Final Case Study Synopsis
1. Introduction
Tourism
is defined as the business of providing tourists travel-related services such
as accommodation, transport, touring packages services and entertainment
(Cambridge English Dictionary, n.d., World Trade Organization, n.d.). Focusing on the touring sector, tour guides are
the front-line employees who bridge the
host country and its tourists (Ap & Wong, 2001). The touchpoints a tour
agency has with its tourists is through the Dreaming, Planning, Booking,
Experiencing and Sharing stages (SiteMinder, n.d.). However, the only physical
touchpoint is through the Experiencing stage where the tourists will be
physically present to experience the tour guide’s service and other value-added
services. As such, tour guides are responsible for providing tourists with quality
service and the delivery of it is essential to both the success of their tour
agency and the host country they represent.
1.1 Workplace Context
Vietnam,
one of the fastest developing tourist destinations worldwide, was named as
“Asia’s Leading Destination” at the 2018 World Travel Awards (Das, 2019). It
aims to draw in 103 million visitors in 2019 and generate US$45 billion by 2025
from tourism revenue (Das, 2019). With the ever-growing touring sector, the
country now offers a variety of tours such as adventure tours, sea-based tours,
eco-tours, and historical tours (Das, 2019). However, Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has acknowledged that stricter criteria on the
issuance of tour guide licenses are required to improve the standards of
Vietnamese touring industry (Viet Nam News, 2017). The current tour guide
standards and qualifications have been found to
be unable to meet international tourists’ demands and expectations (Viet
Nam News, 2017). Also, there have been reportedly close to 400 cases of
falsifying qualifications to obtain their tour guide licenses (Viet Nam News,
2017). More information on how each of the five elements - service, place,
product, process and personnel - communicate can be found in Appendix A.
Today, the tourism industry focuses more on the experience
instead of just service delivered (PhocusWire, 2018). In this context, the tour
guide’s knowledge of the host country’s culture and attractions, and their
service and communication skills have the power to transform the tour services
into a meaningful experience (Ap & Wong, 2001). This paper thus explores
the ideals and service gaps of a tour and
proposes recommendations for tour agencies and human resources.
1.2 Thematic focus
The
main theme explored in this paper is the
tourism industry and how service gaps in tour delivery can affect tourists’
satisfaction. The hospitality and tourism industry is regarded as a challenging
industry to survive in (Caan, n.d.). It is thus important for tour guides to
possess a certain standard of service quality as they can affect the tour
agency’s business and present a bad image to the host country.
2. Problem Identification
2.1 Service Gap
Tour
guides play a vital role in a tourist experience as they are ambassadors of the
country (Rang, 2009). However, according
to a study done by Ap and Wong (2001), the majority
of the tour guides working in countries like Hong Kong do not receive training
courses. This results in inconsistent
levels of professionalism, poor image of
the profession and absence in monitoring tour guide performances (Prakash, Chowdhary & Sunayana, 2010).
Using
a team member’s real-life incident as a case
study, we have identified three areas of service gap. The areas, in particular, are the poor standard of communication, inadequate
product knowledge and unprofessional behaviour. Refer to Appendix B for further
details.
2.2 Service Goal
On
the other hand, visitors expect their safety and health to be prioritized while wanting to have an
enjoyable and memorable travel experience (Prakash, Chowdhary & Sunayana,
2010). Tourists also expect guides to be able to provide excellent service
standards that meet the expectations of the visitor amongst other things to
manage like the itinerary, group and logistical aspects (Cohen, 1985: Pond,
1993). These are some of the bare minimum required of tour guides.
2.3 Service Ideals
An
ideal tour guide is one that goes above and beyond goals or expectations. They are not restricted by a certain standard but
strive to excel and go above and beyond what is
expected of them. With the rise of the experience economy, demand for
stories has increased in recent years in
the context of the tourism industry (Bryon, 2012). Storytelling is a great alternative as it uses experiential
techniques that draw the attention of
tourists. Other aspects of impressive service include comprehensive knowledge
and a strong grasp of subject matter
(Hettiarachchi, 2011).
The
focus on closing the gap between service goals and ideals would be to improve
on communication skills including grammar, the manner
of speech and choice of words selected. Non-verbal behaviours are also a key
area to look into as it affects the way tourists perceive approachability and
friendliness (Sulaiman, Sirakaya-Turk & Altintas, 2016). Other areas of
focus would be having good product
knowledge and attitude in terms of respect, willingness to help and service (Ap
& Wong, 2001).
