Research on tourist guides' attitudes and competencies about health tourism in Türkiye

The objective of this study is to examine the competencies of professional tourist guides regarding health tourism. The research was conducted in the Turkish tourism sector. The study included 30 professional tourist guides affiliated with the Aydın Tourist Guides Association. A semi-structured interview form was used to collect data for the study. The data obtained from the participants were analyzed using descriptive content analysis and qualitative data analysis. The answers given by the guides to the questions posed to them indicate some shortcomings in the field of health tourism. The most important of these is that the guides either received no education or insufficient education in health tourism and first aid during their formal education. Another significant deficiency is that the guides' knowledge of the health sector is based on superficial impressions. Their answers regarding health tourism, authorization, authorized agencies, and authorized health institutions reveal that they are unable to keep up with developments in the sector and lack sufficient information. It is recommended that guides working in the field of health tourism receive formal education related to health tourism, follow developments in the sector, and attend sector-related meetings and seminars. Health tourism such as thermal tourism, spa tourism, elderly and accessible tourism, medical and wellness tourism has to be accepted as a different field from classic tourist guiding.  The rapid growth of the sector also brings with it some regulatory problems. In order to protect the advantages in the long term, the issue of regulation should be considered an important matter that needs to be addressed.