Although previous studies have investigated the tour leadership styles of tour leaders, no scale is available for evaluation. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid measurement for assessing tour guiding styles from the perspective of tour leaders' roles. Following in-depth interviews, content analysis, and a Q-sort method, we generated the initial items. Twelve tour guiding styles were extracted from an exploratory factor analysis on 243 tour leaders. A confirmatory factor analysis on 474 tour members was then performed to identify the validity of the 43-item tour guiding styles scale. This study extends current knowledge of the tour guiding styles of tour leaders and provides a foundation for building future theoretical concepts of related constructs. The scale provides a useful tool for tour leaders to measure their guiding styles. Furthermore, the results can serve as a reference for travel agencies in arranging tour leaders. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.