CU B.SC TTM Tour Guiding and interpretation skills

7. During long stays 8. Visiting historic places 9. Getting help for eating, refreshing, relaxing and shopping To get help with language issues: Language interpretation is the first best help given by a tour guide. The best tourist destination can get to be boring, if the visitors do not have a clue of what is being spoken about. The fun in the travel happens when the guest is able to completely understand the element of passion and feelings in any kind of communication or explanation that happens in the tourist destination. Language is the most important communication tool that connects the visitor to the tourist destination. A proficient tour guide who can read, speak and understand the host and guest language will be able to provide with the correct message in the language understandable by the visitor. They will in turn help the visitor to communicate their perceptions to the local host. In the absence of the interpreter there is a high risk of miscommunication and misunderstanding if the host and guest speak and understand two different languages. Therefore, the tour guide plays an important role in eliminating language barriers in travel. Reasons To Hire A Tour Guide  Learn about history and context from your local tour guide  Discover unique details and stories about a destination  Learn about the local food culture  Support the local community  Uncover lesser known places of interest  Take in the views from another angle  Meet fellow travellers  Learn about local art and artists  Gain a fresh perspective from your local tour guide  Save time and skip the line (Katy, 2017) 2. To Get Help with Respect to Local Culture and Behavioral Expectations: The tour guide will educate the tourists about the local culture and the expected tourist behavior before the beginning of the trip. This will help the tourists to be able to understand their limitations and responsibilities in the tourist destinations. The host community will also treat the tourists with respect. The tour guide creates a positive relationship between the visitors versus the locals by helping them communicate with each other. They also help eliminate cultural differences during the communication process. (To Hire A Tour Guide In Jordan Or Not, 2016) To Deal with Security Threats: A local tour guide understands the threats of the tourist destination. They also know how to tactfully deal with the wrong doers in the tourist 101

destination. They help the visitors with information about who is reliable versus who is not reliable. They also help tourists to avoid activities that can trigger unnecessary security threats. If a certain activity becomes truly necessary, the tour guide will be able to best plan it in a way to keep things going without getting affected by the security threats. Visit as Much Places as Possible Within a Short Period of Time: If there is only very little time for taking the trip, the tour guide can intelligently plan the route of travel, mode of travel, the kind of activities to be taken, the start and stop time and so on, thereby, making it possible for the tourists to be able to cover as much places as possible within a short period of time. Special Instructions during an Adventure Trip: The special instructions provided by the tour guide during the adventure tour process will help eliminate several practical dangers therefore leaving the tourist with happy memories. For instance, the right weather condition to go on trekking, the precautions to be taken, the food arrangements, avoiding litter are just a few parameters to name from the special preparedness instruction to be followed. Visiting popular locations: When visiting popular locations, the guidance from the tour guide will help you to take note of no to miss events. You will get help with what you should buy and what you should not miss and so on. During Long Stays: A tour guide will provide you with excellent help with budget planning your trip during the long stay without compromising on the quality of the tourist experience. They can help with an agenda that is not too boring. Unplanned long stays can turn out to be lazy and boring. However, with correct planning and scheduling, the visitors will be able to take special memories of the site with them. Visiting Historic Places: Professional tour guides will be able to provide with true interpretation of the heritage and tourist sites. With skilled and true interpretation, the visitors will be able to relive the stories of the past. They will leave the site with memories that will make them feel like they have been living in the past. The visitors will experience the historic site in a way they should with skilled tour guide interpretation. 102

Getting help for Eating, Refreshing, Relaxing and Shopping: Whether for short stay or long stay, getting the right advice for eating, refreshing and relaxing is unavoidable. Whether it is about enjoying the local cuisines or getting some help with cooking diet foods for visitors, tour guide can help with excellent coordination of events. There is always an unbeatable expectation and satisfaction associated with great eats in any tourist activity. The tour guide can help identify the right choices. This is also true with respect to shopping activities. What are the expectations of tourists from guide? Activity planning and destination interpretation service is the primary expectation of the tourist from tour guide. The satisfaction factor happens when the expectation of the tourists are fulfilled. Expectation is closely related to fulfillment of expected activities. Activity planning to suit the expectations of tourists consists of everything from planning where to eat, where to stay, how to travel, what to buy, what are the activities to be taken, Tour guides act as ‘buffers’ among tourists, the social environment, arranging transportation, interpreting, handling problems, insulating travellers from difficulties and making the environment safe for tourists because they act as ‘intermediaries’ between tourists and the ‘unknown’ environment (Zhang & Chow, 2004). how to shop, communicating with the locals, which place to visit first, which place to avoid in the visiting process to avoid delays and lot more. The visitors will expect the tour guide to be true about the kind of services they offer. They do not want to be dealing with manipulative explanations. They want to deal with tourists who have entrepreneur grade professional ethics. Honesty and reliability is the major expectation set on a tour guide. It is a widespread belief that the quality of tour guides who are financially exploitive might not be good. Also, many visitors try to cut the expenditure on a tour guide and they try to explore the places by themselves. However, a guided tour is best as a guided tour helps tour guides with don’ts and it helps them to avoid negative experiences. Many visitors who are not willing to spend on tour guides are as well hiring tour guides these days, because visitors understand that it is obligatory to hire a local tour guide for safe experiences. In reality, the tourist guide is expected to be able to take care of everything required for the visitors from start to finish, right from the time they step in to the tourist destination through the time they leave the destination. The expectations that visitors set on a tour guide is very high. It should be noted that expectations are not just one type. This is because tourists are not just one type. The purpose of visit for each tourist is different and activity planning should be done in a way to suit the expectations of different classes of tourists. If the tour guide is bilingual, where the guide knows 103

the language of the visitor and the host community, it is a great plus and tourists prefer to work with tour guides who are skilled in the language proficiency. The tour guide therefore has a very strong control over the kind of experience they can create for the tourists by helping them with tour planning. The quality of experience achieved by fulfilling the expectations of tourists creates the satisfaction factor for tourists. Different Tourist Segment And Different Expectations From Guides The tourists are not a homogenous group with similar expectation. Each one of them is here with differences in expectations. The roles and behavior they expect out of the tour guide differ from one person to another. Of course, there are commonly acknowledged roles and customized significant roles provided by the tour guides. Apart from the common roles, tourists as individuals expect to get a customized service to get their requirements fulfilled at the tourist destination. There are different classes of tourists. The expectations of the tourists differ from one tour group to another. In reality, it differs between individual tourists. The purpose of the visit and the individual needs and fantasies of the tourists contribute to what the tourists are expecting from the tour guide. The tour guide should be professional enough to be able to accommodate for the requirements of the visitors from different tourist segments. 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 (Çetı̇ nkaya & Öter, 2016). Even if the tourist destination is boring, the nature and heritage interpretation services provided by the tour guide will help the visitors to be able to experience the tourist destination in a positive manner. o The visitors will expect the tour guide to be able to provide them with an interpretation that will help them relive the history of the destination. (How Tour Guides Abroad Learn to Cater to Exotic Americans, 2016) o The visitors will expect the tour guide to organize the tourist activity by defining the exact amount of time to be spent on each activity. o The visitors will expect the tour guide to organize the transportation to visit with different places. o The visitors will expect the tour guide to get help with food and stay arrangements. o The visitors will expect the tour guide to create the best memories for the purpose of the tour. The visitors will need customized guided tour plans and activity coordination for their personal interests and purpose of visit. This can be a spiritual trip, 104

adventure trip, shopping trip, my time trip, random unplanned trips, family trip, or anything that you can name. Visitors expect excellent quality customized services. How to enhance tourist’s experience? Tourism is a multifaceted industry and its operation involves the collective efforts of various players and they bear their own roles and responsibilities for a sound tourism movement. As an intermediary between hosts and guests, tourist guides act in a wide range of roles when conducting guided tours. According to the studies (Cohen, 1985; Fine & Speer, 1985; Holloway, 1981; Hughes,1991), tourist guides play different roles within their work, such as leader, salesperson, teacher, information-giver and organizer. Since tourism is a highly human oriented and pleasure industry, it is very difficult to run the industry without getting the support of tour facilitators including tourist guides. They have become one of the key players with extensive control and influence over the quality of services rendered. The implications for overall tourist satisfaction and the future well-being of the industry are substantial. On a practical day-to-day level, there are numerous complaints about the roles and behaviour of tourist guides due to the mismatch between expectations and actual services of the tourist guides and that is problematic for multiple reasons. Equally important are intellectual qualities including comprehensive knowledge and a strong grasp of the subject matter, good analytical skills, a comparative perspective for historic cultural sites, and a commitment to continuous learning and personal enrichment. Moreover, language, the capacity to lead and organize groups, correct posture and eye contact, and the ability to tell stories. The quality of services provided by tour guides correlates strongly with levels of overall tourist satisfaction. Most tourists have favourable tour experiences based on the good to excellent quality of services rendered through touring the most coveted points of attraction (Parasuraman et al.,1988). However, it must also be noted that the collective negative behaviour of tourist guides can be a significantly debilitating factor in levels of tourist satisfaction. For example, Pathirana &Gnanapala (2015) underscore inappropriate behaviours of site guides and helpers at cultural sites including demands for unreasonable fees, misrepresentation of services offered, deceptive and false information disseminated to tourists, physical and emotional harassment, and other unethical practices. Geve et al. (1991) suggest that tour guides are responsible for tourist satisfaction with services provided in local destinations. Furthermore, tour guides can generate repeat and new business, and impact the image of tour companies, destinations and 105

