The effect of destination brand perceptions and job satisfaction of professional tourist guides on their role in cultural heritage conservation

Over time, human travels undertaken for various purposes throughout history have proliferated, eventually transforming into a tourism movement. With changing expectations, the tourism sector has become a continuously growing, profit-generating industry that significantly influences social and cultural life, providing substantial employment and developmental opportunities. One of the most crucial stakeholders in this expansive sector is the tourist guides, who, as cultural ambassadors, assume numerous responsibilities related to their profession, acting as representatives of their countries. Tourist guides, being the tourism stakeholders with whom visitors spend the most time, are considered one of the major factors influencing visitor satisfaction. In today's competitive world, the importance of destinations has increased, highlighting the significance of destination branding. The branding of destinations is a concept that emphasizes the cultural heritage values, which are crucial and need preservation. Both for destination branding and cultural heritage preservation, an indispensable element is the tourist guides. This study aims to examine the effect of destination brand perceptions and job satisfaction of professional tourist guides on their role in cultural heritage conservation, seeking to understand their roles in cultural heritage conservation. The sample of the study consisted of active tourist guides affiliated with NERO, and surveys were conducted through online platforms. A questionnaire derived from the studies of Doğanlı(2006), Çerçi(2013), Göker(2018), Benek(2015), Çelik(2018), and İpar(2011) was utilized to measure destination brand perceptions of tourist guides. For assessing the job satisfaction of tourist guides, the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Scale, developed by Weiss, Davis, England, and Lofguist(1967) and translated into Turkish by Baycan(1985), was obtained. The compiled form of scales used in the study of Moscardo(1996), Howard(2001), Rabotic(2010), Köroğlu(2013), Ar(2015), Güzel(2007), Toker(2011), Aslan and Çokal(2016), and Deniz(2019) was used to measure the contribution of tourist guides to cultural heritage. The hypotheses of the study were tested through structural equation analysis using the Smart PLS4 program. It was observed that Professional tourist guides' destination brand perceptions and job satisfaction have a positive and significant effect on their roles in the preservation of cultural heritage. For future studies, it is recommended to conduct research on prefessional tourist guides with different variables to contribute more extensively to literature on this important stakeholder of tourism. Keywords: Professional Tourist Guidance, Destination Branding, Destination Brand Perception, Job Satisfaction, Cultural Heritage Preservation.