Assessing Professional Tour Guides’ Attitudes towards Cultural Heritage Based on Demographic Variables

Cultural heritage is valued for its ability to represent a society's past and foster a feeling of identity. Being a relatively recent topic of study, cultural heritage naturally lends itself to multidisciplinary research and tourism is one of these fields. Cultural heritage values that improve tourism experiences and provide answers to specific issues facing the industry are crucial for tourism-related activities. On the other hand, professional tour guides also play a key role in tourism. So, disclosing their perspectives on cultural heritage, their degree of expertise, and the actions that need to be done in this area will help to advance sustainable tourism. This study aims to assess the attitudes of professional tour guides towards cultural heritage. 366 valid questionnaires from professional tour guides working in Türkiye were collected during the study. The findings suggest that there were no statistically significant differences in the attitudes of professional tour guides on cultural heritage based on demographic variables such as gender, income, level of education, age, and years of experience. It is believed to contribute to the relevant literature.