even the tour guides themselves (Mossberg,1995; Pearce, 1984; Schmidt, 1979; Whipple et al., 1988; Wong & Ap, 1998). It is widely accepted that tour guides contribute not only to tourist satisfaction, but to destination image, marketing and branding (Baum, Hearns & Devine, 2007; Wong & Kwong, 2004).Heung (2010) presents three major concepts to assess the perceived service quality of tour guides:core services delivery, customer orientation and communication effectiveness. Tour guides must possess the knowledge content for effective delivery of core services. Increased quantities of information provided by tour guides contribute to higher quality of services provided as most tourists rate their tours favourably on the basis of knowledge derived from a guide. The guide must have the capacity to articulate background information on the rich cultural heritage of a particular destination and must be aware of the policies, rules, laws and practices that are followed by a certain country, state or region to enlighten tourists and enrich their overall travel experience. The understanding of professionalism lies in the basic concept of profession may be defined in terms of four essential attributes: first, a high degree of generalized and systematic knowledge; second, a primary orientation to community interest rather than to individual self-interest; third, a high degree of self-control of behaviour through codes of ethics, and finally, a system of rewards (monetary and honorary) that is primarily a set of symbols of work achievement. 6.3 SUMMARY  Guides play a vital role in this process bringing satisfaction to tourists visiting a country or region/state. The opportunity of direct interaction with the tourists makes them all the more responsible for projecting the correct image of the country/region, giving factually correct information about the destination, ensuring the safety and well being of the tourists as well as pleasing and satisfying the stay for them during their visits. Over last few years there has been a greater interest in tour guide profession especially in the northern region of India. The purpose of this study is to identify the motivations that led to choosing tour guiding as a profession and career. There appears to be a significant difference in such motivation in different regions of the country. A comparison in motivations in two regions (north vs. east) was made. Based on primary data collection paper attempts to discuss what has motivated the youth to take up tour guiding profession- whether such motivation is positive of negative. In either case policy makers may decide what type of support programs need to be introduced by the 106

state and other agencies like educational, rearing and counselling, financial support, social security, or any other type of interventions. 6.4 KEYWORDS  Market Segment - Identifying a market segment is an ideal way to make sure that your offering is being marketed to and attracting the right type of customers. This is especially important for niche tour operators who may specialise in adventure tourism in Canada for under 30’s for example.  Destination (main destination of a trip): The main destination of a tourism trip is defined as the place visited that is central to the decision to take the trip. .  Domestic tourism: Domestic tourism comprises the activities of a resident visitor within the country of reference, either as part of a domestic tourism trip or part of an outbound tourism trip.  Domestic tourism consumption: Domestic tourism consumption is the tourism consumption of a resident visitor within the economy of reference.  Inbound tourism: Inbound tourism comprises the activities of a non-resident visitor within the country of reference on an inbound tourism trip. 6.5 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Why people become tour guides? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. What do tourists expect from tour guides? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 107

6.6 UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. Explain why people take up tour guiding as a profession ? 2. How can tour guides enhance tourist experience? 3. What expectations do tourists have from tour guides ? 4. Explain the range and reach of tour guiding ? 5. What is the difference between inbound and outbound guides? Long Questions 1. How do tour guides act as mediators ? 2. What are the 5 bonus attributes for tour guides ? 3. Benefits of a creative eye for tour guides ? 4. What are the Pre- Tour, on Tour and Post Tour -Communication skills of tour guides? 5. What are the Steps for delivering commentary ? B. Multiple Choice Questions 1) Internal tourism includes a) Domestic & Inbound tourism b) Inbound tourism c) Domestic tourism d) Outbound tourism 2) National tourism includes a) Domestic tourism 108

b) Outbound tourism c) Domestic & Outbound tourism d) None of these. 3) Visitors spending at least three hours away from home outside their usual environment for leisure but not staying away overnight is known as a) Leisure day visitor b) Twisty c) Same day visitor d) None of these. 4) The process of grouping people within a market according to similar needs, characteristics, or behavior is known as a) Tourism marketing b) Segmentation c) Targeting d) None of these 5) When a visitor travels in his country of residence, he is a------------visitor a) Domestic b) International c) Inbound d) Out bound Answers 109

1-a, 2-c, 3-c, 4-b, 5-a 6.7 REFERENCES References book  Chan, A., Hsu, C. H., & Baum, T. (2015). The impact of tour service performance on tourist satisfaction and behavioural intentions: A study of Chinese tourists in Hong Kong. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 32(1-2), 18-33. Websites  https://www.academia.edu/22044787/the_role_of_tourist_guides_and_their_impacts_ on_sustainable_tourism_development_a_critique_on_sri_lanka 110

UNIT – 7 : DIMENSION OF TOUR GUIDING STRUCTURE 7.0 Learning objectives 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Scope, Range and Reach of Tour guiding 7.3 Legal form of tour guide activities in India & Tour Guides code of conduct 7.4 Summary 7.5 Keywords 7.6 Unit End Questions 7.7 References 7.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to:  Understand the Scope, Range and Reach of Tour guiding  Legal form of tour guide activities in India & Tour Guides code of conduct 7.1 INTRODUCTION A person who manages an itinerary on behalf of the tour operator ensuring the programme is carried out as described in the tour operator's literature and sold to the traveller/consumer and who gives local practical information. Further, tour managers may or may not be tourist guides as well. They are not trained or licensed to work in specific areas unless they have the proper requirements or legal right, depending on the region. The tour escort manages the group’s passage over a multi-day tour and has intense contact with the tour participants. This person may be an employee of the tour operator, a professional tour escort hired by the tour operator 111

or a representative of the organization sponsoring the trip. The term ‘tour leader’ is also used to describe the tour manager, tour conductor, tour director or courier in Europe. Indeed, some tour companies prefer to call their tour leader a ‘tour guide’ to stress their employee’s sightseeing commentary skills. However, in practice the role of the tour guide is different from that of the tour leader. A tour guide is ‘one who conducts a tour’, or one with ‘a broad based knowledge of a particular area whose primary duty is to inform’. To avoid confusion, the term ‘tour leader’ will be used in this paper to indicate the person who actually escorts the tour participants throughout their journey. The person conducting a tour needs a variety of skills and faces many challenges. The tour leader is a psychologist, diplomat, flight attendant, entertainer, news reporter, orator and even translator and miracle professional. To be successful at this job is not easy. Many authors have stated that keeping the tour participants happy and making certain that all services are provided as contracted are the main responsibilities of the ‘escort’. They also suggested ‘ten dos and ten don’ts’ for escorting a tour. To act professionally and demonstrate leadership, a tour escort should never become personally involved with a tour member, since this may result in losing control of the tour. Undoubtedly, the tour leader is under considerable pressure during the service encounter. It requires patience and care to accomplish the task. Further, strategies for managing a tour group, suggesting that the ‘tour manager’ must be fair; praise a tour group’s behaviour; exceed the client’s expectations; be firm when facing disruptive behaviour; encourage client ‘adulthood’; exercise leadership; and be flexible. Many studies have demonstrated that the tour leader is a crucial factor in achieving customer satisfaction who sells the next tour. It is also pointed out that a tour leader’s performance is a key factor in differentiating a tour operator from its competitors. The tour leader’s performance within the service encounter not only affects the company image, customer loyalty and word-of-mouth communication but can also be seen as a competitive factor. But customers’ satisfaction with the tour leader’s performance does not necessarily mean that customers will be satisfied with the tour operator. What is happening during the service encounter between the tour escort and the customer is essential. Some evidence demonstrating the tour escort’s shortcomings included: • Unfamiliarity with the local language – the tour leader could not help customers to order food; • Non-familiarity with some hotels arranged for the journey; • Lack of enthusiasm to help tour participants under certain circumstances; • Unwillingness to hear advice; • Inadequate knowledge in interpretation; • Inadequate communication skills, which resulted in misunderstandings with some of the group members. 112

A tour operator is one who provides the services of planning and organizing of a tour for its customers. People travel from one place to another for spending vacations, business enhancement, education purpose, sightseeing, etc. and depend on tour operators for the arrangement of their tours. The business of tour operators is a very rewarding option because of the high returns and huge demand associated with it. However there is a lot of competition involved in the travel business. To remain on top of the competition in the tour operators business, it is important that one understands the scope of the said business and the limitations attached to it. You must weigh various things before deciding on the services to be offered in the said business keeping in mind the limitations attached to it. If you are looking for the scope and limitations attached to the business of tour operators, this guide comes handy. Scope of tour operators business The tour operators business encompasses a large range of offerings. In the said business, you can include tour planning and organizing services related to tour travel, leisure travel, subject travel, sports travel, education travel, etc. It can also include tour related services for inspection, exhibition, training, conference, etc. for business clients. Destinations from the whole world can be included in your packages. You can cater to inbound or outbound tour services like travel booking, hotel bookings, arrange travel schedules, VISA arrangements, etc. The scope of tour operators business is vast; however you must do a cost benefit analysis before actually deciding what to offer in a tour operators business. Limitations of tour operators business With high margins and high returns, there are various limitations also which are attached to the business of tour operators. The following points throw light on a few of these limitations: High competition levels: One of the biggest limitations of tour operators business is the high degree of competition prevailing in the industry. A customer has various options to choose from which has increased their bargaining power. Due to the high returns associated with the business of tour operators, every year many entrepreneurs enter into the said industry. It has 113

become very difficult to establish the brand name in the said business because of the cut throat competition that is prevalent. Element of Uncertainty: In the business of tour operators, everything does not fall into the category of controllable factors. There is an element of uncertainty attached to various things in the said business, for example uncertainty in the airline schedules, uncertainty in weather conditions, uncertainty in government regulations, uncertainty in hotel room availability, etc. This element of uncertainty comes brings with it a lot of constraints. Stringent regulatory laws: The regulatory laws governing the tour operators business differs from country to country. The governing laws of many countries are very stringent and bring in a limiting factor to the business of tour operators. Language constraint: Languages used differ from continent to continent, country to country, state to state, region to region. In the business of tour operator, one has to communicate to hotels, airlines, etc for tie up to offer smooth services to the customers who visit other countries in their tour. Language becomes a constraint in many countries. One can utilize the services of a translator but that comes for an additional cost. Effect of currency exchange rate fluctuations: Different currencies are used in different countries. The tour operators business is affected by currency fluctuations. Relations between countries: The political and economical relations between two countries affect the tour operators business to a great extent. If a country is not in good relation with the other the tourism industry is affected to a great extent because of this relation and hence it becomes an additional limitation for the business of tour operators. Different interests of travelers: Travelers across the globe have varied interests. The level of interest of travelers in visiting a particular location decides whether or not that location will attract tourists. Thus the dependency on the level of interest of the travelers is another limitation for the tour operators business. 114

