Ekoturizm faaliyetlerinde hizmet veren turist rehberlerinin performansının ziyaretçilerin sürdürülebilirlik davranışına etkisi: Karadeniz Bölgesi örneği

Abstract

The growing structure of the tourism sector today increasingly places pressure on natural and cultural resources, thereby highlighting the growing importance of sustainable tourism approaches. In this context, ecotourism emerges as a form of tourism that not only prioritizes environmental conservation but also provides economic benefits to local communities. The fundamental principles of ecotourism include responsible visits to natural areas, the promotion of environmental and cultural awareness, the conservation of resources, and contributions to the well-being of local populations. For ecotourism activities to be carried out sustainably, it is not only the infrastructure and management policies that matter but also the behaviors of individuals who actively participate in the process. At this point, tour guides play a critical role as key actors who directly interact with visitors, convey information, provide guidance, and foster environmental awareness. The knowledge level, communication skills, and environmentally conscious attitudes of guides can shape visitors' approaches to nature and play a significant role in encouraging the adoption of sustainability-oriented behaviors. Visitors’ sustainable behaviors can manifest in various forms, such as avoiding harm to the environment, managing waste properly, choosing local products, and showing respect for biodiversity. It is well established that environmental education and direct experiences are influential in the development of such behaviors. The informative and awareness-raising guidance services provided by tourist guides can have a direct impact on visitors’ adoption of these behaviors. This thesis aims to examine the impact of the performance of tourist guides operating in the field of ecotourism on visitors’ sustainability-related behaviors. The Black Sea Region of Turkey, which stands out for its natural and cultural diversity, has been selected as the research area. The study was designed based on a quantitative research method, and a structured questionnaire was used as the data collection tool. The survey was administered to 400 participants, and the data were analyzed using SPSS and the PROCESS Macro extension. Participants’ demographic characteristics, levels of participation in ecotourism tours, and experiences with tour guiding services were evaluated in detail. The analysis findings show that tour guide performance has a statistically significant, positive and high level effect on visitors' sustainability behaviors. In addition, strong relationships were found between tour guide performance and visitor satisfaction and experience. In the mediation effect analysis, it was determined that guide performance played a partial mediating role in the effect of visitor satisfaction on sustainability behavior. In the context of demographic variables, it was determined that age, occupation and guided tour participation frequency variables created significant differences. In particular, sustainability behaviors of individuals between the ages of 29-39 were higher; It has been observed that as the frequency of participation in guided tours increases, sustainability tendencies increase significantly. The findings reveal that the performance of tourist guides is a direct determinant in the development of sustainable behaviors in ecotourism. The functions of guides such as providing information, raising environmental awareness, acting as cultural mediators and modeling responsible tourism behaviors increase the quality of the ecotourism experience. In this context, it is recommended that guide training be strengthened in the implementation of sustainable tourism policies and that performance criteria be structured accordingly. This study aims to contribute to the implementation of sustainable tourism policies at the local level and to form the basis for research that aims to make the environmental impacts of tourist guiding more visible.