The effect of tourist guides' performance and service orientation on behavioral intention: A study on domestic tourists

It is seen that all dynamics concerning the tourism sector are in a continuous development and adaptation in meeting the increasing demand for the tourism sector and touristic activities, both globally and nationally. The profession of tourist guide plays an active role among these dynamics with his/her performance and services it will offer from the beginning to the end of the touristic travel. The aim of this study is to reveal the effect of tourist guides' performance and service orientations on the behavioral intentions of domestic tourists. In this regard, a quantitative research method was preferred in the research, and a questionnaire technique was carried out for data collection. Within the scope of the survey study, by using the convenience sampling method, domestic tourists who visited the city of Izmir with guided tours between May and August 2022 were reached by hand, through agencies and online survey form. The study continued with the questionnaire data obtained from 400 participants, by removing the incomplete and incorrectly answered forms from the 460 questionnaires that were returned. The obtained data were subjected to normality tests, explanatory factor analysis, regression, correlation, Anova and Tukey tests. As a result of the analysis of the research data, it was concluded that the service orientations and performances of the tourist guides have a positive and significant effect on the behavioral intentions of the domestic tourists, and the service orientation of tour guides has a positive and significant effect on their performance. As a result of the t test, Anova test and Tukey multiple comparison tests, it was found that the perceptions of the visitors did not differ in terms of demographic characteristics such as age, education level, gender, average income, marital status and participation in guided tours. According to the occupational status of the visitors, it was determined that there were significant differences in the variables of perceived service orientation, performance and behavioral intention intended for tourist guides. The research consists of five parts in total, after emphasizing the purpose, limitations, importance and assumptions of the research, the relevant literature was scanned and the concepts and definitions related to the subject were explained. In the next part, the method of the research was explained, the analysis of the obtained data and information about the findings were presented and interpreted. Finally, according to the findings of the research and analyzes, recommendations were presented to professional institutions, tourist guides and subsequent researchers.