Fluctuations in demand: The demand for visiting one or the other destination keeps fluctuating depending upon various factors like weather conditions, effect of advertisements, relations between countries, outbreak of a contagious disease, price associated with the travel, economic conditions, political relations, perception of the countries in the travelers minds, etc. This fluctuation in demand affects the business of a tour operator to a great extent. The business of tour operators is booming at a fast pace in spite of several limitations. There has been a growth in the tourism industry which has come up as one of the fastest booming industries in many countries across the globe. Tour guiding has been described as \" the 'Cinderella' of the tourism industry: attractive, useful, but often neglected\" (Mak, Wong and Chang, 2011: 1442). Tourist guiding comprises complicated and multivariate roles composed of different kinds of unrelated roles and sub-roles (Rabotic, 2010: 3). Tour guides serve purposes such as educator, information giver, interpreter, leader, role model, cultural broker, facilitator of access to non-public areas, tour and group organizer and representative of tour companies (Black and Weiler, 2005: 26). The prime responsibility of a tour guide is to turn the tourists’ experience into a most pleasurable while making the information available in an entertaining yet culturally acceptable manner (Boyle and Arnott, 2004: 75). Since the tour guide is in an incessant and maximal contact with the tour members throughout the tour’s entire duration, the responsibility for achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction is mostly passed on to them (Geva and Goldman 1991: 178). The tour guide usually has frequent, extended, and mostly intensive encounters with people who participate in tours and is expected to display diverse emotions. They act the role of a characteristically emotional laborer in the tourism environment. In addition to this, she or he has extremely restricted space and time for himself or herself in which to discharge the emotional burden; as a result they’re faced with a much more increased intensity of challenge (Wong and Wang, 2009: 250). Jobholders in the hospitality industry are exclusively susceptible to the requisitions of emotional labor since they are generally requested to maintain friendly manners and positive attitudes while doing their jobs even under the conditions that usually reveal unfavorable emotional reactions such as dealing with intolerant, difficult or irritating customers, incessant work cycle (Pizam, 2004: 315). At the same time expectations of quality from both tourism stakeholders 115

and tourists are augmenting as the tourism market is expanding and competition is rising. All these factors contribute to emotional burden of tourist guides. THE CONCEPT OF TOURIST GUIDING Tourist guiding, as one of the oldest professions in tourism industry, has a critical importance in terms of promoting the natural and historical wealth of a country effectively and efficiently. Guide is a term meaning someone who is leading and showing the way. 7.2 SCOPE, RANGE AND REACH OF TOUR GUIDING Tourist guiding is perceived as a fun and easy occupation that offers many opportunities such as travelling, sightseeing, having fun, meeting new people and * Res. Assist., İzmir University of Economics, School of Applied Management Sciences, Department of Culinary Arts and Management **Assoc. Prof. Dr., İzmir Katip Çelebi University, Faculty of Tourism, Department of Tourism Management Chapter 15 203, places from the outside but the reality is that it is a profession with many difficulties and problems (Batman, Yıldırgan and Demirtaş, 2000: 24). Tourist guides lead group of visitors on tours to places of their own interest. While some guides lead short term visits such as daily excursions which last a couple hours or sometimes a day, some guides lead groups of people on long term visits which may enclose time duration of a week up to a month. They are not only expected to know everything and answer all the questions about history, geography, places of interest, architecture, museums, shopping districts, best restaurants and entertainment facilities but also pay attention to the route, speed limits, hotel locations, traffic hours, managing time as well as dealing with the driver, the tourists, safety issues and many more. Besides, they do this standing backward in a moving bus trying to entertain the tour participants with an imaginative and creative interpretation at the same time. Their prior responsibility is to ensure a safe and enjoyable trip (Ferguson, 2010: 109-111). A tour guide is a person, in most countries a licensed professional, who is assigned to accompany not only groups but also individual visitors or namely tourists in and around of natural settings, historic sites, and buildings and sceneries in the preferred country, region or place and who also interprets natural and cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, in an entertaining and inspiring way. For most guided tours, one guide is assigned per group; this way the guide has the opportunity to adapt the theme and style coherent with the group and also they are capable of interacting with them via reciprocal interaction or in other forms of communication with group members. 116

This way, they are able to enhance the tourists’ experience, improve visitor satisfaction, and increase their awareness and understanding as well as shaping behaviors, attitudes and perceptions. They work either as self-employed or are employed by various touristic establishments such as travel agencies or tour operators, hotels, lodges, resorts, attraction and theme parks, public or private museums and visitor centers where they function a pivot role as part of the tourism product or the experience of visitors. They make sure the tour runs smoothly and is safe using their mediatory and interpretive facets of guiding. These facets not only affect the ambiance of the tour and the experience of the tourists but also their perceptions of the visited area; hence shaping their post-visit attitudes and overall image about the destination in terms of repeat visits, word of mouth advertising to friends or purchase of another tour for a different region within the same country or another tour of the very same tour operator (Weiler and Black, 2015: 1-4). Tourists expect to have unique experiences and look for variety along with a high quality service to be fully satisfied which is solely based on tourist guides’ skills on interpretation and information as well as their expertise on managing of group dynamics as they act a vital role on influencing sensations and emotions adapted to clients’ interests. It’s in tourist guides’ hands to make information more meaningful via creative interpretation by embedding humor to reality, telling stories and using wittiness. Thus, tourist guides should elaborate diverse professional and personal features to insure high quality service. A solid education, continuous training and real life experiences are essential elements of effective tourist guiding along with a deep knowledge of the destinations, communication skills, responsible and honest behaviors. As the tour guides’ experience, creativity, background and devoutness differ from each other, each tour is unique and personalized in nature. It’s normal that tourists trust guide’s commentaries on destination and local community as their stay or visit is usually not too long enough to make observations and gain knowledge. At this point, the tourist guide is the only mediator between the host destination and its visitors; thus holding on an important function. (Brito, 2012: 270-275). Tourist guides should also follow society dynamics attentively, and have a foresight about new trends, changes on customs and traditions, possible upcoming events in the near future. They should similarly be knowledgeable retroactively. They are expected to answer questions about the origins of current social rules, their executions back in the past, the reason of their necessity and changes that have been made over time (Ahipaşaoğlu, 1994: 137). 117

Some of the basic roles of the tourist guides can be summarized as follows (Ferguson, 2010: 112, Wressnig, 1999: 40):  to make sure all members of the group stay together so no one gets lost  to make sure they are on time for various arrivals and departures  educate the group about places they visit  make alternative arrangements in case of delays, inconvenient weather conditions, over-bookings etc.  dealing with personal issues regarding to dietary requirements, wheelchair accessibility for handicapped guests, sick travelers etc.  confirming reservations prior to an arrival point on the route  ensuring a safe and an enjoyable trip by planning and overseeing every detail of the tour  provide information about customs and rules to prevent any offensive behavior such as breaking social rules or violating others’ privacy.  giving instructions about general behavior such as taking photographs with or without flash or none at all, not to remain too close to glass cases, not to touch the exhibit, removing hats or covering bare shoulders etc.  provide information about value of money in foreign currency The aim of tourist guiding is to make contribution to the promotion and appraisal of tourist attractions of Turkey and provide a correct and better understanding of the visited areas in the context of tourism policies defined by Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Tourist guiding activity includes taking in and around all kinds of individual tourists and groups as well as supporting activities in this regard without any prejudice to occupational activity areas and the rights of other tourism professionals granted by law (Tetik, 2006: 3) 118

