The problems experienced by agency representatives during the work process and the reflections of these problems on social life: The case of Kuşadası

The purpose of this research is to determine the working problems of travel agency representatives and to examine the reflections of these problems on their social lives. It is seen that there are not enough studies in the literature examining the work of the representatives. Existing research focuses more on the work of professional tourist guides and the work of representatives is ignored. In this context, the research is exploratory in nature. In the research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 travel agency representatives working in domestic and foreign tourism markets. Interview data were supported by short notes taken in the field of research. The obtained data were analyzed by content analysis technique. As a result of the research, it was determined that the representatives working in the domestic tourism market preferred the job due to the training and internship they received, while those working in the foreign tourism market mostly turned to work due to the advantage of foreign languages. As a result of the research, representatives working in the domestic tourism market preferred the job due to the education and internship they received, ıt has been determined that those working in the foreign tourism market mostly choose the job due to the advantage of foreign languages. Within the scope of the qualifications that representatives should have, good human relations and foreign language knowledge come to the fore. It was found that the representatives provided services in three different areas: hotels, airport transfers and daily tours. It has been observed that the work of the representatives differs according to the nature of the market in which they provide services. For example, representatives working in the domestic tourism market make more effort to interact with tourists than those working in the foreign tourism market. How the representatives manage their relations with their working stakeholders (colleagues, hotel employees, operational staff and tourists) is also discussed within the scope of this study. The problems faced by the representatives during the working process were examined over the three areas they provide service (hotel-airport transfers and daily tours). Thus, the problems experienced by the representatives due to the travel agency they are working with, the hotels they are responsible for, and the working stakeholders, and the reflections of these problems on the social lives of the representatives were presented in detail. For example, flexible working hours, which are one of the flexible modes of production in the Post-Fordist period, make the social lives of representatives impossible and make their whole lives dependent on work. The working problems experienced by the representatives during the COVID-19 outbreak are also examined within the scope of this research. The research ended with suggestions for travel agency managers and future research. KEY WORDS: Travel Agency Representatives, Work, Social Life