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Effects of Tour Guides Training on Their Performance in Kenya
Francis Kabii
Moses Makonjio Okello, Nehemiah Kipruto
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DOI:10.17265/2328-2169/2017.12.003
Kenya Utalii College, Nairobi, Kenya
Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
It is important for a completive tourism destination to ensure that tourists get the company of a professional tour guide who guides and interprets attraction in the areas visited. Undefined level of education, lack of standardized training curriculum, and lack of barrier to the guiding career have affected the performance of tour guides in Kenya. Limited research in Kenya has been conducted to establish the role of guides in satisfying customer and protecting the environment. The study objective was to examine tour guides’ interpretation knowledge and their opinion on areas that require more training so as to improve their performance. The study hypothesized that tour guides’ opinions on their training needs are independent on the level of education, work experience and qualification. It is hypothesized that guides require additional training in flora and fauna of East Africa, cultural heritage and customer service. They require training in ICT (Information Communications Technology), eco-tourism principles, and at least one foreign language. The study hypothesizes that the higher the level of a guide’s training, the more resourceful the guide will be. The study used qualitative and quantitative research approaches where questionnaires, interviews and focus groups discussion (FGDs) were used to collect the primary data. The finding shows that tour guides’ opinions on areas they require further training were independent of their highest level of education, work experience and qualification. Most guides irrespective of their level of education, work experience and qualifications were of the opinion that they needed more training on mammals and plants (χ2 = 1.07, df = 2, P = 0.583), training on birds and insects (χ2 = 0.254, df = 2, P = 0.885) and training on culture and history of East Africa (χ2 = 1.140, df = 2, P = 0.566). Respondents’ training needs were independent on the duration of tour guiding course training had taken. Guides trained for less than six months, one year and more than two years agreed that training on foreign language (χ2 = 4.84, df = 2, P = 0.196), ecotourism principles (χ2 = 1.62, df = 2, P = 0.653) and tour planning and costing (χ2 = 399, df = 3, P = 0.262) would improve their performance. The study concludes that tour guides are aware of the areas that they need to be trained and should be consulted before organizing such training. They require more training irrespective of their level of education, certification and work experience. The study recommends tour guide curriculum be standardized and all guides should sit for an exam before they are licensed to guide and only those with such license be allowed to practice guiding.
tour guide training, effects, performance, product knowledge
Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, December 2017, Vol. 5, No. 6, 233-250 doi: 10.17265/2328-2169/2017.12.003
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