7.3 LEGAL FORM OF TOUR GUIDE ACTIVITIES IN INDIA & TOUR GUIDES CODE OF CONDUCT Professional Integrity of a Tour Guide Act with trustworthiness and respectability in all parts of their work Regard the protection of others and the classification of data picked up over the span of expert practice, unless a lawful basic requires exposure or there is a genuine worry for the prosperity of a person Speak to themselves, their expert status, capabilities and experience sincerely Stay away from strife between their expert work and private interests which could sensibly be esteemed to affect adversely on tourists. Professional Conduct Tour Guides should: Maintain the reputation and dignity of the tourism profession. Make every single sensible walk in connection to the care/ sympathy of the tourists under their watch, to guarantee their wellbeing and fulfillment. Work inside the structure of significant enactment and directions of the past glory of the nation. Follow concurred national tourism strategies and rules which mean to advance training and welfare. Discuss with tourists, exchange ideas, travel office administration and others in the tourism exchange group in a way that is proficient, synergistic and steady, and in view of trust and respect. Guarantee that any communication with tourists, associates, travel organization administration and others is suitable, including communication through electronic media, for example, email, texting, messaging and long range interpersonal communication. Guarantee that they don't purposely get in to, download or generally possess while occupied with business exercises (tour group assignments), improper materials/pictures in an electronic or other organization Guarantee that they don't intentionally get to, download or generally possess illegal materials/pictures in electronic or other organization. Guarantee that they don't hone while affected by any substance which weakens their wellness to educate. Professional Tour Guides should Keep up elevated expectations of training in connection to arranging, observing, evaluating, announcing and giving criticism. Apply their insight and involvement in encouraging sightseers' euphoric experience. Arrange and convey clear, difficult and achievable desires for tourists. Make a situation where tourists' can wind up noticeably dynamic specialists in the learning procedure and create long lasting learning aptitudes. Create instructing, learning and appraisal systems that help separated learning in a way that regards the respect of all tourists or travelers. Illuminate their expert judgment and practice by drawing in with, and pondering, understudy/understudy improvement, learning hypothesis, instructional method, educational programs advancement, moral practice, instructive arrangement and enactment In a setting of common regard, be open and receptive to useful criticism in regards to their training and, if vital, look for suitable help, counsel and 119

direction Act to the greatest advantage of tourists'. 8.7 Professional Development Tour Guides Assume individual liability for managing and enhancing the nature of their expert practice by: • Effectively keeping up their expert information and comprehension to guarantee it is present • Considering and fundamentally assessing their expert practice, in light of their expert learning base • Benefiting of chances for vocation long proficient improvement. 8.8 Professional Tour Guides should Work with showing associates and understudy Tour Guides in light of a legitimate concern for sharing, creating and supporting great practice and keeping up the most astounding nature of useful and informative for tourists. A tour guide has to work between individual and society i.e. a communitarian with tourists, local administration, different individuals from staff, in trying to viably address the issues of travelers/ tourists. Coordinate with the transport department, traffic police/ police department, customs, Archeological Survey of India etc. Code of morals for Regional Level Tourist Guides ( as proposed by Government of India) The Tourist Guide might dependably know about anticipating a decent and positive gesture. Publicity and positive remarks tremendously affect the formation of an image for the nation in the mind of tourists. This is significant than the most costly and that can be published. The most recent improvements in the nation and stay up with the latest. He or she would comprehend and pass on the constructive parts of his way of life and convention, and be knowledgeable with issues identifying with nearby traditions, propensities and customs to guarantee that both the travelers and the neighborhood individuals regard each other. The Tourist Guide would dependably be reliable. Properly dressed well mannered, cool and calm and well refined. His/her devotion and lead ought to guarantee that the picture of the calling or that of the nation is never discolored. The Tourist Guide might constantly be solid with the endowed obligations. Be of commendable lead, in managing tourists, local authorities and with people from tourism trade, like: the Government departments’ personnel (for e.g. Police, Archeological Survey of India, Tourism Development corporations, Railways, Airlines, Roadways, Customs, Excise, Central Industrial Security Force ( CISF), Airport Authority of India, Museum, Archeological Survey of India and Narcotics etc.) and host population. The Tourist Guide might forgo unscrupulous or prejudicial lead. 8.9 Code of Guiding Practice for Licensed/ Authorized Tourist Guides It is of most extreme significance that the authorized tour guide should hold 120

fast to Code of Guiding practice to give a confirmation of the abnormal state of polished methodology and an esteem included administration offered by an individual manual for his or her customers. All the tourists guides issued with a license by Tourism Promotion Board/ government of India/ state government/ government should live with the code of morals and in the event that anybody is found disregarding these might confront the cancelation of his or her license to hone as a tour guide. The guide License is not transferable. Any encroachment of this control would make him/her subject to disciplinary action and withdrawal of the guide allow yielded to him/her. In the event that there ought to emerge an event of setback or damage to the guide allow the guide would quickly light up the work environment of concerned Tourism expert and the nearest Police Station to that place. The Guide would need to apply over again for the duplicate copy allow on the lodge of First Information Report (FIR) and clarification that the guide license has been lost. The guide would be responsible for the shielded guardianship of the guide License. The guide would not ask for tips from tourists/ sightseers. The approved guide would dress in a satisfactory way or sharp looking to keep up the honorability and regard of the calling to which he/she has a place and of the country. The guide would not battle business of any kind in light of a legitimate concern for the business house, tourism and Travel Company, hoteliers, guest houses, retailers, tourism transport authority and so forth, nor he/she would recognize cash related any commission from them or appreciate some different corrupt practices. The guide would not go into whatever different business game-plans with any of the establishments either by strategy for association or on commission premise. Aides observed to be soliciting for shopping foundations like shops offering painstaking work and so on, would be at risk for cancellation of their license. A tour guide must dress properly and attend all courses for enhancement of his/her knowledge (as instructed by the concerned authority). He should not campaign any kind of business while tour guiding. He should not over commit. He should behave properly and decent manner with the tourists (client). A tour guide must be aware of ritual, past practices, festivals etc. He must be sensible and aware about ecology. He must encourage tourist to save it. He must know the Indian values and ethics and welcome the guest warmly. HE must convey credit to the country. He must also acknowledge the arrangement made by the travel agent. He must abide by the rules and conditions framed by the travel agency, for whom he is working. 8.10 Code of conduct and guiding ethics Tour guides must know the code of conduct as well as ethics in tour guiding. Be prohibited from selling or buying any goods A tour guide should not be allowed for any commercial activity with any tourist to make any benefit from a tourist while he is on the tour. A tour guide should not make money out of any commercial activity. Be aware of 121

critical situations and act responsibly A tour guide must act responsibly and protect biological, botanical treasure of the country. A Tour Guide might attempt to dependably be aware of conceivably unsafe circumstances and to familiarize himself or herself with any security dangers natural to any range in India preceding a visit or visit direct action here, which should incorporate organic security dangers. A Tour Guide should act mindfully consistently, might dependably have respect for the individual wellbeing of the tourist under his or her direction, which might incorporate, yet not be constrained to, not being affected by liquor or other denied substances. Respect the culture, historical and environmental heritage A tour guide must study Indian culture, history and environment and portray its’ legacy in his commentary to the tourists rightly. He must explain the value of Indian heritage. Cancelling a tour If a Tour Guide mulls over wiping out a visit, warning of this cancelation must be made in advance either to the Tour operator. Follow that itinerary and act in accordingly After collecting itinerary from the travel agent or Travel Company, your guide must plan it. If he is doing guiding first time, he must rehearse it before organsinng real time tour. He must think or imagine probable question tourists may ask him. Cultivate a positive relationship Tour guides’ job is dependent on his relationship with travel agent, tourists, monument staff, tourist transport staff, hotelier, event group people etc. He must be able to cultivate and nurture a positive relationship with all. No discriminate A tour guide must see all group members with equal importance. He should not give weight age to any specific person. It may create a problem or it may be the cause of resentment in the long term. Regular updating of knowledge A Tour Guide might be required by the authority to go to instructional classes, workshops or other enlightening exercises designed by the authority, or any individual or organization following up on directions from the authority, with the end goal of proceeded with professional improvement in the tourism sector. He must refer good library, information resources, websites of the ministry of Tourism, incredible India, Archeological survey of India, UNESCO etc. He must see reputed magazine and news papers regularly and must watch informative news channels (related to travel, geography, history and other relevant areas etc.). Dos and Don’ts for a tour guide There are certain dos and don’ts for a tour guide. A code of conduct is more serious in nature. Dos and don’ts work as an advisory for a tour guide.  Do not accept tips from the tourist.  Do not quarrel with a group member or locals. 122

 Always ask your driver to take lunch first. He has to be ready to drive once all the group members are finished with their lunch.  Do not use sarcastic language for group members and staff even in a language they do not know, understand or speak.  Do not talk loudly, roughly.  Do not try tantra, mantra, and black magic on tour group members.  Do not force group members to make purchases from unauthorized, unreliable dealers.  Do not over commit.  Do not stare at any individual in the group unnecessarily.  Clearly announce the time of stoppage on the way for using washrooms and the loo.  Clearly announce your name (simple form, which they could remember), meaning of signs on the way, distance you will travel, time taken in the journey and other information.  Keep your flag or placard (if prescribed by the company) ready.  Do not jump from a running coach, bus or train.  Do not take chance if there is an adverse weather forecast or a warning of land slide, avalanche, flood, tsunami etc.  Do not permit tourists to take the driver’s seat.  Inform the driver of the coach that honking is not allowed in many countries. Why code of conduct and Do’s and Do not are required? There are certain norms and advisories in each profession that make our jobs more structured, systematic and smooth. If we follow these guidelines mentioned above, our job will become more secure and there will be fewer chances of error. Few advisories are issued by the government from time to time for the benefit of the guides and the tourists. It is the responsibility of a tour guide to keep an eye on these norms and advisories. 123

