Museum Tour Guide Performance: A Visitor Perspective
Andjelija Ivkov DzigurskiSustainability
Sign up for access to the world's latest research
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Abstract
Tour guide performance has been a hotly debated academic topic, owing to the critical role they play in facilitating a variety of tourist experiences. Similarly, museum tour guides are the initial point of contact for tourists and have a substantial impact on the total visitor experience, but their performance is far less investigated. Visitors’ satisfaction and behavior intentions are inextricably linked to museum guide performances in this case. The purpose of this research was to implement and test a well-established scale for assessing tour guide performance in the museum context. Moreover, the aim was also to single out and discuss museum guide types based on their performances. The research was conducted during May and June 2021 on a sample of 255 visitors from five museums in Serbia. The data were processed by SPSS, R and RStudio. The results indicate the existence of five museum guide types: Classic Professional, Agile Empath, Operational Erudite, Trustworthy Caretaker, and ...
Related papers
Tour guide performance and sustainable visitor behavior at cultural heritage sites
Tour guide performance and sustainable visitor behavior at cultural heritage sites, 2019
Using structural equation modeling, this study investigates how tour guide performance influences visitors’ sustainable behavior at cultural heritage sites by examining the mediating effects of visitor experience and satisfaction. The structural model was tested on a sample of 390 visitors at Petra Archaeological Park in Jordan. Tour guide performance was found to have a significant direct and indirect effects in enhancing visitor sustainable behavior. Moreover, the findings showed that visitor experience and satisfaction significantly mediates the relationship between tour guide performance and visitor sustainable behavior. This research contributes to our understanding of the tour guide role in maximizing visitors’ appreciation and enjoyment, and minimizing their negative impacts on heritage sites. Managerial implications are discussed in light of the empirical findings.
Empirical Knowledge About Person-Led Guided Tours in Museums: A Scoping Review
Journal of Interpretation Research, 2021
Person-led guided tours play an important role in museums’ educational programs. With this scoping review, we take a critical look at existing knowledge based on empirically-based primary studies to shed light on the practices of person-led guided tours in museums, focusing on the tour leader and his/her work practice. Our review included 39 peer-reviewed papers from 1978 to 2018. Results indicate that the research landscape is scattered across different disciplines. We specified three main research topics (docent training, professionalism/expertise, tour performance) to which the reviewed papers could be assigned and made cross-references between studies. Consequently, the review reveals the very complex practice of person-led guided tours in museums. Our review closes with the discussion of implications for practice and further research, with the intention of advancing multidisciplinary empirical research on the guiding practice in museums and person-led museum guided tours.
Service quality, visitor satisfaction and future behavior in the museum sector
2020
The present study investigates the factors that affect visitors’ satisfaction and their future behavior. A survey based on the dimensions of SERVPERF among 632 visitors in two distinct in terms of atmosphere, exhibits and activities museums, the Archaeological Museum and the Museum for Science and Technology in Thessaloniki (Greece) provides the empirical evidence. The results indicate that the five dimensions of SERVPERF can successfully determine the degree of visitors’ satisfaction and predict future behavior. Future behavior is often subject to visitors’ place of residence. The type of museum is also a significant factor affecting satisfaction and future behavior. on and loyalty.
Investigation of Perceived Service Quality, Destination Image and Revisit Intention in Museums by Demographic Variables
GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites
This study aims to reveal the differentiation status of the dependent variables determined in the form of perceived service quality, destination image, and revisit in museums according to demographic characteristics. A face-to-face survey technique was applied between 26.09.2020 and 29.11.2020 to 512 local tourists from the museum visitors in Eskisehir, which were selected with the easy and purposeful sampling method. T-test and ANOVA analysis were carried out within 476 available questionnaires. The results found that women approached more positively the service offered in museums, the image of the city and re-trips. In addition, it was also understood that the married people liked the service in the museums more and wanted a more frequent visit for their single friends. At the same time, it has been determined that the perceived service quality in museums, ideas about the destination, and renewed visits are not affected by the income level. In addition, it has been observed that t...
A Literature Review on Museum Visitiors
2017
As a component of tourism supply, museums have become one of the main attractions in destinations. Due to this, number of museum visitors and studies on museum visitor has increased day by day. The interest of relationship between tourism and museums has dramatically begun after 1990’s (Harrison, 1997). Nowadays, museums are accepted as a tool for development of urban tourism (Jansen-Andrbeke and van Rekom, 1996). It is estimated that every year more than one billion people visit museums (Falk, 2016). When evaluating studies on museum visitors, it is clearly understood that researchers are from various fields such as arts, museum management, tourism and education.
