Foreigners, including Russians and Ukrainians who fled the war and settled in Antalya, started working as illegal tour guides. Mustafa Yalçınkaya, President of the Antalya Chamber of Guides, said that Antalya has the highest number of illegal tour guides after Istanbul, “I keep 45 illegal guide reports a year. These are the ones I caught during my inspections. There are others,” he said. The tourism city of Antalya hosts millions of vacationers every year. Visitors to the city find the opportunity to see its natural beauties and ancient cities while vacationing in tourism facilities. All vacationers who come to Antalya with tour companies are accompanied by guides who have a guide work certificate and have a good command of foreign languages and the region. Guides provide the same service not only for those who come with tours, but also for vacationers who want to visit the city and make a cultural tour. Within the scope of this service, during the time they accompany the tour, the guides answer all kinds of questions of the vacationers and help them in case of a possible problem. However, the increase in the number of vacationers in recent days has started to attract the attention of illegal tourist guides. The tour guides, who have only foreign language skills, have no knowledge of the natural beauties of the ancient city or any other part of the city, or learn information by hearsay, are mostly foreign citizens. Noting that many of them even have expired visas, professional guides in Antalya pointed out that not only Russians and Ukrainians, but also those who come from Syria, Iran, Turkic Republics and work unregistered in the city do the same job. Following the migration that started after the Russia-Ukraine war, Russians and Ukrainians in Antalya came together with resident foreigners and started working illegally in sectors such as real estate, tourism and beauty centers. THEY ARE MOSTLY IN ISTANBUL AND ANTALYA Mustafa Yalçın Yalçınkaya, President of the Antalya Chamber of Guides, said that people who work illegally and have no knowledge of the guiding profession harm the profession and the country. Stating that tourist guiding is not a new profession and its history dates back to antiquity, Yalçınkaya said, “We choose the best school for our children, we go to the best hospital for health. We have a concern to leave the job to the experts. That is why we recommend guided tours, this is also a must.” Stating that there are 1900 guides registered with their chamber, Yalçınkaya said, “The problem of illegal guides in Turkey is mostly in Istanbul and Antalya. People came to our country due to political uncertainties and war in different geographies. We are conducting inspections. We have sensitive citizens, there are incidents witnessed by our own guides. There are complaints that reach us. There may be misinformation about the national values of our country.” Stating that it is the most natural right of citizens to ask for the certificate of such people who appear as tourist guides, Yalçınkaya said, “I keep 45 illegal guide reports a year. These are the ones I caught during my inspections. There are others besides this. There are also those who present themselves as tourists on a tour. Foreigners who come here make their own advertisements by organizing on social media. Do they respect the Republic of Turkey or not? Does he recognize the constitutional order or not? We cannot entrust tourists who have come to our country to people we do not have information about these issues. 1 guide meets at least 35 people a day. They may give wrong information. If those who get that wrong information tell the people around them, what will they do in a year? There is a title usurpation. There are problems with the promotion of the country.” ‘They are usurping our profession’ ARO Board Member Hülya Yıldırım Kaya, who has been a tour guide for many years, complained about illegal guides. Stating that she speaks 4 languages and has knowledge of history, Kaya said, “We have received a lot of immigration recently, but unfortunately it affects some areas very much. Our profession is one of these areas. People from Russia, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Iran have spread to some areas. Since they have a good command of their own language, some agencies provide them with labor. This is a usurpation of our profession.” Explaining that it is impossible for someone who does not live in Turkey to give detailed information to another foreigner coming to the country and to answer all the questions, Kaya said that in the event of an accident, the foreign illegal tour guide does not even know where to report the accident because he does not speak Turkish.
Source: DHA
