How alluring is the online profile of tour guides?

Snehasish Banerjee and Alton Y.K. Chua

Annals of Tourism Research, 2020, vol. 81, issue C

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of tour guides' online profile on Internet users looking to book a vacation in terms of four aspects: perceived usefulness of the profile, hedonic attitude toward the tour guide, utilitarian attitude toward the tour guide, and purchase intention for the package tour. An experiment was conducted with 285 participants. A happy facial expression on the profile picture and a detailed profile description generally drew favorable responses. Moreover, the participants preferred male to female tour guides, thereby highlighting how the tourism industry is plagued by gender stereotype. Besides having implications for tour guides and travel agencies, the paper calls for a globally agreed policy on gender equality in tourism.

Keywords: Gender; Group package tour; Online profile; Traveler perception; Tour guide; Tour leader (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:anture:v:81:y:2020:i:c:s0160738320300311

DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2020.102887

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