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International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

Challenges

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Tourism

Giving Voice To Australia’S Professional Tour Guides: Perspectives Of Their Social Identity, Birgitta E. March Mrs, Kim Williams Dr, Caroline Winter Dr Sep 2023

Giving Voice To Australia’S Professional Tour Guides: Perspectives Of Their Social Identity, Birgitta E. March Mrs, Kim Williams Dr, Caroline Winter Dr

International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

Professional tour guides (PTGs) play an instrumental role in Australia’s tourism industry, however, there is little understanding of their perspectives regarding their challenges, expectations, belonging, and recognition. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they lack a voice and feel neglected within the tourism industry. This study adopted an interpretivist approach to capture the voices and perspectives of 19 Australian PTGs, through focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews. This qualitative study was seen through the lens of Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory (1974). A key finding is that the tour guides’ strong sense of belonging is the motivating factor to address the lack of …


On Tourist Guiding: Reflecting On A Centuries-Old Profession And Proposing Future Challenges, Luis Miguel Brito, Glen Farrugia May 2020

On Tourist Guiding: Reflecting On A Centuries-Old Profession And Proposing Future Challenges, Luis Miguel Brito, Glen Farrugia

International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

This paper provides a historical overview of Tourist Guiding, followed by some thoughts and reflections on how we can improve and develop our profession into the 21st Century. Thus, the paper traces the main developments of the profession through time. The idea of the paper is to offer a context to this new Journal, and hopefully entice the reader to draw useful parallels when critically reading the content of this and future issues of this publication.