What is it about?

This paper examines the effects of tour guides' online profiles on Internet users' purchase intention for group package tours. The paper finds evidence of ingrained gender roles and stereotypes on tour guides. A male tour guide is viewed as being more alluring than a female tour guide.

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Why is it important?

Traditionally, advertisements for group package tours used to contain detailed itineraries. Increasingly however, tour guides also tend to share information about themselves through profile pictures and textual descriptions on the Internet. The ways in which such online profiles of tour guides shape Internet users' decision to book a group package tour is therefore important to understand.

Perspectives

Unfortunately, the paper finds evidence of ingrained gender roles and stereotypes on tour guides. Organizations such as the United Nations World Tourism Organization (http://www2.unwto.org/) and Equality in Tourism (https://equalityintourism.org/) have their work cut out to ensure that females are able to challenge the status quo.

Dr Snehasish Banerjee
University of York

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This page is a summary of: How alluring is the online profile of tour guides?, Annals of Tourism Research, March 2020, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2020.102887.
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