The English language skill expectations of tourists visitin Turkey and the fulfillment level: A case study in Kusadasi

Nowadays, mass tourism is changing into a more individual structure, whereas tourism agencies were dominant in the past. Following this change, English language skills of tourism industry workers have become more important. In addition, tourists' perception of language capacities has also become more important. For this reason, to keep up with the changing face of tourism activities, it is aimed to research English language capacities of locals and staff in accommodation facilities by asking foreign tourists to evaluate this target community in this study. Within this framework, a case study was conducted in Kuşadası and we asked foreign tourists visiting Kuşadası- Aydın to evaluate the foreign language capacities of locals and staff in accommodation facilities located in the case region. According to the results, the language proficiency of locals and staff in accommodation facilities is above the average to some extent, but under the language proficiency of tourists. The level of communication with locals and staff in accommodation facilities shows statistical significance such as nationality of tourists, accommodation type, the class of the accommodation facility, education level, and previous visits to Turkey. According to the results, speaking is the most important skill in English. This study argues the different results of the questionnaires in the case of Kuşadası and argues the results in the perspective of suggesting new adaptations for tourism sector.