Cultural competence measurement of tour leaders from the viewpoint of domestic tourists (comparative study of group package tours of Masuleh and Abyaneh)

The cultural competence of tour leaders has a significant impact on their job performance and the satisfaction of tourists from travel agency and it is necessary to pay more attention to this in tourism researches. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cultural competence of tour leaders in two historical destinations of Masuleh and Abyaneh. The statistical population of this study is domestic tourists travelling through group package tours in this two destinations. The dimensions and components of the cultural competence of the leaders were investigated using questionnaire and collected data by structural equation modeling were analyzed. The results showed that among the ten cultural competencies indices of tour leaders, cultural mediation (both), Understanding local travel environment (both), Cross-cultural communication and Interaction skills (both), cultural mediation (both), Understanding local Culture (Abyaneh), Language ability (Abyaneh) and cultural empathy (Masuleh) are components that must be developed in tour leaders of two destinations to increase the satisfaction of tourists and their loyalty to travel agency. The result of this study suggest that managers of tourism institutions teach soft skills in to tour leaders in addition to training courses.