A Qualitative Research on Determining the Perceptions of Tourist Guides on Development of Economy and Technology

Abstract

Developing technology affects the tourism industry as well as many industries. Tourist guiding, which is one of the important professions of the sector, is also among the professions affected by these developments. Today, technological guides such as mobile guide, robot tourist guide, and audio-guide serve tourists. In this study, it is aimed to determine the perceptions of tourist guides towards the use of technology within the scope of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). In accordance with the purpose of the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with twenty participants working as guides in the tourism sector in Turkey. Within the scope of the research, it has been tried to determine the opinions of the guides on the use of technology in the tourism sector and their suggestions on this subject. In this context, the data obtained from the participants were analyzed in the Maxqda Analytics Pro 2020 program. In the research findings, firstly it was revealed that the use of technology by guides has important consequences for the tourism sector, tourists and also guides. Secondly, the relationship between the attitudes of the guides towards the use of technology and their actual behaviors was tried to be revealed. Finally, in the study, it was tried to present a perspective on the use of technology to individuals who want to work in this field by giving place to the new generation guides and the suggestions of the participants on the use of technology.