Anatolia An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, cilt.1, sa.1, ss.1-12, 2023 (ESCI)
In this study, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
cultural tours and cultural tourists was examined. The case study, a
qualitative method, was adopted. Data was collected from 15 tourist guides
through semi-structured interview technique. The data was analysed using both
content analysis and descriptive analysis. The results of the study show that
the behavioural changes of cultural tourists during the pandemic period may
continue in the post-pandemic period, and new changes may emerge. During the
pandemic, cultural tourists are more worried, cautious and less social, which
leads to fluctuations in their satisfaction levels. It can be said that the
tourists prefer nature-based tours to cultural tours. In addition, the
destinations visited on cultural tours and the characteristics of cultural
tours have changed during the pandemic.