Collaborative narratives and professionalisation in urban tourism: The role of tour guides in Barcelona’s free tours

Abstract

In recent years, the collaborative economy has reshaped tourism through digital intermediation that promises inclusivity, empowerment, and sustainability, though critics highlight its drift toward commercialisation and professionalisation. Free Tours offered via platforms like GuruWalk, exemplify hybrid tourism practices blending alternative economies, digital entrepreneurship, and informal labour. This study examines the role of tour guides as key yet often invisible actors in this platform economy, focusing on Barcelona. Using a non-experimental, quantitative, exploratory-descriptive design, it analyses 54 GuruWalk listings through content analysis. A coding scheme identified narrative dimensions (e.g. informer, cultural mediator, entertainer, educator, ambassador, explorer, problem-solver, promoter of environmental values), alongside variables such as ratings, reviews, and duration. Text mining and exploratory factor analysis produced a Narrative Index reflecting the density and diversity of roles. Findings highlight how guides co-create value and meaning in digital tourism, revealing labour precariousness, reputational dynamics, and narrative authority within the evolving collaborative economy.