Struggling the COVID-19 Pandemic of Professional Tourist Guides: A Case Study in Turkey

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Coşkun O., Akgündüz Y.

Journal of Academic Tourism Studies, vol.4, no.1, pp.1-18, 2023 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)

Abstract

Tourist guides are a key component of the tourism industry, contributing to the destination’ image, country-wide tourism, and the overall experience of tourists. They are one of the occupational groups most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to determine how and to what extent tourist guides are affected by the pandemic, what to expect from relevant institutions and organizations in possible crisis periods and to make suggestions in this regard. To this end, a case study was chosen as the study design, and the interview technique, which is one of the qualitative data collection methods, was preferred. The data were collected from 15 tourist guides who went on tours at least once during the pandemic period, and were subjected to content and descriptive analysis. The findings revealed that tourist guides were deeply affected by the pandemic in economic, psychological, social, and professional terms. Moreover, it was determined that tourist guides have expectations from relevant institutions, such as grant support and effective management during times of crisis. Based on the findings, some suggestions were made to stakeholders in the tourism sector.