Abstract
The tour guide, as an interpreter, plays an important role in linking the destination and the tourists. What is the meaning of ‘interpretation’? According to Tilden (1957), interpretation is generally used for education, and the purpose of this particular education is to express the meanings and interactions between people and destinations (Weiler and Ham 2000; Ham and Weiler 2002). Interpretation differs from tour guide to tour guide, from place to place, and even between transportation types and the aims of travel (Weiler and Ham 2000; Ham and Weiler 2002). Tour quality is affected by the skill and capacity of the tour guide’s expert interpretation, performance and transfer of knowledge. Interpretation is not just a simple word, as it changes the form of communication in guided tours. Interpretation about cultural heritage is provided by print and electronic publications, public lectures, on-site and off-site installations that are directly related, educational programs, and community activities; ongoing research, training, and evaluation of the tour guide’s interpretation process itself is important. Tour guides are also representatives of sustainability. The aim of this study is to determine the role of tour guides as interpreters in sustainable cultural heritage tourism in Odunpazarı. In this qualitative study, data were obtained from in-depth interviews. The tourism resources of Odunpazarı were identified and compiled from secondary sources. In-depth interviews were conducted with the tour guides of Eskişehir, and the results of this study reveal that tour guides play a crucial interpretative role in transferring accurate information to supply sustainable tourism in Eskişehir. The tour guides included in this study are aware of what sustainability is, and they try their best to sustain cultural heritage tourism.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Ap, J., & Wong, K. K. F. (2001). Case study on tour guiding: Professionalism, issues & problems. Tourism Management, 22(5), 551–556.
Boyle, A., & Arnott, A., What tour guide stories can tell us about learning, education and training. Creating Tourism Knowledge, 75.
Bradt, H. (2000) ‘On the Ground’ Tourism in Focus, 36, Summer, 17.
Bras, K., & Dahles, H. (1999). Pathfinder, gigolo & friend: divering entrepreneurial strategies of tourist guides on two Indonesian islands. In H. Bras & H. Dahles (Eds.), Tourism & small entrepreneurs, pp 128–145. New York: Cognizant.
Brochu, L., & Merriman, T. (2007). Personal interpretation: Connecting your audience to heritage resources (National Association for Interpretation). InterPress.
Christie, M. F., & Mason, P. A. (2003). Transformative tour guiding: Training tour guides to be critically reflective practitioners. Journal of Ecotourism, 2(1), 1–16.
Cohen, E. (1985). The tourist guide: The origins, structure and dynamics of a role. Annals of Tourism Research, 12(1), 5–29.
Cohen, E. (2002). Authenticity, equity and sustainability in tourism. Journal of sustainable Tourism, 10(4), 267–276.
Cooper, C., Fletcher, J., Gilbert, D., & Wanhill, S. (1993). Tourism: Principles and practice. London: Pitman.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Dahles, H. (2002). The politics of tour guiding image management in Indonesia. Annals of Tourism Research, 29(3), 783–800.
Dijk, P., & Weiler, B. (2009). An assessment of the outcomes of a Chinese-language interpretive tour experience at a heritage tourism attraction. Tourism Analysis, 14(1), 49–63.
Dioko, L. A. N., & Unakul, M. H. (2005). The need for specialized training in heritage tour guiding at Asia’s world heritage sites: Preliminary findings on the challenges and opportunities. Heritage Tour Guide Training and Certification for UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Macao: Regional Consultation Meeting.
Ertin, G. (1994). Eskişehir Kentinde Yerleşmenin Evrimi. Eskişehir: Anadolu University Press.
Fowler, J. (1992). The past in contemporary society: Then, now. London: Butterworth-Heinmann.
Ham, S. H., & Weiler, B. (2002). Toward a theory of quality in cruise-based interpretive guiding. Journal of Interpretation Research, 7(2), 29–49.
Holloway, J. C. (1981). The guided tour: A sociological approach. Annals of Tourism Research, 8(3), 377–402.
Io, M. U., & Hallo, L. (2012). A comparative study of tour guides’ interpretation: The case of Macao. Tourism Analysis, 17(2), 153–165.
Jafari, J. (2000). Encyclopedia of tourism. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
Kalyoncu, M., & Yuksek, G. (2017). The Effect of impression management techniques which tourist guides use in package tours on personal interaction quality. Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 5(1), 15–25.
Koroglu, O., & Guzel, O. (2013). Visitor perceptions of the role of tour guides in natural resource management and sustainable tourism. Romanian Economic Business Review, 8(4.1), 69–80.
Olcay Uckan, B. Y., & ve Uckan, E. (2002). Eskişehir Odunpazarı Evleri, Ankara: T.C. Kültür Bakanlığı.
Pearce, P. L. (1984). Tourist-guide interaction. Annals of Tourism Research, 11, 129–146.
Pond, K. (1993). The professional guide: Dynamics of tour guiding. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Quinn, B., & Ryan, T. (2016). Tour guides and the mediation of difficult memories: The case of Dublin Castle Ireland. Current Issues in Tourism, 19(4), 322–337.
Rabotić, B. (2008). Tourist guides as cultural heritage interpreters: belgrade experience with municipalitysponsored guided walks for local residents, MSc. The Proceedings Book of the International Tourism Conference’Cultural and Event Tourism: Issues & Debates’, Alanya, Turkey, 213–233.
Ryan, T., & Quinn, B. (2011). Lost in translation: Interpreting and presenting Dublin’s colonial past. 4th Critical Tourism Studies Conference. 2nd–5th July, 2011.
Srubar, I.(2004). “Phenomenology”, Encyclopedia of Social Theory, G. Ritzer (Ed.), Vol 2. (557–562) USA: Sage.
The ICOMOS Charter for the Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites. Retrieved Jult 1, 2018, from http://www.enamecharter.org/downloads/ICOMOS_Interpretation_Charter_EN_10-04-07.pdf.
Tilden, F. (1957). Interpreting our Heritage, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina BTA, (2000) Structure & Demand of Visitor Attractions Review, London. UK.
Tilden, F. (1977). Interpreting our heritage, Vol. 3. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
Web: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5733/. Accessed 16 June 2018.
Weiler, B., & Ham, S. H. (2000). Training ecotour guides in developing countries: lessons learned from panama’s first guides course. Faculty of Business & Economics: Monash University.
Wong, C. U. I. (2013). The sanitization of colonial history: Authenticity, heritage interpretation and the case of Macau’s tour guides. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 21(6), 915–931.
Yetgin, D. (2017). The Effect of Economic Anxiety and Occupational Burnout Levels of Tour Guides on Their Occupational Commitment (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis). Turkey: Anadolu University, Graduate School of Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Tourism Management.
Yetgin, D., & Benligiray, S. (2019). The effect of economic anxiety and occupational burnout levels of tour guides on their occupational commitment. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 1–15.
Yu, X., Weiler B., & Ham, S. (2001). Intercultural communication and mediation: A framework for analysis the intercultural competence of Chinese tour guides. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 8(1), 75–87.
Zhang, H. Q., & Chow, I. (2004). Application of importance-performance model in tour guides’ performance: Evidence from mainland Chinese outbound visitors in Hong Kong. Tourism Management, 25(1), 81–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(03)00064-5.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Kalyoncu, M., Yüksek, G. (2020). Tour Guides as Sustainable Cultural Heritage Tourism Interpreters: The Case of the Odunpazari Historical Urban Site. In: Coşkun, İ., Lew, A., Othman, N., Yüksek, G., Aktaş, S. (eds) Heritage Tourism Beyond Borders and Civilizations. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5370-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5370-7_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-5369-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-5370-7
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)