Interpretative guiding and sustainable development: A framework

Tour guides have received less scholarly attention than most other tourism stakeholders or participants. No known studies explore the role of tour guides in sustainable development. However, since they influence where tourists go and what they do, where they spend their money and what they learn about local history and culture, their implications for destinations have many consequences. This paper examines the links between tour guides and sustainable development and proposes a framework for interpretative guiding. It indicates the means by which tour guides can contribute to the promotion of sustainability and presents standards against which tour guides' performances can be examined.