Antecedents of satisfaction in guided tours: an introduction

The main motivation of this paper is that, as far as the extant literature in tour guiding and related studies are concerned, it is surprising there are few studies specifically focusing on guided tours and satisfaction in the eye of customers in the context of Turkey, though there are questionnaires conducted by the travel agencies by themselves. Drawing on the international literature on guiding and satisfaction with specific reference to guiding, we have constructed a questionnaire, subsequent to necessary analyses such as reliability and validity, and then the questionnaire, composed of different dimensions, has been administered to some 600 participants, thanks to the collaboration of tour guides and travel agencies. The results suggest that communicative skills of guides need some development. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Huseyin Arasli