OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF CROSS-CULTURAL EDUCATION IN TOURISM

Gönül Akin

doi:10.5281/zenodo.18062837

Authors

Gönül Akin Istanbul Beykent University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7279-4511

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18062837

Keywords:

Cross-cultural education, Tourism education, Foreign students

Abstract

Technological advances and increased intercontinental mobility have made the world a smaller place. Today, it is common to encounter people from different cultures in a country or even a town, whether as visitors, students or workers. As a result, micro-scale education systems have shifted from homogeneous environments to more heterogeneous systems that represent diverse cultures and associated values. More specifically, student exchange programmes such as Erasmus are considered to be the main reasons for strengthening intercultural communication in education. At the same time, it is of great importance to emphasise the importance of intercultural education in tourism. In this study, individual interviews were conducted with tourism students residing in Turkey and studying tourism. The aim of the study is to identify the opportunities and challenges that foreign students encounter during their education in Turkey, particularly from an academic, social and cultural perspective. A qualitative research plan was developed using content analysis, and the opportunities and challenges encountered by the students were presented through themes based on the interviews focusing on their experiences. In line with the findings of this study, the opportunities and challenges of intercultural education in tourism were comprehensively addressed. The students' future plans were examined within the framework of push and pull theory, and recommendations for the future were presented to universities.

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Author Biography

Gönül Akin, Istanbul Beykent University

Ph.D. in Tourism Management (2019) from Istanbul University of Social Sciences. She received her master’s (2014) and bachelor’s degree (2012) from Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University. Her scientific fields of study include tourism education, travel experience, and tourist behaviour. The author has articles published in various scientific journals and papers presented at international conferences.

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