Tour Guiding or Tour Misleading? Multifaceted Approach in Assessing the Standards of Cultural Tour Guiding in Bali Island

Authors

  • KA LEONG CHONG SUNWAY UNIVERISTY
  • Man-U Io Macao Institute for Tourism Studies

Keywords:

Tour Guide, Cultural Tourism, Bali Tourism, Tour Operator, Sustainable Tourism.

Abstract

This study inspects the quality of tour guiding in Bali Island in specific to cultural tour. A total of 4 quality standards of tour guiding were conceptualized based on suggestions from UNESCO and the World Federation of Tourist Guide Association, namely 1) Knowledge, 2) Guiding techniques, 3) Compliance to Rules and Regulations, and 4) Sensitiveness. This study applied three research techniques: (1) In-depth Interview, (2) Site observation with experiential audit, and (3) Mystery shoppers in collecting data pertaining to perception, experiences, sharing of information, actions, and behavior in a natural setting. Two industry experts, seven cultural sites, fifteen tour operators, twelve tourists, and two non-local tour guides were sampled for interview, observation and evaluation. Thematic analysis was used to discover the overall indicators of performance, followed by benchmarking analysis to conclude on the level of compliance. Findings suggested that the sampled tour guides did show a certain degree of compliance, especially in guiding techniques and sensitivity towards tourists' needs. However, findings indicate a concerning gap in standards related to knowledge and abiding rules and regulations. The study also discovers that the performance of tour guiding varies and is somehow related to the presence of illegal tour guiding on the island. This study has contributed to understanding tour guiding qualities in Bali Island. Moreover, this study provides practical and realistic implications that contribute to the development of cultural tour guiding in Bali Island.

Author Biography

KA LEONG CHONG, SUNWAY UNIVERISTY

School of Hospitality, Senior Lecturer.

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Published

2021-04-19

How to Cite

CHONG, K. L. and Io, M.-U. (2021) “Tour Guiding or Tour Misleading? Multifaceted Approach in Assessing the Standards of Cultural Tour Guiding in Bali Island”, e-Review of Tourism Research, 18(4), pp. 525–546. Available at: https://ertr-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/ertr/article/view/383 (Accessed: 29 April 2024).

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 4 (2021)

Section

Articles

License

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