PERSPECTIVE OF TOURIST GUIDES IN CHENNAI - SCOPE FOR FUTURE GENERATION Synopsis submitted to Madurai Kamaraj University for the award of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN TOURISM MANAGEMENT By OBED JACKSON. R REGISTRATION NUMBER: P4646 Under the Guidance of Dr B. ZOBEDHA Assistant Professor Department of Hotel Management and Catering Science Madurai Kamaraj University College Madurai : 625 002. MADURAI KAMARAJ UNIVERSITY Madurai : 625 021, Tamil Nadu INDIA JANUARY – 2020 PERSPECTIVE OF TOURIST GUIDES IN CHENNAI – SCOPE FOR FUTURE GENERATION SYNOPSIS Introduction Tour guides play many roles within the tourism industry and for the tourists who they engage. Tour guides are frontline professionals who have the potential to manage the tourists experience and enhance destination image (Rabotić, 2010). The exact role of the tour guide may vary by destination, but the literature has provided some common roles. Cohen (1985) proposed four communicative roles of the tour guide, including selection, information, interpretation, and fabrication. The first role, selection, refers to the input that the tour guide has in selecting the location and itinerary for tours that they will guide - including what will be shown and what will not be shown. This is particularly poignant in a communist country like Cuba where the government allows only licensed guides to share places and information with foreigners. All tour guides in Cuba were state approved which means they likely had little input into the design of tours or the ability to go off script and itinerary to show tourists unsanctioned parts of the country. The second role of information providers has tour guides as giving knowledge to travelers about varying facets of the destination. Travelers may use guidebooks in lieu of tour guides and guide themselves in a destination (Jakle, 1985). Guides and books play an important role in orientating a person to an unfamiliar place (Jakle, 1985). Although providing accurate information is often considered as an interpretive activity, it actually falls within the realm of education as it is usually more formalized than interpretation (Hammitt, 1984). Researchers have found that travelers desire accurate and timely information on their tours, making the delivery of such information a priority (Lück, 2003). Providing accurate information is especially important considering that research has shown a knowledgeable tour guide is one of the most important elements of tourist satisfaction (Huang, Hsu, & Chan, 2009). The third role of guiding as interpretation may occur formally or informally (Reisinger & Steiner, 2006). Some tour guides have strict scripted talks that detail factual information about 1 the travel destination, while others have a broad knowledge base and can tailor their tours to their clientele. The off-script communication that occurs between tour guide and tourist provides linkages to the local culture which allows travelers to gain insights into the daily lives of those living in the tourist destination, especially if the tour guide lives in the destination or is indigenous (Howard, Smith, & Thwaites, 2001). Tour guides provide travelers with information about daily life, cultural norms, and opinions of the tour guides on important happenings at the destination, making their communication skills an important tool for the creation of destination image and mindful tourists (Christie & Mason, 2003; Leclerc & Martin, 2004). Tour guides suggest where travelers should gaze. Jakle (1985) highlights, as an example, that tour guides “point out inane formations” in natural landscape that a common eye may not notice. Guides also interpret objects that may not be labeled or are common places to residents. A tour guide can become the lens through which many travelers experience a culture for the first time through the eyes of a local. Lastly, fabrication refers to tour guides knowingly providing false information to tourists (McDonnell, 2001). While many tour guides undoubtedly do not engage in fabrication, others may do so for a variety of reasons. For example, a tour guide may receive commission from a particular store that sells inauthentic souvenirs at cheap prices (Ap & Wong, 2001). There is also evidence that tour guides fabricate information like the location of celebrity houses in Hollywood (Susko & Corral, 2016). If tourists learn that information provided on their tours is fabricated, it can have a detrimental effect on their satisfaction and image of the destination (Pearce & Moscardo, 1984). One of the purposes of the regulation of training for tour guides in many destinations is to combat the prevalence of fabrication. As the tour guide provides factual information and informal cultural knowledge, destinations often place great importance on training tour guides to provide an accurate representation of their community (Black & King, 2002). Ministry of Tourism, Government of India launched Regional Level