A cross-cultural analysis of perceived communication competence: Tour guides in the tourism context

The primary goal of this project was to examine cross-national variations in the perceived importance of communication competencies of tour guides. Tour guides serve as a cultural buffer and a communication link between tourists and host populations, and yet their communication competence is perhaps the least emphasized aspect in tourism research. Communication research provides a framework to investigate this topic and this research represents a first bridge between these two disciplines.; To answer the research questions, tourists visiting the United States Southwest from France, Germany, and the United States were randomly selected. This research takes a behavioral-cognitive approach, based on an assumption that individuals hold cognitive notions about what comprises communication competence and then use these expectations as guidelines to judge their own and others' behaviors. There were four nonverbal dimensions (Approachability, Poise, Attentiveness and Touch) and 3 verbal dimensions (Language adaptability, Interpersonal inclusion, and Assertiveness).; The study also examined the relationship between selected demographic tourist variables and tourists' perceptions of important tour guide communication competencies. Finally, the study also investigated the relative importance of tour guide communication competence in relation to three other tour guide competencies identified in previous literature.; Results indicate that there are significant differences in the perceptions of important communication competencies among the three nationality groups. For the most part, the French and German tourists ranked the dimensions differently from the American tourists. While all the tourists rated the "instrumental" and "social" competencies of tour guide as more important than communication competencies, this was especially true for German and French tourists.; Results also revealed that the tourists' demographic characteristics explained little of the variance in perceptions of important tour guide competencies. Among the American group, gender was determined to be a significant factor, for the German group it was the size of the traveling party. There were no demographic predictors for the French group.; This study makes some important contributions to both the communication and the tourism fields. The results suggest that the dimensions of behavioral communication competence were found to be conceptually fitting for the three cultural groups, but revealing cultural differences. The study also contributes to the field of tourism in suggesting ways that tour guides might enhance their perceived competence depending on the nationality of the group they are leading.