Comparison between Holistic Museum Visitors and Utilitarian Museum Visitors
In marketing strategies, the consumer-focus approach reveals customer experience management as a differentiating tool for competitive advantage in increasing competitive environment. In recent years, museums compete with other leisure and educational institutions such as other museums, theatres, cinemas and amusement parks. Thus, customer experience management provides a competitive advantage for museums.
Visitor satisfaction at the museum: Italian versus foreign visitor
Trying to understand what comprises and infl uences visitor satisfaction is one of the most relevant areas of research for the tourism sector. Th e aim of this study is to analyse which factors infl uence overall satisfaction with visitors to the museum, with particular interest in national origin, feelings, and motivations. Th e research is based on 1,038 questionnaires collected from June to December 2011 among the visitors of the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology (Ötzi) in Bolzano, Northern Italy. Logit models were used in order to estimate the set of independent variables which signifi cantly infl uence both the overall satisfaction of the sample and the diff erences between Italian and foreign visitors in the perception of satisfaction. Th e results suggested that the overall satisfaction was related to the national origin of respondents, their feelings and motivations. Furthermore, opinion about showrooms and other services received during the visit appears to be positively and signifi cantly related to overall satisfaction. From this knowledge, museum managers are more equipped to off er the optimal museum experience, as are museum marketers in their advertisement campaigns in Italy and abroad.
VISITORS ’ EXPECTATIONS The Perceived Degree of Museumness
2009
Defining a physical or virtual space as a museum, seems to have clear implications on visitors’ behaviour and particularly learning behaviour. Past research shows that it is essential to identify different museum types and consider their similarities, differences and special features in order to be able to make valid research hypotheses. However, visitors would not always define certain types of museums as museums. Therefore, we wished to study how visitors view the different museum types and their main reasons for visiting different museums. Investigating visitors’ different definitions and expectations, we used questionnaires which were also used to produce a scale of museumness, the degree to which a certain museum type fits visitors’ museum stereotypes. The analysis of the data allowed the creation of a list of guidelines for the development of educational technology for museum use.
Museum Management and Curatorship Museum environments, visitors' behaviour, and well-being: beyond the conventional wisdom
We introduce a taxonomy of museum environments, based upon three dimensions: the auratic/non-auratic character of the environment, visitors' cultural attendance, and level of cultural attendance of the social context. We consider a case study of a museum environment characterized by the least favourable sociocognitive conditions, and conduct a study on 102 museum visitors about their cognitive performance in terms of attention and recall, cultural habits, evaluation of museum services, and psychological well-being. In spite of a fair cognitive performance in terms of attention and recall and a general satisfaction with the museum environment features, a weak relationship between performance and cultural habits, and between cultural habits and psychological well-being, is found. We conclude that museum policies for lowattendance museum environments should be carefully reconsidered in order to stimulate visitors to develop more culturally oriented habits, with possible positive impacts also in terms of well-being.
Determining Domestic Tourists' Satisfaction of Tour Guide's Service Quality Using SERVQUAL Model at Historic City of Babylon
KurdishStudies, 2024
The growth of tourism in Iraq is significant, and the tour guide service is essential in ensuring the tourists' satisfaction; however, the tour guide service is associated with poor service quality in Iraq, inadequate attention and assistance, and training through the development and testing of the SERVQUAL Model and tour guide qualities based on the disconfirmation theory. This study tries to measure the discrepancy between domestic tourists' expectations and experiences of tangibles. This research aims to investigate tourist satisfaction with the quality of tour guide services in Babylon City by focusing on the nine criteria contributing to tourist satisfaction and employing the SERVQUAL Model and Theory of Disconfirmation. The research approach employed is a quantitative method. The survey with a total of 394 respondents (tourists in Babylon). Which was then processed and analyzed using the data analysis using first-generation (SPSS) was adopted. Findings of the studySERVQUAL dimensions of reliability, empathy, tangibility, Safety and Security, responsiveness, tour guide attributes of Personal integrity, Professional skills, Professional attitude and ability, and Professional Knowledge were found to be significant. Tourist perceptions considerably outperformed their expectations, with a positive gap for all factors. The implication of the research contributed to this study's overarching goal is to significantly contribute to our understanding of tourism generally and domestic tourism in Babylon in particular. The findings offer valuable and specific confirmations for further studies. Specific and useful confirmations for academic studies on tour guide service quality are provided. However, this would close a gap in the existing amount of literature. Future research is expected to investigate additional factors that can influence the quality service of tour guides and the impact on tourists' satisfaction in the historic city of Babylon, as tourism policy is also required to examine Babylon city. It also requires examination of international tourists to acquire a more thorough understanding of tour guide service quality.
