Critical success factors for a guided tour experience : a demand and supply-side analysis

Abstract

Guided tours and tourism destinations are inseparable, with such guided tours often being sought after for their power to improve tourist satisfaction and envisioned to enhance visitors' experience and impact tourism growth at destinations. The success of such guided tours is often premised on several factors, which when present, would influence visitors' propensity to recommend, revisit and make future destination choices. Such factors play a critical role in determining whether visitors would consider guided or self-led excursions. Increasingly, South Africa relies on revenue from tourists as a major source of income. Statistics from South Africa show that the tourism industry is dependent on tour operators, tourist guides, and information services and that the travel industry and reservation services are built-in industries. Because of how much they enrich visitors' experiences, guided tours are offered in many different nations. These excursions are in high demand because of the positive effect they have on visitor satisfaction and, by extension, the development of the tourism industry in the places they visit. For a price or for free, tour guides may impart invaluable knowledge to their clients that can shape how visitors could remember their time in a certain location. Several studies have shown evidence of a correlation between tour guides and tourists taking tours. This is particularly true considering that many visitors choose guided tours rather than self-directed ones. Understanding the Critical Success Factors for guided tours is essential as it makes it easier for tourism suppliers to channel efforts toward tourist satisfaction. This research aimed at providing light on the under-researched topic of critical success factors for guided tours in South Africa's Western Cape Province. Understanding what makes for a successful guided tour is crucial for any tourist attraction. When the factors that make a guided tour enjoyable are isolated, tourism providers may better focus their efforts on satisfying their clients. It is worth noting that customers often want the provider and the tourist guide, to go above and beyond to ensure that they are satisfied with what is offered. The research used a mixed methods approach, which included both qualitative and quantitative techniques, to accomplish its goals. The number of interviewees was determined to be 12; all of them tour guides. For the quantitative data (n=451), a non-probability systematic sample comprised visitors taking part in guided tours in the Western Cape Province. Given that studies have shown that tour guides often lack the knowledge necessary to ensure that their clients are satisfied, it was crucial to investigate ways to enhance the quality of guided tours from the perspectives of both clients and tour guides. The study revealed that safety, knowledgeable guides, and pricing remain critical in the success of guided tours. The study highlights the critical factors considered essential for the success of guided excursions and the areas that require improvement. This research is important because it expands our understanding of a topic that has not been studied nearly enough so far especially focusing on how guided tours may be improved, and in the context of South Africa. According to the study findings, keeping an open line of contact with clients is crucial to retaining their loyalty. Those involved in the business tourism sector need to pay attention to new developments and come up with creative solutions if they want to compete with other business destinations over the globe. Those involved in the business tourism ecosystem should also stay abreast of research developments. Ultimately, this could lead to tour guides investing in skills development and knowledge expansion to conduct tours that satisfy visitors. The study further contributes to serving as a guide for further studies that may seek to investigate how guided tours in other provinces of South Africa should be conducted and ultimately improved. Furthermore, the study could provide a basis for tour guides within the Western Cape Province and South Africa more broadly to undertake more successful guided tours by understanding the CSFs required. Following an analysis of the study’s findings, recommendations for effective guided tours for the tourism industry were highlighted while practical and managerial implications were proposed.