3. Purpose statement
This
paper will specifically look into the service delivery of tour guides in
Vietnam and how it can be improved to meet and surpass tourists’ expectations.
The objective is to suggest methods that can help tour guides have the proper training to deliver quality service
before giving tours. Therefore, this paper will be making recommendations to
the VNAT to ensure that hiring processes are improved, and tour guides are
adequately trained and qualified before conducting tours.
4. Implementation of Potential
Solution
4.1 Training Tour Guides in
Storytelling Skills
Storytelling
is highly valued in the Experience Economy as it will not only brighten up
boring historical facts but gets the tourist engaged too (Steeves, 2018).
According to National Storytelling Association of the United States, “Storytelling
is the art of using language, vocalisation,
and/or physical movement and gestures to
reveal the elements and images of a story to a specific, live audience”
(McWilliams, 1997s).
For tour guides to implement
storytelling, they have to be trained.
The team has created an acronym, ‘MSASP - Making use of Storytelling to Advance
Skills & Professionalism’, with each alphabet representing each step in
creating a story (Appendix C). By using storytelling, it will help tour guides
to interpret unique cultural, social, historical and natural landscapes,
connect tourists with new people places, sustain attention and keep tourists
engaged to create memorable and
extraordinary experiences.
4.2 Leveraging Human Resources (HR)
to Hire Qualified Tour Guides
Implementing
appropriate HR practices will result in the more
appropriate and professional tour guide role and skills, and are linked to the
success of delivering quality service (Schuler and Jackson, 1987). Well
qualified and knowledgeable tour guides can make the guided tour extremely
intriguing and provide tourists with a memorable experience (Wilson, 2008). A qualified tour guide will deliver a quality
service and thus, selecting tour guides with the right qualifications, attitude
and behaviour are crucial (Redman &
Mattews, 1998).
HR
has to screen for the most suitable candidate based on the core competencies of
knowledge, guest service orientation, personal and professional style and
communication skills (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2000). The tour guide must also be
fluent in conversing in the local language, or the language in which he or she
is required to deliver in. They must be certified in that particular language
to ensure that they can communicate with clarity and confidence. This is an important
criterion for HR to consider to prevent language barrier between tourists and
the tour guide.
HR
also plays an integral part in recruiting and training potential tour guides so
that they provide adequate knowledge and information to tourists. Tour guides
are one of the main determinants of successful
tour experience, and hence the quality of service provided is of extreme significance.
5. Benefits
The
above-proposed solutions are aimed at increasing customer satisfaction.
By highlighting the importance of good
customer service, this results in various beneficial outcomes in the workplace.
5.1 Increase in Customer Loyalty
Customers
are willing to pay more when they see the value in the brand name
(Investopedia, 2018). This is because
customer service can be associated with a branding tool (Vickery, 2017).
Therefore, when good customer service is provided, customers feel valued and are
likely to return or spread the word about the business which results in more
profits for the company.
5.2 Better Impression of the Country
As
tour guides are ambassadors of the country, bad customer service will leave a bad impression of the locals. This channel of
interaction allows tourist to communicate and observe how the natives are like
in terms of culture and character. Therefore, with good customer service given, it provides a better impression of the
destination in terms of hospitality (Rabotić, 2011). This would create a more inviting environment for tourist to
remember the country by.
6. Research methods
The
research methodology in this study includes secondary data from reports,
journal articles books and other online sources to substantiate the team’s
findings.
7. Conclusion
In
conclusion, this synopsis has addressed the on-going concerns relating to
Vietnam’s tour professionals, and the
team has suggested recommendations to counter the service delivery gap tourists
have faced. By proposing the above-mentioned
approaches, the team hopes that the service standards for Vietnam’s tour
professionals could be raised to cater to the increasing demand of its tourism
industry.