Related topics
Related papers
Role of tour guides on tourist satisfaction level in guided tours and impact on re-visiting intention: a research in Istanbul
Traveller's wishes, needs and expectations keep changing constantly as destinations vie with each other to increase their share from the international tourism pie. Destinations need to offer qualified service and renew themselves continuously. In this context, tour guides as key representatives of destinations play a significant role on tourist satisfaction and re-visit intention. This research aims to ascertain the role played by tour guides on the satisfaction level of tourists participating in guided tours in Istanbul. Another aim of this research is to determine the impact level of tour guides on the possible re-visit intention of tourists to the same destination. Based on 530 completed surveys from international tourists, the findings revealed a significant relationship between tourist satisfaction , re-visiting intention and tour guiding service. Following the evaluation of the findings, recommendations were developed for the tourism industry.
Antecedents of satisfaction in guided tours: an introduction
The main motivation of this paper is that, as far as the extant literature in tour guiding and related studies are concerned, it is surprising there are few studies specifically focusing on guided tours and satisfaction in the eye of customers in the context of Turkey, though there are questionnaires conducted by the travel agencies by themselves. Drawing on the international literature on guiding and satisfaction with specific reference to guiding, we have constructed a questionnaire, subsequent to necessary analyses such as reliability and validity, and then the questionnaire, composed of different dimensions, has been administered to some 600 participants, thanks to the collaboration of tour guides and travel agencies. The results suggest that communicative skills of guides need some development.
The Role of Tour Guide Performance in Creating Responsible Tourist Behavior: An Empirical Study: Archaeological Sites in Alexandria
International Journal of Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality, 2020
In spite of, Alexandria has many tourist attractions, but its archaeological sites are seen as most attracting many tourists. In consideration of the growth of mass tourism at archaeological sites, tourists' behavior and their numbers may have many possible harmful effects such as noise, overcrowding and pollution. Although, there are many factors that can affect tourists' behavior in the destination, but this research has interested to study the relationship between tour guide performance and responsible tourist behavior at archaeological sites by analyzing the impact of intermediate factors like tourist satisfaction and experience. This research has been based on a descriptive survey method through distributing a set of questionnaires from 21 November 2019 until mid-December 2019 at certain archaeological sites in Alexandria. The structural model was tested on a sample of 334 tourists who have visited these sites. This study was based on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate and check the reliability and validity of the current conceptual model and path analysis to test the mediation effects of tourism experience and satisfaction. Finally, the Structural equation modeling (SEM) has shown the effective role of tour guide performance, tourism experience and tourism satisfaction in directing tourists' behavior towards responsible behavior.
Tour Guide Performance and Tourist Satisfaction by nzayisenga adrien
Tour Guide Performance and Tourist Satisfaction by nzayisenga adrien, 2016
This study examines tour guide performance and its relationship with tourist satisfaction in the context of package tours in Shanghai. A multilayer framework of tourist satisfaction in the package tour context is proposed. Tourist satisfaction was conceptualized to include three aspects/layers: satisfaction with guiding service, satisfaction with tour services, and satisfaction with the overall tour experience. Tour guide performance was found to have a significant direct effect on tourist satisfaction with guiding service and an indirect effect on satisfaction with tour services and with tour experience. Satisfaction with guiding service positively affected satisfaction with tour services but showed no direct effect on satisfaction with the overall tour experience. However, indirect effect of satisfaction with guiding service on satisfaction with tour experience mediated by satisfaction with tour services was significant. Implications for tour operators and government agencies are discussed.
