A panel was held within the scope of the 8th National Tourism Guidance Congress at MAKÜ.

Academicians, industry representatives, and students attended the panel. The event was held at Lavanta Tepesi Hotel.

8th National Tourist Guiding Congress Term President Dr. Lecturer Özcan Özdemir, who made the opening speech of the congress, stated that the organization took place with intense academic participation this year. Özdemir said, “Our congress, which we organized for the 8th time this year, has broken a record in the number of papers thanks to your academic contributions. Today, 111 papers will be presented from 38 universities, and 217 valuable academicians have contributed to these studies. I sincerely thank each owner of this great effort.”

Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy emphasized that the congress will offer significant gains both academically and sectorally. Vice Rector Gürsoy said, “This congress will be a platform where current developments in the field of tourism guiding will be discussed, especially focusing on guiding education, and will provide important gains for our students. At the same time, it will contribute to seeing the tourism potential of our region on-site.”

As part of the congress, an opening panel on “Digitalization and Tourist Guiding” was also held. TUREB President Abdülkadir Tanrıdağlı, Antalya Guides Chamber (ARO) President Hülya Yıldırım Kaya, and Assoc. Dr. Alaattin Başoda from Aksaray University participated as speakers. The panel was moderated by Prof. Dr. Özlem Köroğlu from Balıkesir University.

The panel discussed the effects of digitalization on the tourism sector, the transformation of the tourist guiding profession, and the development of alternative tourism types. The speakers emphasized that navigation systems and digital applications facilitate the guiding profession, but the importance of human communication and experience transfer, which are the fundamental elements of the profession, remains.

ARO President Hülya Yıldırım Kaya said, “Digitalization does not take our profession backward. On the contrary, when used correctly, it takes us forward. I think these developments, combined with the contributions of you valuable academicians and our students using these technologies correctly, will result in a much stronger guiding profession.”

TUREB President Abdülkadir Tanrıdağlı stated in his speech, “Digitalization is not a threat, but a great opportunity when used correctly. The important thing is to manage this process consciously, planned, and by preserving the values of our profession.”

Assoc. Dr. Alaattin Başoğda from Aksaray University stated in his speech that technology should be managed correctly in the adaptation process to the profession, saying, “A professional understanding that does not dominate technology but uses it correctly should be developed.”

The program ended after the participants' questions were answered and Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy presented certificates of appreciation to the panelists.