Examination of social interaction in guided tours through participant observation

In this research, it is aimed to examine the social interaction in guided tours from the perspective of tour guides, tourists and other service providers. For this purpose, participant observation technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The Black Sea Region was chosen as the research area. The researcher collected qualitative data with the "full participant" technique, keeping the identity of both the tourist guide and the observer confidential. During the Black Sea tour, a total of 48 people, including 43 tourists, two tour captains, two tour guides and a tour leader, were observed. In addition, the researcher collected qualitative data by observing restaurants, hotels and other service providers (musicians, promoters, vendors, etc.) during the tour. The qualitative data obtained during participant observations was subjected to in-depth content analysis. The field notes, which form the qualitative data of the research, and the findings related to the content analysis were presented to the expert opinion. In this way, it is aimed to obtain more objective results. The interaction between tour guide-tourist, tourist-tourist and tourist-other service providers has been examined in detail and the factors affecting social interaction positively or negatively have been clarified. The impression management techniques used by the tour guide and tour staff were also examined simultaneously. As a result of the analysis, three themes were identified as tour guide-tourist, tourist-tourist and tourist-other service provider interaction. 15 types of sub-categories were identified in tour guide-tourist interaction, 10 sub-categories in tourist-tourist interaction, and 25 sub-categories in tourist-other service provider interaction. During the tour, it was observed that the tour guide-tourist interaction was most frequently experienced in the categories of timing warnings, ingratiation/self-promotion, asking questions, sharing memories, legend and anecdote. Friendliness, protecting, sharing of experience and self-disclosure were found to be the most frequently interacted categories for tourist-tourist interaction. In the context of tourist-other service provider interaction, it was observed that the tour leader interacted very frequently in the categories of establishing authority, intimidation, informing and entertaining the group, sharing experience cases, ingratiation/self-promotion and supplication. According to the findings, the most frequent interaction with tourists in the context of other service providers occurs in the categories of hospitality, creativity, appreciation/approval expectation and motivational needs. It is thought that the current research will contribute to the literature in terms of revealing the importance of the empathy ability of the tour guide in package tours. In this direction, the current research contributes to the relevant literature in terms of observing the tour guide-tourist interaction, tourist-tourist interaction and tourist-other service provider interaction simultaneously in the context of guided tours. Keywords: Social Interaction, Tour Guide-Tourist Interaction, Tourist-Tourist Interaction, Tourist-Other Service Provider Interaction, Guided Tours, Impression Management, Participant Observation.