Guide Training Programme (RLGTP) scheme under which the entire country was divided into five regions - north, south, east, west and northeast. The scheme envisaged a highest level of tourist guide with a license for interstate guiding. The scheme provided for training of 100 guides in each of the regions. Candidates for this training were to be recruited through a call followed by a written aptitude test. 100 short-listed candidates from each region were to be given training by Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM). In response to the advertisement 2 for RLGTP there were a total of 3404 applicants out of which there were 2954 from northern region, 253 from western region, 74 from south 70 from east and only 53 from northeastern region (IITTM’s internal data). This was an unexpected distribution that merited investigation into the reasons as much less than expected responses form four regions. A research question that emerged is why are lesser number of people interested in becoming tour guides in these four regions? Is there a difference in motivation? Is there a perceived difficulty in this profession? This study delves with the first issue and tries to investigate the sources of motivations and differences, if any, there in. It was decided to study the motivations for becoming a tour guide and compare the motivations across different regions. One of the regions was to be northern region where there was a stiff competition for becoming tour guides. The other region chosen for this study was eastern region. The research issue was to see if there was a difference in motivations of tour guides as they chose these vocations. Indian Tourism Industry Overview The Indian tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth among the services sector in India. Tourism in India has significant potential considering the rich cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, terrains and places of natural beauty spread across the country. Tourism is also a potentially large employment generator besides being a significant source of foreign exchange for the country. During 2018, FEEs from tourism increased 4.70 per cent* year-on-year to US$ 28.59 billion. FEEs during January 2019 was US$ 2.55 billion. Market Size India is the most digitally-advanced traveler nation in terms of digital tools being used for planning, booking and experiencing a journey, India’s rising middle class and increasing disposable incomes has continued to support the growth of domestic and outbound tourism. During 2018, foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India stood at 10.56 million, achieving a growth rate of 5.20 per cent year-on-year. FTAs in January 2019 stood at 1.10 million, up 5.30 per cent compared to 1.05 million year-on-year. During May 2019, arrivals through e-tourist visa increased by 21.70 per cent year-on-year to 1.23 million. 3 The travel & tourism sector in India accounted for 8 per cent of the total employment opportunities generated in the country in 2017, providing employment to around 41.6 million people during the same year. The number is expected to rise by 2 per cent annum to 52.3 million jobs by 2028. International hotel chains are increasing their presence in the country, as it will account for around 47 per cent share in the Tourism & Hospitality sector of India by 2020 & 50 per cent by 2022. Investments During the period April 2000 - March 2019, the hotel and tourism sector attracted around US$ 12.35 billion of FDI, according to the data released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Government Initiatives The Indian government has realized the country’s potential in the tourism industry and has taken several steps to make India a global tourism hub. India is a large market for travel and tourism. It offers a diverse portfolio of niche tourism products - cruises, adventure, medical, wellness, sports, MICE, eco-tourism, film, rural and religious tourism. India has been recognized as a destination for spiritual tourism for domestic and international tourists. In Independence speech from Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to visit 15 domestic tourist destinations in India by 2022 to promote tourism. India was ranked 34th in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019 published by the World Economic Forum. Total contribution by travel and tourism sector to India’s GDP is expected to increase from Rs 15,24,000 crore (US$ 234.03 billion) in 2017 to Rs 32,05,000 crore (US$ 492.21 billion) in 2028. According to WTTC, India ranked 3rd among 185 countries in terms of travel & tourism’s total contribution to GDP in 2018. During 2018, FEEs from tourism was increased to 4.70 per cent year-on-year to US$ 28.59 billion. FEEs during the period January - August 2019 was US$ 19.27 billion. International Tourists arrival is expected to reach 30.5 billion by 2028. Foreign tourist arrivals for medical purpose increased from 427,014 in 2016 to 495,056 in 2017(P).