Safe And Honourable Tourism: - To leverage the burgeoning global travel and trade and in keeping with the Indian tourism industry’s objective of positioning India as a global tourism brand, the Ministry of Tourism has strategically outlined in its policy the central principle of, ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ (Guest is God). In stating this, is evident the commitment of Indian tourism to ensure that every tourist in India is physically invigorated, mentally rejuvenated, culturally enriched and spiritually elevated. To meet this objective and at the core of the National tourism policy of 2002 is outlined the seven pillars oftourism, Swagat (Welcome), Soochana (Information), Suvidha (Facilitation), Suraks ha (Safety), Sahyog (Cooperation), Samrachanam (InfrastructureDevelopment)and Safai (cleanli ness). ‘Safe and Honourable Tourism’ aims to strengthen the critical pillar of ‘Suraksha’ (Safety) and ensure that Indian tourism follows international standards of safe tourism practices, applicable for both tourists and local residents i.e local people and communities who may be impacted by tourism in some way. Its central objective is to ensure that tourism activities are undertaken, integrating the need to protect the dignity, safety and the right to freedom from exploitation of all tourists and local residents involved in or impacted by tourism. In today’s scenario, following safety guidelines is not just about adhering to the provisions of the seven pillars but also implies good business. As the demand from travellers for safe and secure tourism services increases, this code will assist signatories to build capacities among their services chains and personnel so as to be able to respond to this demand. Specific Objectives This code is a guideline of conduct to enable the Indian travel and tourism industry to: 1. Encourage tourism activities to be undertaken with respect for basic rights like dignity, safety and freedom from exploitation of both tourists and local residents i.e people and communities who may be impacted by tourism in some way. 2. Aid the prevention of prostitution, sex tourism and forms of sexual exploitations like assaults and molestations in tourism to safeguard the safety of persons, in particular women and children. 3. To enhance prevention of activities like forced or involuntary drug use, manipulated and incorrect information, cultural and social intolerance which could increase vulnerability to crime. 124

Applicability This code of conduct shall be applicable to all the owners, suppliers, contractors, employees of the travel and tour sector including hotels, restaurants, lodges, guest houses, tour agents, entertainment establishments etc. In addition, it shall be applicable to service providers like event management organizations, entertainment providers, transport operators like taxis, buses, tour guides and other services or agencies associated with the tourism sector. This is not a legally binding instrument but a set of guidelines for the tourism industry. In addition to these guidelines, included in this code are key messages that signatories are encouraged to use. 53660/2020/Travel Trade Division(Tt) 28 Guidelines For The Tourism Industry – 1. Information & training of personnel: ▪ Management will take up measures to build awareness and train staff on the guidelines of this code and appropriate legal provisions to enhance vigilance and to ensure that personnel act in a manner that promotes the safety of tourists, local residents and their own staff. ▪ All hotels and tour operators shall train and maintain two persons as focal points to ensure that all safety norms and guidelines of this code are adhered to. The officers shall provide correct information to tourists, like information on Child Help lines- 1098, Women Help lines- 1091, local police helpline 100 and also act as a liaison officer with agencies such as the local police station, immigration authorities, civil society partners working in this area, child and women welfare committees etc. ▪ In case of an incidence of exploitation, personnel shall be sensitized to report correct information to the appropriate authority’s act in cooperation with law enforcement agencies, other agencies providing care and support and take necessary action to protect the interests of the individual whose rights are violated. ▪ Organizations will promote awareness on the code among service providers affiliated to their business such as vendors, contractors, taxi drivers, tour guides, event management companies etc. ▪ In case of misconduct by a staff member or personnel of a service provider, signatories of the code will commit themselves to act in an unbiased manner, reporting the incidence to appropriate authorities and protecting the interests of the individual whose rights are violated. ▪ Identified victims shall not be treated as criminals. They should be identified as persons in need of care, protection and should be provided with legal, medical, psycho-social and any other assistance without delay. 2. Public awareness and guest notification: ▪ Messages of intolerance to any form of exploitation must be made evident in appropriate places visible to guests/clients, employees and other visitors. Guests and clients must also be provided information through the company’s website, brochures, tickets, bills, in-room/in-flight communication etc on issues related to 125

commercial sexual exploitation such as sex tourism including child sex tourism, prostitution, pornography, forms of sexual assaults, molestations and key messages elaborated in this code. ▪ In order to enhance tolerance for social and cultural norms, signatories of this code must take action to provide information available to their best knowledge on local social and cultural beliefs and norms. Knowledge and tolerance for different social and cultural norms will allow tourists to dress, conduct themselves and respect local beliefs helping them to adjust and thereby reducing the 53660/2020/Travel Trade Division(Tt) 29 vulnerabilities they might face as foreigners to a particular destination. • Signatories of the code are encouraged to assist tourists with guidance on safety tips applicable to the specific city/place like places to visit, timings for visits, right dressing and precautions against moving alone, and against accepting eatables and favors from unknown persons etc. Guests and clients shall be cautioned against solicitations from touts, non-regulated tourism operators and encouraged to consult the website of the Tourism Ministry and other authorized websites. ▪ Signatories will ensure that a clause is included in registration papers seeking commitment of the tourist to act in a manner that respects the dignity and rights of local residents and also to conduct themselves in a manner that shall aid the tourist’s own protection against exploitation. 3. Regulated use of premises and official equipment: • Management/owners are encouraged to prohibit usage of the organization’s premises for use or abuse of illicit substances, sexual violations and of company equipment for viewing, storage, distribution, promotion or use of material which could increase vulnerability to exploitations of the nature mentioned in this code. • Individuals under the permitted age shall not be allowed permission in to restricted areas like bars and pubs. • Tourism service providers shall verify and maintain a record of details pertaining to tourists, personnel and service providers like address, contact details etc and also commit themselves to maintaining confidentiality. • Internet usage that promotes, seeks any contacts for sex tourism including child sex tourism and other sexual services, for search of pornographic material and/or to solicit the sale and purchase of illicit substances shall be prohibited. 4. Ethical business practices and marketing: ▪ Management/owners shall ensure that all contracts with business partners, suppliers and franchise agreements bear a clause seeking commitment to provisions of the ‘Code of conduct for Safe and Honorable Tourism’ in their businesses. ▪ Any tourism enterprise or service provider found to act in a manner that undermines the safety of persons outlined in this code may be blacklisted. ▪ Sexually explicit images or concepts/images that may compromise the safety of individuals shall not be used for 126

marketing purposes. An unambiguous company policy shall be set up to ensure that marketing and advertising does not support the promotion of sexual exploitation or promotion of sexually explicit images. ▪ Signatories are encouraged to patronize vendors and service providers who are committed to adhering to the provisions of this code. 5. Implementation and Monitoring: ▪ All signatories are required to maintain an annual report on ‘Code of conduct for Safe and Honourable Tourism’ and submit it to a designated authority. ▪ Management/owners shall report on: 53660/2020/Travel Trade Division(Tt) 30 o Training and capacity building initiatives carried out for personnel/ staff. o Means adopted to raise awareness on safety among guests, personnel and service providers. Key Messages For Awareness Building And Dissemination Enhancing safety and security of all tourists - o All signatories of the code are committed to act in a manner that protects the dignity and freedom against exploitation of persons especially women and children and facilitate prevention of incidences of sexual molestation, harassment of their guests and provide assistance in case of an untoward incident. o The Travel & Hospitality Industry may establish and implement an effective regulatory framework and take all necessary legislative, administrative, social and other measures to prevent and eliminate child sex tourism. All parties to reinforce advocacy within the tourism and hospitality industry on the harmful effects of child sex tourism and conduct awareness-raising activities in order to make both parents and children aware of the dangers of trafficking of children for sex to tourism. o In case of exploitation please call the Child line-1098, Women Help lines1091 and/or contact relevant authorities like the police or travel and tour operators. o Like in many places in the rest of the world tourists are encouraged to follow some basic and practical safety tips such as to remain with a group or meet new people in public places, not to accept items from persons whom they have befriended recently, be wary of unexpected, unknown persons coming to their hotel room, never open the door to unsolicited room service or maintenance people etc. o Tourists are encouraged to understand local social, cultural norms and beliefs and are encouraged to conduct themselves in a manner that respects these beliefs. o Tourists must always take the advice of more than one person when seeking information on places to visit, shopping places, local customs, beliefs and norms and remain vigilant on accepting completed documents. Tourists are encouraged to seek information from Government of India recognized information centers and visit the Ministry of Tourism’s websites. o Indecent Representation of 127

Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, Section 2 (c) - Indecent representation of women means the depiction in any manner of the figure of a woman, her form or body or any part thereof in such a way as to have the effect of being indecent, or derogatory to, or denigrating a woman or is likely to deprave, corrupt or injure the public morality or morals. o Kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to grievous hurt, slavery, etc. is an offence under Section 367 of the Indian Penal Code. o Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty is an offence under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code. 53660/2020/Travel Trade Division(Tt) 31 o Punishment for rape offences shall not be less than seven years but which may be for life or for a term which may extend to ten years as the case may be, according to Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. Enhancing safety of local people - ▪ People across the world dress, eat and live differently and follow different values and norms. Tourists are encouraged to respect the local people and must commit themselves to acting in adherence to local laws. ▪ Signatories to the code maintain zero tolerance to acts of sexual exploitations, including commercial sexual exploitation like prostitution, sex tourism and trafficking of persons for it. ▪ Many tourists believe that they are protected by anonymity and thus laws are more easily violated. Any guest, staff, partner linked to this agency found to be indulging in exploitations outlined in this code or supporting it shall be reported to an appropriate authority. ▪ A few alarming trends that have emerged in recent years are sexual exploitation through sex tourism, paedophilia, prostitution in pilgrim towns and other tourist destinations, cross border trafficking.1 ▪ According to studies conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, there are 3 million commercial sex workers in India, of which an estimated 40% are children. 1 ▪ Human trafficking is a crime against humanity. It involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring or receiving a person through use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them. The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation is irrelevant irrespective of age.2 ▪ Sexual relationship with a child amounts to rape according to the Indian Penal Code and is punishable with imprisonment of minimum 7 years which can even be extended to life imprisonment. ▪ Acquiring or inducing any person (irrespective of age or sex) for prostitution or causing a person to be taken for prostitution is an offence under Section 5 of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1956 and with a punishment of 3- 7 years. ▪ It is a myth that sexual intercourse with a virgin or a minor will cure STI or prevent HIV. It only spreads the disease further. ▪ Abetment to crime amounts to committing the crime itself. ▪ Victims of exploitation are not criminals. They are persons in need of care, protection, legal, medical and psychological assistance. ▪ Under section 7 of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956, letting out a hotel or any part there off for prostitution is an offence for which the license of the hotel 128

