purpose of this research is to identify and Prioritize effective characteristics on performance of incoming tour guides from the perspective of foreign tourists. This is an applied research and in terms of the data collection method, it is descriptive-survey. The statistical population of this study included all foreign tourists on guided tours in the period of April to July 2015 in Tehran. A sample of 385 people was obtained using Cochran's formula. Of these, 328 tourists responded to the questionnaire. For data analysis, Friedman test, confirmatory factor analysis, SPSS, and LISREL software have been used. The results show from the foreign tourists’ perspective, priorities of professional and specialized characteristics is higher than individual characteristics and behaviors on the performance of incoming tour guides.

Keywords

حسینی، سید صادق، (1393) ارزیابی وضعیت آموزش راهنمایان گردشگری در ایران با رویکرد ارائه الگوی آموزشی در سطح دانشگاهی. فصلنامه مطالعات مدیریت گردشگری، 28، 144-115.
زاهدی، محمد و بلالی، ارسلان (1388). فن راهنمایی گشت، اصفهان: چهارباغ.
ضیایی، محمود و فرمانی، لیلا، (1390) ارزیابی گردشگران اروپایی از عملکرد راهنمایان تور در ایران. فصلنامه مطالعات مدیریت گردشگری، 15، 52-29.
محمدخانی، کامران، (1378) نقش راهنمایان تور در رضایتمندی گردشگران فرهنگی: مدل راهنمایان هوشمند عاطفی. مجله‌ی مدیریت فرهنگی، 2، 124-113.
Black, R., & Weiler, B. (2005). Quality assurance and regulatory mechanism in the tour guiding industry: A systematic review. The Journal of Tourism Studies, 16 (1), 24-37.
6) Duke, C. R., & Persia, M.A. (1993). Effects of distribution channel level on tour purchasing attributes and information sources. J. Travel Tour. Mark, 2 (2/3), 37-55.
Fine, E .C, & Speer, J. H. (1985). Tour guide performances as sight sacralization. Ann. Tour. Res, 12(1), 73-95.
Geva, A., & Goldman, A. (1991). Satisfaction measurement in guided
tours. Annals of Tourism Research, 18 (2), 177-185.
Heung, V. C. S. (2008). Effects of tour leader’s service quality on agency’s reputation and customers’ word-of-mouth. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 14(4), 305-315.
10) Huang, L., & Kao, P. H. (2011). How to tell a good tour guide under different strategic orientations. African Journal of Business Management, 5 (27), 11146-11162.
Huang, S., Hsu, C., & Chan, A. (2010). Tour Guide Performance and tourist satisfaction: The package tours in Shanghai. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 34 (1), 3-33.
Lin, Y. H., Ting, Y. S., Hsu, Y. L. & Wu, C. C. (2014). Tourist’ perception of tour guides in visiting Taiwan.The International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 6 (4), 192-202.
Min, J., Chen, S. H., Kao, M. Y. & Hsu, F. N. (2013). Study on the indicators of Taiwanese tour guides’ service quality. IBusiness,5 (3), 59-62.
Min, J. (2014). The relationships between emotional intelligence, job stress, and quality of life among tour guides. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 19 (10), 1170–1190.
15) Mossberg, L. L. (1995). Tour leaders and their importance in charter tours. Tourism Management, 16 (6), 437-445.
Poynter, J. M. (1993). Tour design, marketing & management. New- Jersey: Regents/ Prentice Hall.
Rabotic, B. (2011). American tourists perception of tourist guide in Belgarde. UTMS Journal of Economics, 2 (2), 151–161.
World Federation of Tourist Guide Association. (2014). What is a tourist guide?. Retrieved from www.wftga.org/tourist-guiding/.
Zhang, H. Q, & Chow, I. (2004). Application of importance-performance model in tour guides’performance: evidence from mainland Chinese outbound visitors in Hong Kong. Tourism Management, 25 (1), 81-91.