A Study on the Effectiveness of Tour Guides Training Programs in Iran-Tehran

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of tour guides training programs of Tehran. The research Method applied in the study was descriptive in terms of data collection method, and practical in terms of the purpose of the study. The population was composed of both tour guides training course learners and travel agency managers in Tehran (N = 545). Sampling in this study was stratified random and the sample size was calculated based on Krejcie - Morgan Table (n = 166). The data gathering instruments were two researcher-administered questionnaires based on Kirkpatrick's model. The first questionnaire consisted of three indicators of attitude (reaction), learning and behavior and answered by learners and the second questionnaire contained questions that evaluated two components of behavior and the results and was filled out by the travel agency managers. The Questionnaires’ validity were determined through the judgment of 10 tourism training experts and university professors and the reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α = 0.79). In analyzing the data, in order to compare the experimental and theoretical mean, single-group T test was used and the results indicated that among five sub-hypotheses which had been derived from the main research hypothesis, the means of four hypotheses were significantly higher than the theoretical mean, suggesting the effectiveness of the overall training courses. The fifth hypothesis in which the difference between the acquired mean and theoretical mean was significant, was very small and negligible, in other words, it could be concluded with 95% confidence that tour guides training program in Tehran was effective.