can be suspended. ▪ Publishing or transmitting or causing to be published or transmitted, material in any electronic form which depicts children engaged in sexually explicit act or induces children to online relationship with one or more children for and on sexually explicit act is an offence under section 67(b) of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008. ▪ Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act- Engaging in the production, manufacture, possession, sale, purchase, transportation, warehousing, concealment, use or consumption, import inter-state, export inter-state, import in to India, export from India or transhipment, of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances is an offence expect for scientific and medical reasons. Punishment for the offence may imply imprisonment, fine or both. 53660/2020/Travel Trade Division(Tt) 32 ▪ Handling or letting out any premises for the carrying on of any of the above mentioned activities in an offence under the NDPS act. ▪ According to the National Security Act, 1980, the Central Government or the state Government has the power to act against any person with a view to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the defence of India, the relations of India with foreign powers or the security of India. ▪ The Foreigners (Amendment) Act, 2004 - If a foreigner to the country acts in violations of the conditions of the valid visa issued to him for his entry and stay in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine. If he has entered in to a bond, then his bond shall be fortified. Source:https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020- 08/Safe%20and%20Honble%20Tourism%20Guidelines.pdf 7.4 SUMMARY  Guides play a vital role in this process bringing satisfaction to tourists visiting a country or region/state. The opportunity of direct interaction with the tourists makes them all the more responsible for projecting the correct image of the country/region, giving factually correct information about the destination, ensuring the safety and well being of the tourists as well as pleasing and satisfying the stay for them during their visits.  Over last few years there has been a greater interest in tour guide profession especially in the northern region of India. The purpose is to identify the motivations that led to choosing tour guiding as a profession and career. There appears to be a significant difference in such motivation in different regions of the country. 129

 A comparison in motivations in two regions (north vs. east) was made. Based on primary data collection paper attempts to discuss what has motivated the youth to take up tour guiding profession- whether such motivation is positive of negative.  In either case policy makers may decide what type of support programs need to be introduced by the state and other agencies like educational, rearing and counselling, financial support, social security, or any other type of interventions. 7.5 KEYWORDS  Ritual- tradition, custom, action (religious or cultural) that people do often.  Benchmarks: Points of reference or comparison, which may include standards, critical success factors, indicators, metrics.  Best Practice: Operational standards considered the most effective and efficient means of achieving desired outcomes.  Charter: A legal contract between an owner and an organisation for the hire of a means of transport for a particular purpose. An individual traveller will use an intermediary to arrange to be carried on the transport. Often applied to a flight which is the result of a charter.  common carrier: a privately owned carrier which offers transportation for a fee 7.6 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Explain the code of conduct for tour guides? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. What are the Do’s and Dont’s for tour guides? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 130

7.7 UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. What is the scope of tour guiding ? 2. Explain what is Mass Tourism? 3. How do tour guides act as mediators ? 4. Explain the code of conduct for tour guides in India. 5. What do you understand by familiarization tour? Long Questions 1. Explain concept of tour guiding in brief ? 2. Explain tourist guide’s contribution to tourism industry. 3. Decsribe the leadership roles of a tour guide ? 4. What is the importance of specialized guides ? 5. What do you mean by travel motivation? Explain different type of travel motivation. B. Multiple Choice Questions 1. A category of population who do not take part in travel is known as a) Potential demand b) Suppressed demand c) Deferred demand d) No demand 2. Suppressed demand includes potential demand and------------------ demand a) Deferred demand b) Direct demand 131

c) Suppressed demand d) None of these. 3. Which demand comprises of category of people who do not travel for samereason a) Suppressed demand b) No demand c) Effective demand d) Actual demand 4. A country is mainly benefited from tourism by the --------------------- a) Tourist expenditure b) Tourist travel c) Accommodation d) None of these. 5. Which is the most important economic benefit of tourism a) Increase in employment b) Increase in production c) Foreign exchange d) None of these. Answers 1-d, 2-a, 3-a, 4-a, 5-c 7.8 REFERENCES References book 132

 India Country report- 2008- Ministry of Women and Child Development and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.  United Nations Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Websites  https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020- 08/Safe%20and%20Honble%20Tourism%20Guidelines.pdf 133

UNIT – 8 PERSONALITY OF A TOUR GUIDE STRUCTURE 8.0 Learning objectives 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Personality of a tour guide - knowledge and skill requirements, personality trait 8.3 Summary 8.4 Keywords 8.5 Unit End Questions 8.6 References 8.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to:  Knowledge and skill requirements for tourist guides ,  personality trait for tourist guides 8.1 INTRODUCTION A tour guide should assist and guide tourists to understand the tour destination more, help them to find the best places for accommodation, seeing, eating meals, photography and enjoy! A tour guide must deal with local peoples and solve ordinary problems which they may encounter! But what are tour guide personality traits!? And what should a tour guide do except for some formal responsibility!? We answer these questions, read on. tour guide’s welcome speech Who Leads A Tour? Maybe Tour Guides? 134

What is the major difference between an FIT and GIT package tour? Introduction Tour guide, chaperon, docent, tourist guide, escort, or guide all are names for the tour guide job! An exciting job with high potential to be more popular in 2023 after COVID-19 a tour guide should assist and guide tourists to understand the tour destination more, help them to find the best places for accommodation, seeing, eating meals, photography and enjoy! A tour guide must deal with local peoples and solve ordinary problems which they may encounter! But what are tour guide personality traits!? And what should a tour guide do except for some formal responsibility!? That are tour guide personality traits?! In the following, we list all of the tour guide personality traits you should pay attention to. 1. Being strong and determined A tourist guide must have leadership skills. That means he or she should manage and make decisions quickly. This is not a suitable job for those who are not a social person and cannot interact with the people properly. Passengers should be able to trust chaperons. 2. Optimistic The guide must be an optimistic person or at least show herself this way. Remember that this optimism is contagious. The negative guide is a nuisance. Of course, too much optimism is equal to run away from problems and believe me you’ll never win in this race. Note: Itnery as one of the most creative companies in the tourism industry is a place for optimistic and jolly tourist guides, freelance docents, and local tour leaders that always respect optimistic and organized peoples. The ability to be happy and optimistic is a gift on travels 3. Clever and eloquent 135

A cicerone should know how to trait politically and engage politically with tourist groups, hotel staff, restaurants, transport companies, and drivers. He or she should not pay attention to rumors, they should respect the trust of the people around and pay attention to their sensitivities and concerns. The ability to communicate well is so important in tour guide personality traits. 4. Honesty and loyalty Lying is not a tool to get things done!! And it’s not going to help you in the tour guide career! Instead, you can get more trust and respect for the tourists and organizations you work for. In this career everything should be clear, and the guide shouldn’t do anything that damages the brand he or she works for. Maybe some brands like ITNERY trust local tour leaders and aren’t strict with tour guides but remember they never work with an irresponsible person. 5. Confidence and determination A guide should be confident and a little proud, when the hotel employee says they don’t have enough rooms, it’s better he or she say “I want to see your boss” Do not misunderstand a guide should be impolite and rough, no one hears a person who shouts! But a chaperon should insist on the rights of his or her passengers! 6. Calmness in behavior A smile for confidence should be with the guides even when they are in a Worrying situation. A good guide never stands out in front of her or his fears. They need to stay calm in crises and respond quickly to emergencies. In the face of great danger, they must be able to think correctly and clearly. Being calm in confused situations, is another important tour guide personality traits 7. Loving sports and be qualified person 136

Some tours and personal travels are involved with several sports such as skiing, surfing, boating, walking, mountaineering and rock climbing. As an escort you should be qualified to do these sports and accompany the group. If you are over 55, maybe before tour guiding it would be better to get permission from your doctor! Tour guide personality traits are important and never count on this career if you are not qualified! In addition, if you are under 18, again this job is not for you! Also, gender isn’t important in this profession but make sure you don’t have medical issues which contrast with this job. 8.2 PERSONALITY OF A TOUR GUIDE - KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS, PERSONALITY TRAIT Tour Guide/ Manager must have following qualities.  Good image Tour operators consider Tour manager/ Guides as most important public contact Role of a Tour guide  Adviser  Informer  Investigator  Organiser  Encourager  Reassurer  Leader  Co-ordinator  Motivator person, so good image helps to maintain good business and upkeep repeat rate. This criterion creates a professional image of an organization. The Physical condition of tour manager/guide is also the part of image. Good health and physical condition of guide/manager is an essential requirement in tour guide. Tour manager/ Guide operates tour packages/ basic or advance courses of Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports ( DMAS), Manali has required certificate which ensure their compatibility to climb a particular height over mountains. A Special type of tours requires special physical conditions.  An outgoing personality Apart from good image a tour manager/ guide must have extrovert personality.  Good sense of humor He must have good sense of humor.  Organizational skill A good tour manager/ guide must be able to maintain documents and organize the tour successfully.  Decision making capacity In case of confusion, he should be able to take decision. In adventure activities, this quality is very important. Sometimes, a good decision maker saves life of his tour group members.  Love travelling, meeting new people I found that all tour guides/instructors accompanied me in adventure tours were having passion for travel and meet new people.  Empathetic He must be empathetic about clients. Tips for successful Guiding 137