sj-pdf-1-jix-10.1177_10925872211065653 – Supplemental material for Empirical Knowledge About Person-Led Guided Tours in Museums: A Scoping Review
2022
Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jix-10.1177_10925872211065653 for Empirical Knowledge About Person-Led Guided Tours in Museums: A Scoping Review by Inga Specht and Franziska Loreit in Journal of Interpretation Research
Travel motivations and satisfaction of excursionists: A case study of Haji Bektashi Veli Museum
The tourists’ tendency to experience local culture and heritage make museums an important attraction in destinations. Considered a part of cultural and heritage tourism, visiting museums is important for both the community’s economy and social life. The experiences formed from visiting museums have also an impact on the destination’s attractiveness. Visitor’s satisfaction of services offered in the destination plays a significant role in revisit intentions. Drawing on a sample of 121 excursionists visiting Haji Bektashi Veli Museum, which is considered a rich cultural heritage ethnography museum in Turkey, this paper examined the travel motivation and satisfaction level of museum’s visitors. To answer the research question, a self-administrated questionnaire was used. The findings suggested that travel motivations were variable among the respondents and that visitors’ satisfaction of services offered in the destination was high. The study also reported high level of revisit and recommendation intentions among visitors. Keywords: Haji Bektashi Veli Museum, excursionist, motivation and satisfaction.
The impact of behaviors and skills of tour guides in guiding tourist groups
2019
The aim of this study was to reveal the impact of the tour guide's behaviors and skills in guiding tourists groups in an efficient manner. To achieve the aim of the study, a random sample of (117) tour guides were selected and the descriptive approach was applied for the purposes of this study, where the researcher prepared a questionnaire consisting of (25) paragraphs divided into two fields: the behaviors and the skills of the tour guide. After confirming the reliability and stability of the tool it was applied to the sample where the results showed that the behaviors of the tour guides do have an impact on guiding tourist groups, as do their skills. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences due to the impact of experience and training on the behaviors of the tour guides, while no statistically significant differences were found due to either their experience or training in the skills of a tour guide in guiding tourist groups. The originality ...
The Assessment and Possibility of Experience-Oriented and Information-Oriented Guided Tours at Two Hungarian Museums
2019
In the era of online information abundance, the amount of knowledge available to the individual is exponentially growing. At the same time, our thirst for knowledge and our desire to understand the correlations behind the facts remain observably unsatisfied. Consequently, there is an urgent need for means and media which provide guidance in the labyrinth of facts. The above-mentioned media include centuries old institutions, such as museums. Museums have changed according to the requirements of the era. They are still well-known, recognised and trustworthy sources of slices of knowledge which are easy (or in certain cases more difficult) to acquire. Regarding the current situation in Hungary, the popularity of the national institutional system of museums, which has a history of more than 200 years, is apparent. Since 2012, both the number of visitors and the number of events organised by museums have been increasing nationwide. In order to maintain the role of museums in society and...
Service Quality of Museums for Sustainable Tourism An
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (Hum.), Vol. 69(2), 2024, pp. 259-280 , 2024
Museums are the major cultural resources of a country that emphasize tourism and economic growth. For this, the service quality is important, and should be measured by systematic methods and analysis on a yearly basis. In Bangladesh, due to the lack of knowledge, these cultural resources are not properly utilized and managed, which affects the conservation and preservation of our historical resources as well as national development. This study aims to understand the quality of service of museums in Bangladesh. It helps us understand the concepts prominent among visitors engaging in museum experiences and the barriers for museums to provide a better quality of service to their visitors. The study was conducted on 16 renowned museums across three divisions of Bangladesh: Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Chattogram. Field visits and in-depth interviews are applied as a methodology for data collection. The study suggests that most of the known Bangladeshi museums need help in providing a better quality of service for their visitors due to inadequate and unplanned infrastructure, exhibition style, service provided, and supportive attitude. This article aims to create a service quality measurement database for museums, enhancing their service quality and promoting sustainable tourism. The increased visitor numbers will boost local communities' income, contribute to the country's Sustainable Development goal 8, and protect local culture. Key words: Service Quality, Museums, Cultural Heritage, Tourism, SDG, Bangladesh.
Exploring the Visitors’ Perceptions and Experiences of Museums
Tourist Behavior, 2018
In order to increase visitor numbers and survive in the long run, today's museums need to understand their visiting publics including cultural tourists. Therefore, this chapter aims to understand various publics, their perceptions and experiences of museums by conducting a qualitative research. The study sample was selected from among the visitors of two main museums in Genoa, Italy. Face-to face interviews were conducted to gather data on the definition of a museum by the visitors. The analyses of 372 usable responses revealed seven core elements of museum visitor experiences which included experiences that provide historical and/ or cultural reminisce and awareness, learning and self-development, exposure to tangible evidences, sensory stimulation, wonder and discovery, entertainment and socializing. Implications are discussed relative to marketing strategies.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.