Contribution of tourist guides to the business of travel agencies

Changes in the turbulent tourism market prompt travel agencies to refocus their business ventures from the field of classical intermediation towards the creation of complex tourist products, the so-called package tours. However, in both cases, core business remains in the activities of providing services. The prerequisite for providing quality services is high-quality human capital. Although a wide range of activities undertaken by travel agencies in the creation and sale of package tours require the staff to be familiar with different knowledge and skills, this paper focuses on the role and contribution of tourist guides to the business of travel agencies. Tourist guides are considered as unofficial representatives of the host country to the foreign tourists, since they present tourists with destination attractiveness and must therefore ensure the level of quality that travel agencies promised to their clients. Even though tourist guides are required to provide confirmation of formal education, acquired most often with some other profession, changes in consumer preferences of tourist demand also impose the need for the tourist guides to specialize in smaller specific areas of interest. Without tourist guides, it would not be possible to realize the so-called guided tour, as a special form of excursion which is a very popular product offered by travel agencies. On the other hand, no one other than highly specialized tourist guides can create thematic guided tours which, in a special way, enrich the offer of the tourist destination. However, travel agencies rarely employ tourist guides on a permanent basis, and they usually only hire them when it is necessary. This creates a potential problem for a travel agency in finding a quality tourist guide with sufficient professional experience, who can guarantee the level of quality of service promised by the travel agency.