Brief History of Tour Guide

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Guiding is one of the oldest professions of the Western world. The evolution of tour guides and the guiding history was divided by Pond (1993) into four periods. There are plenty of specific references in the annals of history, from the Roman Empire to the Middle Age, throughout the renaissance and into the Modern Age. Tourism saw the first major development during the era of the great empires. (3000 B.C. to A.D.500) During this period travelling is dangerous and time consuming. The ancient Persians, Assyrians and Egyptians pursue to travel through land and water. This activity still increased and so the number of guides, they were called ‘leaders around’ or ‘explainers’ who assisted visitors journeying abroad. The second stage is in the period between the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance. The Middle Age approximately A.D.500 to 1500. By that time, religious pilgrimage is the most prevalent type of journey by the middle and the upper classes. The fall of the Rome resulted to decline of the economy and chaos to the social order. The safety and security of the travellers came to be a concern; therefore the preference of the guides had to serve as a pathfinder, safety escorts and protector. The third phase coved the period of the Renaissance and the Grand Tour approximately A.D.1500 to around 1700. During the renaissance, excursions were taken by the first class youth also called ‘Grand Tourists’ for cultural and educational reasons. These tourists were expected to enrich their knowledge through long journeys while being accompanied by a cicerone. The cicerone, named after Cicero the most esteemed guide in European society. The guide was expected to be well versed in many subjects, articulate and multi-lingual. The cicerones ...

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...95; Goldsmith, Flynn & Bonn, 1994; Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1985). Jan Carlzon, a former president of Scandinavian Airlines, termed the exact instant when the customer has a direct contact with any of the front-line employees as the ‘moment of truth’. This idea has had a market influence on the service industry and is now globally accepted. (Pond, 1993). Furthermore, once the tourist arrives at the destination, the tour guide becomes responsible throughout the tour as they are in the continuous contact with the participants.
Being a tour guide is often physically demanding. During a tour, guides must be available at all times to answer questions and sort out problems. Manual work such as loading and unloading baggage or other equipment may be required. (www.aitt.asn.au)

Works Cited

Principles and ethics of Tour Guiding by Zenaida B. Cruz, Ph.D., p. 16 - 19

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