Suchergebnisse

Purpose. The research problems are: assessing effectiveness regarding the work of tour guides as important components of tourist services in reception regions and the issue of maintaining the demand for their services in conditions changed due to the deregulation of the tour guide and heritage guide professions. In this context, the author proposes to create a new type of service provider that combines the functions of a tour guide and heritage interpreter with regard to regions. The paper aims to justify the usefulness of this service for tourism stakeholders, to present the scope of responsibilities and competences of such a guide and to collect the recommendations regarding the process of its introduction.

Method. The work is based on a status analysis of tour guiding and tourist heritage interpretation services after their deregulation in Poland. It also regards a comparative survey of their functioning in selected countries, where such regulation did not exist. This is connected with the author's experience as a guide, heritage interpreter and organiser of both services.

Findings. The analyses show that the introduction of a new type of service providers will better adapt the tasks of guides to the heritage structure in a typical Polish region, as well as contribute to the efficiency of work and economic profitability. It will also allow to maintain and even increase the demand for services from tour operators, providers of individual tourism packages as well as local and regional tourism management organisations (DMOs), which will also facilitate the activities of this group of entities.

Research and conclusions limitations. The effects of implementing the proposed solution may have more intense impact in regions with stronger identity and heritage cohesion as well as with a larger and better organised staff of guides and interpreters. Therefore, it is possible to limit its use in the first stage to such regions in Poland, which are indicated.

Practical implications. The analysis can be important for the Polish tour guide staff and heritage interpreters working for the benefit of cultural tourists, as well as for the Destinations Management Organisations in Poland. The introduction of the proposed solutions should result in an increase of the demand for the services of guides and interpreters as well as maintaining or increasing the importance of their certification as proof of the qualifications and quality of their services.

Originality. Due to the novelty of the proposed solutions, there are no equivalents in Polish literature on the subject. For the first time, the cultural intermediation and heritage interpretation has been presented as the topic of the recommended joint venture of professional guide organisations, area managers of tourism products and local/regional governments in the field of tourism management.

Type of work. The article is a conceptual study, based on case analysis.