The Effect of tourist guide performance on behavioral intention towards the destination and the role of generations

ABSTRACT THE EFFECT OF TOURİST GUIDE PERFORMANCE ON BEHAVIORAL INTENTION TOWARDS THE DESTINATION AND THE ROLE OF GENERATIONS YILMAZ, Barış PhD-2025 Tourism Management Major Advisor: Prof. Dr. Rahman TEMİZKAN The purpose of this research is to measure the effect of the tour guide's performance on tourists' attitudes towards the destination they travel to, their intention to recommend the destination and their intention to revisit. In addition, it is to determine whether there are differences in the intention to recommend and intention to revisit between the generations of tourists. The sample of the research consists of tourists who participated in tours organized by a travel agency to Eskişehir and toured the city with a tour guide. The data were collected using purposive sampling and convenience sampling methods. In line with the purpose of the research, data were collected from tourists who visited Eskişehir in March, April and May 2024 via a questionnaire form. As a result of the research, 403 usable survey forms were obtained. The data collected within the scope of the research were analyzed with Smart PLS 4.0 and SPSS 25 programs. According to the findings obtained as a result of the analyzes, while the performance of the tour guide has a positive effect on the intention to recommend, its effect on the intention to revisit is insignificant. However, the effect of the tour guide's performance on the attitude towards the destination is positive and significant. On the other hand, the attitude towards the destination was found to have a positive effect on the intention to recommend and the intention to revisit. In terms of control variables, generations have a negative and significant effect on the intention to recommend, while they have a positive and significant effect on the intention to repeat. When the differences in the intention to revisit according to the generations were examined, it was found that the Y generation had the highest intention to revisit among all groups, while the baby boom generation had the lowest intention to revisit. When the differences between the generations were investigated in terms of the intention to recommend, it was concluded that although all groups showed similar values, Generation Z showed the lowest intention to recommend. As a result of the research, suggestions were presented for the tourism sector in the light of these findings. .Anahtar Kelimeler: Tour Guide, Intention to Revisit, Intention to Recommend, Destination, Generation