You will never get a second chance to make a first impression. Else the first few moments of your interaction with them is going to kill all the enthusiasm they carry. Be punctual You are being on time says a lot about your professionalism. Being late reflects your casual attitude towards the group of tourists, every minute is paid for and being late is a less for them. So, plan to arrive a few minutes early. Be yourself, be at ease: There must be a relation in thinking, action and habit. He must enjoy his job and feel at ease. Always keep in your mind that your physical appearance does matter. Always wear formal shoes with the formal dress and sports shoes with other dresses. Do make sure your shoes are polished and non-scuffed. Groom yourself neatly A tour guide must be neat and clean. Clean shaved or trimmed beard. Must have good dressing sense. He must either wear Indian or western outfits. Maintain individuality Your individuality is your biggest asset, organize and present yourself favorable but feel free to express your individuality appropriately within that context. Hold your nerves A tour guide must have confidence whiling working. He should not feel nervous. Nervousness is very harmful. Once, we are nervous, we lose control over memory. Tips 1. Exhibit professionalism. Be on time. 2. Always remain cool, confident and composed. 3. Dress to occasion. Groom well 4. Remain slightly aloof. Be friendly but not intimate. 5. Watch yourself always; control self for bad temper, conceitedness. 6. Retain command. Display self confidence. Assure guest that you are in control of situation. 7. Do not force yourself upon the group. Don’t boss around. Help them enjoy and learn first impression may not be the last, but it is definitely a lasting impression. Good in behavior and nature You are not the boss. Discipline is not the topmost priority though desirable people are there to enjoy. Help them enjoy, guide them. Do not instruct them every now and then. Please turn off your mobile phone while guiding. Be positive A tour guide must have positive thinking. A positive person has less problems and more optimistic towards work Personality Traits Tourists travel all over the world and compare the skills, knowledge, behaviour and professionalism of tour guides from one country to another. Guides therefore have to show high standards of professionalism all the time in order to be respected by international tourists. A tour guide has a lot of competencies (skills, knowledge and way of behaving) that make up their professional profile: 1.2. General Behaviour The general behaviour of a guide, while on 138

tour, in vehicles, in restaurants, dealing with tourists, is very important. Western tourists have specific ideas of how guides should behave. For example, being on time, being quick and well organised are very important to Westerners. Here are some guidelines and tips on good general behaviour for tour guides. Tour guide competencies General behavior, Knowledge, Guiding skills, Tour management, Leadership Ethics, Responsible tourism, Communication skills, Participant Guide 7 Module 1 | Professionalism General Manners Do’s Don’ts  Be on time, quick, and well-organised  Ask tourists individually how they would like to be named (e.g. Mr. Jones or Michael or Sir)  Learn how to manage larger groups (e.g. get them together so you do not need to shout or say the same information many times)  Give time for tourists to talk to one another and understand what you have told them.  Use the visitors’ knowledge: find out if there is anything they want to see/taste and include these in the tour, if you can.  Find out from Tour Operator operations staff if the tourist is only doing a holiday in Laos (unlikely) or as part of a longer holiday across Indochina/Thailand (likely) – find out more about the tourists’ whole holiday package  Show confidence in positive body language – stand straight, make eye contact, smile!  Follow the laws of the country at all places you visit with the tourists  Do your best to follow the itinerary of a tour and speak positively of the company that you represent.  Help tourists when you see they need help (e.g. taking photo’s)  Separate personal time from work time e.g. don’t take your own holiday photos when you are with your tour group  Keep receipts for work expenses on tour, and give these (with unused tour funds) to the Tour Operator Operations Manager.  Notice if tour members are unhappy (e.g. too hot/cold), or looking around for something – be aware of their body language at all times and offer help  Learn how to stand in a way which makes you look professional and interested in your group  Be late, slow or disorganised  Share your own opinions/beliefs on sensitive subjects such as religion and politics.  Believe the tourists know about the country and laws or that the tourists don’t know anything.  Be negative: Don’t say things like “What a shame about the weather!” or “On a good day, this usually looks better…,” “If only we could…” Always talk about the site or experience in a positive way.  Tell lies or guess the answer.  Speak badly to the tourists  Argue with anyone.  Forget the name of your tour group, hotel, program or voucher  Be negative: Don’t say one place, person or tour group is worse than 139

another.  Give drugs (legal or illegal) to your tourists if they ask for it or are feeling sick  Take tourists to shops unless this part of the itinerary or unless tourist clearly want to do this  Repeat information which has already been given earlier on the tour (this shows a lack of communication between tour company and guide)  Give bad service to any tourist on any basis, e.g. colour, gender, ethnicity, nationality, physical challenge, age, etc. Participant Guide 8 Module 1 | Professionalism Vehicle Manners Do’s Don’ts  Sit upright, be alert, often check on the passengers to make sure they are comfortable and enjoying themselves  Make sure the driver uses her/his cell phone very little and pulls the vehicle over to a safe place at the side of the road before talking on the phone.  Make sure the tourists are interested in what you are talking about, know when to talk, how much to talk, and when to let tourists just sit quietly/ rest/ sleep  Open and close doors for tourists (also a driver responsibility)  Help elderly tourists get on and off vehicles (also a driver responsibility)  Make sure that tourists know what their vehicle looks like when it is parked with lots of other vehicles which look the same  Make sure air-con is on and vehicle is cool, before tourists get on (if weather is hot; or warm if weather is cold)  Before leaving a site count the number of tourists when they get back on the vehicle (to make sure no one is missing)  Take shoes off  Put your feet up on the seat or dashboard  Sleep  Text or talk on a cell phone if you are driving  Talk too much/talk only with the driver (your talking should be to the benefit of the tourists)  Drink alcohol or take drugs Eating, Drinking, Smoking Do’s Don’ts  Eat with the tourists, with good table manners  Make sure all tourists have their food before you start to eat  Ask tourists what sort of food they would like to eat, and (more specifically) recommend different foods/places to eat  Ask the tourists to re-use their plastic water bottles if possible (advise them to re-fill at the hotel or restaurant)  Understand tourist allergies (common with Westerners)  Chew chewing gum  Drink alcohol during working hours – a small drink at dinner is alright, but check with tourist group first  Smoke in sight of tourists  Eat very smelly food in the presence of clients (e.g. durian), unless the tourist group have said they are ok with this  Make loud noises while eating (a common sign of good manners in Asia, yet a sign of poor manners with Westerners) Participant Guide 9 Module 1 | Professionalism What are allergies? A negative reaction by the body to certain foods, most often nuts (peanuts), flour (wheat flour), eggs, or food made 140

from milk. Eating these items may make the person very sick. Allergies can also be a reaction by the body to some insects (e.g. bees), animals (e.g. cats) and plants (e.g. pollen). What to do: 1. Check if any tourists have allergies; 2. Ask the tourist if they have their allergy medicine with them on the tour before they leave on the tour; 3. Call the restaurant the day before arriving and tell them about the tourist’s food allergies; 4. Help the tourists to choose foods that do not contain the ingredients that they are allergic to; 5. Ask the restaurant if any of the ingredients they are allergic to is in any of the dishes on the menu; 6. Watch out for non-food allergies (e.g. bees, animal fur, etc.) when on the tour, so you can keep the tourist away from these things that they are also allergic to; 7. Keep an allergy chart with pictures on to help understand tourists’ allergies. Cell Phones Do’s Don’ts  Answer professionally and clearly with your name and a suitable greeting E.g. Sabaidee, Sone speaking”.  Only take business and emergency calls  Excuse yourself from the tour group if you have to take an emergency call  Set your phone to vibrate mode while on duty  Set your phone up with an auto-text message which says ‘sorry, I am busy guiding and will call you at the next available opportunity’  Ask your family/friends to rather sms you if they need to get hold of you while on tour  Give you cell phone number to tour group members, so that they can contact you if they get lost from the group during tour time/in an emergency  Answer the phone with only ‘hello/sabaidee’ unless you know the caller and it is personal.  Take personal calls; chat to friends on the phone while on duty (during tour time)  Send text messages or engage in text conversations unless these are work related  Answer the phone when talking to tour group members Participant Guide 10 Module 1 | Professionalism Work and Private Life Do’s Don’ts  Work during working hours and only talk to family/friends when not with the tour group (after-hours)  Ask for your Operations Manager if you can meet once a month to talk about the various tour groups (keep a diary of each tour group), so that you can learn from different tours and be a better guide.  Do personal jobs like shopping while on a tour or with a tour group  Bring friends or family along on the tour – this is work time, not social time.  Take your own photos on tour  Change the itinerary to see or do something for yourself (and of no or little interest to tour group) You can learn a lot if you talk and listen to different people like:  Visi communities/sites which will be visited on the tour/discussed on the tour and talk to the community and people in the sites.  Learn from ‘site guides’ who work at destinations/places that are included in tours – 141

these are the private tour guides who work at the site/attractions to deliver tours for that specific site/location and nothing else. They always have good quality information about the place where they work.  Speak with key people from the local tourism department (DICT), travel agent association (Champasak Travel Agent Association (CTAA) ) – as these people always have: - good local knowledge; - access to lots of deeper information; and - contacts which can help you find out more information.  Talk to other Tour Guides – this includes: - other Tour Guides from in your Tour Operator company; - Tour Guides who work for other Tour Operators; and - private/self-employed Tour Guides.  Operations Manager –should be able to tell you where the tourist comes from, where the tourist is going, tourist ages, what they like, name of the tourists’ previous guide, allergies, etc. 8.3 SUMMARY  Guides play a vital role in this process bringing satisfaction to tourists visiting a country or region/state. The opportunity of direct interaction with the tourists makes them all the more responsible for projecting the correct image of the country/region, giving factually correct information about the destination, ensuring the safety and well being of the tourists as well as pleasing and satisfying the stay for them during their visits. Over last few years there has been a greater interest in tour guide profession especially in the northern region of India. The purpose of this study is to identify the motivations that led to choosing tour guiding as a profession and career. There appears to be a significant difference in such motivation in different regions of the country. A comparison in motivations in two regions (north vs. east) was made. Based on primary data collection paper attempts to discuss what has motivated the youth to take up tour guiding profession- whether such motivation is positive of negative. In either case policy makers may decide what type of support programs need to be introduced by the state and other agencies like educational, rearing and counselling, financial support, social security, or any other type of interventions. 142

