This paper theoretically reviews guides` roles, functions, attributes, and curriculum with reference to the Cohen(1985)`s framework of guides, and develops a model of the guide communication encompassing those four components of guides. The newly deve...
This paper theoretically reviews guides` roles, functions, attributes, and curriculum with reference to the Cohen(1985)`s framework of guides, and develops a model of the guide communication encompassing those four components of guides. The newly developed framework of the guide communication can show the complexity of guides` performance, which is interwoven with business property of tourism and communicative property, and the possibility of differentiating professional guides based on characteristics and needs of tourists. The increase of tourists and a variety of the tourism enable new types of guides performing one special role such as the cultural interpreting in heritage tours, the environmental interpreting in eco-tourism, etc., and the professionals of guides have been evolving from the conventional sense of guides performing four different roles at the same time to the specialized guides focusing on one or two roles of four. Therefore, the role of guides should be reviewed and the types of guides should be specified from the conventional performance to the specialty professionals with the criteria provided in the framework of guide communication; for the outward experience tourism, they need guides with performing instrumental and/or social functions, and the inward experience tourism needs guides with interactional and/or communicative roles. This type of specialization in guides` performance will eventually bring tourist satisfaction and the improvement of quality of tourism in the new milieu of being personalized, diversified, and qualified.