University hosts International Research Forum on Guided Tours

People from the tourism, business and arts industries are invited to a forum at the University of Plymouth to share their ideas on what they think a guided tour is. The seminar will also begin a wider debate about the role of the guided tour and the tour guide in the performance of place-making. Participants will look at the nature, identity, aesthetics, commerce, politics, technicalities and management side of tours. From heritage and historic tours, to campus and alternative tours, academics and guides will exchange their views with delegates from across the world including Canada, Portugal, Egypt, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and China. Phil Smith, Associate Lecturer in Humanities and Performing Arts at the University who helped organise the International Research Forum on Guided Tours event, said: “The guided tour is a natural and often sought-after event within the touristic experience, yet there is no single model for the guided tour. They take place in a wide range of contexts and can be explored from a wide range of disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. This year’s meeting aims to develop and deepen the arguments from the first event which was held in Halmstad in 2009.