Guidentity : A guided journey through identification; exploring the case of international tour guides

Abstract: Tour guides are often required to be a certain version of themselves while selling a particular state of mind to their guests. The job and its lifestyle suggest many influences on tour guides’ identities. Guiding involves working in an emotional environment, representing different groups simultaneously, wearing different ‘masks’ throughout a given working day, and living a unique lifestyle. By interviewing international guides leading active, multi-day, luxury trips, this study explores a broad range of factors that might influence their identity. It analyzed how their work context relates to their idea and sense of self, mainly as a tour guide but also what that means to their perceived place in the world as a person. The study found that the guides highly value the human connections in their job, and they have a strong sense of belonging to their co-leader community. They identify as separate from society by living a peculiar, dynamic, and challenging lifestyle, avoiding settling down. Moreover, they see themselves as socially competent, and they derive purpose and meaning from the job by assuming different roles that make a positive difference for the guests they encounter. The life satisfaction, self-esteem, and confidence that emerges is so gratifying that to a certain extent they forgive the unsustainable practices of their employer. However, the exposure to negative environmental impacts brings about many negative emotions, and even though they try, the minimal impact they individually have on reducing these impacts bothers them and negatively influences their well-being.