Informatologia, Vol. 49 No. 3-4, 2016.
Original scientific paper
PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE OF SPECIFIC GROUP OF EMPLOYEES – THE CASE OF TOUR GUIDES AND TOUR MANAGERS
Mitja Gorenak
; Faculty of Tourism, University of Maribor; Brezice, Slovenia
Marjetka Rangus
; Faculty of Tourism, University of Maribor; Brezice, Slovenia
Abstract
The article focuses on the question how tourist agencies take care of preventive health care issues of a specific group of employees, tour guides and tour managers. Tour guides and tour managers are due to their work constantly exposed to certain travel diseases. Since tour guides and tour managers in most cases are not employed by tourist agencies, i.e. they are mostly self-employed, tourist agencies do not have the same legal obligation towards them as if they were their direct employees. How ever it is in the interest of any employer to have their employees healthy. Through perspective of professionalism the issue we are exploring shows how well tourist agencies are taking care of their employees. Our research was done among tour guides and tour managers in Slovenia, with a sample of 500, what represents 25.27% of total population. Altogether we received 120 responses what represents 24.00% of all interviewees or 6.06% of the whole population of tour guides and tour managers in Slovenia. We found out that the lack of insufficiently regulated job status of tour guides and tour managers lowers the standard of professionalism when it comes to preventive health care, and threatens the quality of service in tourism sector. How ever we have also found out that those tour guides and tour managers that work more often in potentially high risk environments tend to have more support from the tourist agencies that are providing them their jobs. How ever their support is still not nearly enough to make a substantial difference.
Keywords
preventive health care; tour guides; tourist agencies; specific group of employees
Hrčak ID:
173841
URI
Publication date:
30.12.2016.
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