Answer:
2INTRODUCTIONThe tourism literature has widely recognized that the service quality of the tourguide is a critical factor in achieving tourist satisfaction (Lopez, 1980; Geva &Goldman, 1991; Mossberg, 1995; Ap & Wong, 2001; Wong, 2001; Wang, Hsieh &Huan, 2000; Zhang & Chow, 2004; Black & Weiler, 2005), influencing traveloperator’s reputation and word-of-mouth publicity (Heung, 2008), and affecting theimage and revisit intention of a destination (Whipple & Tach, 1988; Chang, 2006; Sahin& Balta, 2007). On the other hand, destination governments and tourism industries areincreasingly aware of the need to improve the service quality of the tour guidingprofession; for instance by investing in training programs (Weiler & Ham, 2002; Dioko& Unakul, 2005) as well as quality assurance and regulatory mechanisms (Ap & Wong2001; Black & Weiler, 2005). This is a particularly pressing issue in many Asiandestinations in the face of fierce intra-regional competition.Macau is one of the destinations in Asia which faces strong competition fromestablished destinations in the neighborhood such as Hong Kong, Guangzhou andSingapore (Leong, 2007). Macau has been experiencing a rapid expansion of theinbound tourism market over the past decade. According to the Macau GovernmentTourists Office (MGTO) (MGTO, 2008a), visitor arrivals in 2007 exceeded 27 million,representing a growth of 22.7 per cent from 2006. The advent of the liberalization of thegaming industry in 2002 (Yong and Fu, 2006) and the resultant significant scaleexpansion of the casino business, as well as the relaxation of travel arrangements madeby the Mainland Chinese government have significantly contributed to the exponentialgrowth of Macau’s tourism industry in recent years.