8.4 KEYWORDS  concessionaire : a firm which, under contract rights, operates for another party (in many cases, a government agency) food and beverage services, lodging facilities, and other services on-site at an attraction  concierge: a hotel employee who handles restaurant and tour reservations, travel arrangements, and other details for hotel guests  Designation: The act of conferring a legal status on a building which requires compliance with specific legislation on conservation and preservation.  destination: the end point of a journey  FAM tour: an abbreviation for familiarization tour which is often a complimentary or reduced-rate travel program for travel agents, tour operators, travel writers or others to acquaint them with a specific destination or attraction, thereby helping to stimulate sales 8.5 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 143

8.6 UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. Describe how good tour guides can boost tourism development in a region ? 2. Describe your opinion of the need of grooming tour guides? 3. Define escorted Tour? 4. What do you understand by mentoring? How is it useful in tourism 5. What is the value of a tour guide? Long Questions 1. What is tourism supply mix and how do they function? 2. What is the difference between a Guide and an Escort? 3. What are the types of guide based on licensing authority? 4. Describe briefly about incentive tour? 5. What does a cityguide do ? B. Multiple Choice Questions 1. Which market segmentation is done at a basic level. a) Geographical b) Behavioristic c) Psychographic d) None of these. 2. Which travel insurance ensure a traveler for unexpected travel cost in the event that trip is interrupted a) A trip cancellation policy b) A trip interremption policy c) Personal liability policy d) None of these. 144

3.Comprehensive insurance policy ensures a travellor for a) Medical costs b) Travel costs c) Trip cancellation d) None of these. 4.In the following which is not a basic purpose of travel in ancient times a) Trade b) Seeking Knowledge c) For religious purposes d) Recreation 5. Domestic tourism expenditure plus outbond tourism expenditure is --------- a) Total expenditure b) Domestic Ependiture c) National tourism expenditure d) None of these. Answers 1-a, 2-b, 3-a, 4-d, 5-c 8.7 REFERENCES References book  India Country report- 2008- Ministry of Women and Child Development and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 145

 United Nations Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Websites  https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020- 08/Safe%20and%20Honble%20Tourism%20Guidelines.pdf 146

UNIT – 9 : GUIDING TECHNIQUES STRUCTURE 9.0 Learning objectives 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Pre-Tour, on Tour and Post Tour -Communication skills of tour guides, Oral performance (Delivery of commentary), Steps for delivering commentary, Body language 9.3 Summary 9.4 Keywords 9.5 Unit End Questions 9.6 References 9.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to:  Pre- Tour, on Tour and Post Tour -Communication skills of tour guides,  Oral performance (Delivery of commentary),  Steps for delivering commentary,Body language 9.1 INTRODUCTION Tour guides need to communicate effectively. It is of utmost important that your travellers understand the information and ideas shared by you. Take a look at the few components of communication skills for tour guides to communicate effectively. An important part of the communication skills for tour guides is having open communication. For communication to be successful, always encourage open communication. You can have open communication by engaging your travellers, asking questions, inviting their feedback and point of view. Do not use a convincing or superior tone as open communication means accepting the different point of views. This will help to increase understanding of the different 147

type of travellers you meet. It will also help to collect more knowledge about different culture, places and things, thus improving yourself as a tourist guide. 9.2 PRE- TOUR, ON TOUR AND POST TOUR - COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF TOUR GUIDES Open Communication An important part of the communication skills for tour guides is having open communication. For communication to be successful, always encourage open communication. You can have open communication by engaging your travellers, asking questions, inviting their feedback and point of view. Do not use a convincing or superior tone as open communication means accepting the different point of views. This will help to increase understanding of the different type of travellers you meet. It will also help to collect more knowledge about different culture, places and things, thus improving yourself as a tourist guide. Active Listening Being a good listener is one of the best ways to be a good communicator. By listening, you can understand the needs of your travellers better. Always practice active listening. There are three steps of active listing. Step one, pay close attention to what your traveller is saying. I think as guides, we will tend to rehearse what we want to say in our heads. As a result, this cause us to be distracted and unable to listening attentively to what travellers have to say. Step two, ask questions to clarify. If you are in doubt as to whether you understand, always ask questions to clarify. Step three, paraphrase what your traveller is saying to ensure that both parties are on the same page and have the same understanding. Listening is an important part of the communication skills for tour guides. Of course, as tour guides, you cannot be only listening as it is your job to guide and tell stories to your group. Speak Clearly, at the Desired Pace As tour guides, we always have a lot to say and eager to share. However, at times, your travellers might not be native English speakers. Also, they might be tired from all the travelling 148

and have a short attention span. Therefore, always remember the 5Cs and KISS. Keep the information and storytelling clear, concise, correct, complete and concrete. By that, you do not beat around the bush, use difficult words or tell false information. In addition, always remember to keep it short and simple (KISS). As a guideline, the desired pace is 110 to 140 words per minute. Non-Verbal Communication Other than what you speak and hear, it is also important what travellers see and how you portray yourself as a tour guide. Non-verbal communication is also an important part of the communication skills for tour guides. Your body language, eye contact and hand gestures are all part of the message and stories a tour guide is conveying. Some tips for tour guides include always adopt an open stance, showing hands as it depicts a welcoming and trustworthy message. Never fold your arms as it implies that you impatient or angry. Maintain eye contact with everyone in the group. This is especially so for big groups as you want to include everyone and make sure no one feels missed out. Successful communication is a substantial aspect in achieving quality of life of intellectual disabled people (Martin, et al., 2010). Communication deficiencies are an inherent problem among intellectually disabled people (Pinborough-Zimmerman et al., 2007; Sigafoos et al., 2016). It is revealed that many intellectual disabled confront hard situations in which they feel frustrated due to inability to convey their feelings and wants (Pinazo & Reina, 2017). Setting different resources, strategies and information concerning different communication needs is a main concern to overcome these obstacles (Pinazo & Reina, 2017). Speech, language and communication disabilities are usually related to intellectually disabled people (Sigafoos et al., 2016). In this respect, Martin et al., (2013) revealed that a lower extent of communication ability is a main characteristic of individuals with intellectual disability. There is a comprehensive definition of communication proposed by (Martin, et al., 2010, p. 306) “a reciprocal process between at least two people of sending a message and interpreting it correctly through both verbal and non-verbal means”. Communication indicates sending and receiving messages, it may include “vocalization, spoken language, using of non-vocal as well as non-speech methods for instance: using gestures in a formal or informal way, manual signs, 149

picture cards exchange and pointing to symbols/objects (Sigafoos et al., 2016). Communication disability can range from developmental delay of early communication (e.g. joint attention) to profound communication disability. The person who has a severe impairment lacks a perceivable amount of speech or language and a deficiency in suitable communication methods, they usually depends on other modes of communications such as gestures, vocalization, body movements and facial expressions (Didden et al., 2009; Bradshaw, 2001; Sigafoos, et al., 2000; Sigafoos et al., 2016). According to the severity of intellectual disability, communication impairment can be classified into mild and moderate intellectual disability and severe and profound intellectual disability (Bakken, et al., 2008; Sigafoos, et al., 2007). People with mild and moderate intellectual disability have adequate speech and language to communicate appropriately with others. However, there is a general area of delay in language development such as word utterances, problems in the grammar used and taking turns in conversations (Schalick III, et al., 2012; Sigafoos et al., 2016). For people with severe and profound intellectual disability, they suffer significant communication problems; that is to say, they have difficulties in both expression due to limited or absence of speech and in understanding others (Sigafoos et al., 2016). In this concern, Olney (2001) pointed out that severe disability has a thorough effect on person’s communication ability and interaction, Olney added that intellectually disabled partners should have communication competences. Communication plays a substantial role in individual’s daily interactions and in formal situations in which a person interacts with service providers (Schalick III, et al., 2012). Succeeding in communicating with people with intellectual disability should consider assessing the current communication ability of the individual as well as the type and intensity of speech, language, communication disability and any other physical, hearing and sight impairment (Bradshaw, 2001; Sigafoos et al., 2016) European Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research Vol.7, No.2, pp.1-25, May 2019 Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org) 5 PrintISSN:ISSN2054- 6424(Print),Online ISSN:ISSN2054-6432(Online) Since communication difficulties are prevalent among people with intellectual disabilities, staff should assessthe individuals’ communication capabilities and adapt their communication behavior accordingly (McConkey, et al., 1999b; Schalick III, et al., 2012). Furthermore, Van der Gaag & Dormandy (1993) showed that the communication process become more effective when service providers are aware of the communication abilities of individuals and modify their communication style consequently .The adaptation process involves two dimensions: responding to specific needs of individuals they are communicating with, and adapt their communication to the various 150