Tour Guide and Tourist Loyalty Toward Cultural Heritage Sites: A Signaling Theory Perspective

Built upon the signaling theory and the well-documented stimulus-organism-response framework, the purpose of this study is to examine how tour guides at Petra World Heritage Site act as a signal to influence tourists' experience and satisfaction, which in turn influence tourists' loyalty. Using the structural equation modeling technique, the study empirically tested a conceptual model with a convenience sample of tourists who visited Petra World Heritage Site in Jordan. Findings reveal that tour guides have significant direct and indirect effects on tourists' loyalty. Moreover, the findings showed that tourists' experience and satisfaction significantly mediate the relationship between tour guides and tourists' loyalty. The present study's unique contribution lies in its examination of the role of the tour guide in increasing tourists' loyalty in the heritage tourism context. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed considering the empirical findings.