8. References
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9. Appendices
Appendix A: How the Five Elements of the Tour Experience
Communicate
|
Element
|
How
it Communicates
|
|
Service
|
The perceived service quality of a tour guide can be evaluated through three major constructs: core service delivery,
customer relationship management, and communication effectiveness
(Heung, 2008). These vitally
influences the tour experience and determines the level of customer
satisfaction (Kuo, 2018).
|
|
Place
|
The destination communicates the type of on-site experience tourists
can expect and take away. Some popular attractions to visit in Vietnam
include nature, cultural and heritage sites such as the Ha Long Bay and Hoi
An Ancient Town (Hotels.com, n.d.). By participating in the physical
environment, the tourists go beyond merely observing to internalise and
emotionally connect with their surroundings (Ittelson, 1981).
|
|
Product
|
The physical product represents the destination and the stimuli,
adventures and experiences it offers. Tangible products include recreational
and entertainment facilities and amenities like gastronomy, accommodation,
technology, transportation etc. A competitive tour offering focuses on
augmenting the psychological product which consists of exceptional
hospitality built on emotional engagement and consistently exceeding
tourists’ expectations (Stasiak, 2013).
|
|
Process
|
Tourists go through the following stages of a tour: orientation,
attachment, visiting, evaluation, storing, reflection and enrichment (Aho,
2001). Coelho et al., 2018, also adds that ambience, socialisation and
emotion and reflection constitute the
core processes of a meaningful tour
experience.
|
|
Personnel - Tour Guides
|
Tour guides have evolved from the roles of a presenter and
entertainer (Weiler & Black, 2015) to a creative and interactive agent
(Richards & Wilson, 2006) who co-creates tourist spaces. They are responsible for making tour experiences entertaining,
memorable, interactive and personalised (Ek et al., 2008).
|
|
Personnel - Tourists
|
Modern day tourists have evolved from a passive observer to an active
participant. It is essential that they can interactively influence the course
of the action by co-creating their experience (Stasiak, 2013). They are more
informed, consumeristic, tech-savvy, independent, mobile, flexible and
demands more efficient and ever-personalised tour services (Yeoman, 2012).
|
|
Personnel - Tour Agency
|
Currently, Vietnam has 800 tour operators and travel agencies that
are licensed to deal with international travel (Travel & Tourism, 2019).
Some popular tour operators in Vietnam include Exo Travel Vietnam and
Vietravel. A typical Vietnamese tour package would include accommodation,
transport, entertainment, meals and attractions visitation.
|
|
Personnel - Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT)
|
VNAT is the national tourism board of Vietnam which manages tourist
operations and activities throughout the country. It is in charge of business development, personnel training,
research, and implementation of policies and regulations in the tourism
sector.
|
Appendix B: Real-life Case Study of Disappointing Tour
Service
|
No.
|
Gap
|
Explanation
|
|
1.
|
Poor Standard of Communication
|
Hannah had patronized a supposed famous tour agency in Vietnam that had guaranteed an English-speaking
tour guide. However, on the day itself, the tour guide appeared to be an
amateur in English. Hannah found it difficult to understand the information
that was being told.
|
|
2.
|
Inadequate Product Knowledge
|
The tour guide
had poor product knowledge as he did not share with the tourist the history
or story behind artefacts or significant landmarks but rather stating the
obvious points. This involved many unnecessary commentaries
given.
|
|
3.
|
Unprofessional Behaviour
|
The tour included
a bike trek trail segment but during
the activity, the tour guide gave little information about what was to be done or where they were heading. This exemplifies his poor customer service as
he also did not bother to keep at the
same pace as all the tourist and Hannah was even left behind a few times.
When he set the meeting time to gather back during the free and easy, he
would rush tourist up the bus although the time set has not been passed yet. The tour guide would also mention that they are already late when they
are early.
|
Appendix C: Detailed Elaboration of MSASP
|
Steps
|
MSASP
|
Elaboration
|
|
1
|
Main Message
|
-
Identify the ‘Main Message’ they
want to put across to the tourists
-
Filter unnecessary information
from the whole storyline
-
Provide a clear gist of the
story
|
|
2
|
Story Structure
|
-
Constitute character, conflict
and plot
-
Main character: to portray a series
of events one goes through
-
Helps tourist to relate to the
main character’s story to experience and be
drawn to the storyline
-
Conflict to drive tension and
captivate the tourists’ attention and curiosity.
-
A plot is a series of events
that integrate the character from start
to end and conflict at the peak of the
storyline.
|
|
3
|
Audience
|
-
The tour guide has to recognise the type of tourist and understand
their needs and interests.
-
The story has to be relevant to
each type of tourist. When the tourists can relate to the characters in the story, they will be more interested.
|
|
4
|
Senses
|
-
Engaging the ‘Senses’ through
visual and sensory language to immerse tourists into the story setting.
|
|
5
|
Practice
|
-
Practice is essential to create successful storytelling. This can be done
by practising over and over again until
they are comfortable.
|
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