Guiding the future: What generation Z expects from tourist guides

Tourist guides have a significant role in the tourism industry, serving as intermediaries facilitating travelers' understanding of their destinations. Historically, guides have been essential in travel experiences, providing insights, narrating the history, and enhancing the overall journey. Hence, the influence of tourist guides on tourist satisfaction and their role in influencing the destination's image have been the subjects of numerous researchers. However, there is not much research regarding Generation Z attitudes about guides. Generation Z is the generation that will travel more in the future. With that in mind, the aim of this paper is to investigate the attitudes and preferences of Generation Z regarding tourist guides, focusing on the essential qualities, behaviors, and types of information that meet their expectations. The survey involved 203 participants. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was employed for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), independent t-tests, and one-way ANOVA, whereas R was utilized for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The findings highlight the need for tourist guides to possess substantial knowledge and demonstrate practical communication skills, as Generation Z respondents prioritize knowledgeable and well-informed guides, valuing their expertise about the destination. However, the study also found that facilitating active group participation and promoting connections with local communities are less important to this generation.