The Needs for Tour Guides among Tour Operators in Five Important Tourist Provinces in the Southern Part of Thailand

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate 1) qualifications of graduates in tour guiding services or tourism desirable to tour operators; 2) future trends and needs for tourism personnel among tour operators. The research instruments were a questionnaire and an interview form. There are 2,567 tour companies in five tourist provinces in the Southern part of Thailand: Songkhla, Trang, Phuket, Krabi and Surat Thani and the sample size based on Yamane Taro included 360 tour companies. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 tour companies and government officials under the Bureau of Tourism Business and Guide Registration and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Southern Regional Offices. The study found that tour operators in all the five provinces had the same opinions. They agreed that desirable qualifications of tour guides were: knowledge of the history of tourist attractions, understanding of the way of life of people in the areas of tourist attractions, good knowledge of tourist routes, leadership skills needed for leading tours to each tourist attraction, immediate problem-solving skills, service-mind, aptitude and intelligence, patience, honesty, morality and professional ethics. The future needs for tour guides tend to be positive and increase as the government sector is promoting tourism as a national agendum. Moreover, tour guides need to have knowledge and skills of languages to serve international tourists, especially from China. Tour guides are still a desired profession, and qualified tour guides with potential are still needed. Thus, producing tour guides for the labor market requires preparation in all aspects.