A Research on Foreign Employers in The Travel Industry in Turkey

Purpose and Importance: It is known that Turkey accepts many foreign tourists from Russia and CIS countires where Russian language is spoken, due to the intensification of tourists coming from Russia in Antalya region and the increase in the need of the Russian-speaking staff of the tour companies operating there. In this context, this research aims to determine the profile of the foreign personnel employed in the travel sector in Turkey and the problems encountered, and is separated from the other research examples by the fact that it includes only the foreign personnel working in the travel sector. On the other hand, the research is important because of the contribution of the findings obtained from the research to the field literature. Methodology: The survey method developed by Ward and Kennedy (1992) was used as a data collection tool in the research. 387 foreign nationals participated in the survey application using non-random sampling method. The survey was carried out in July-August 2015, when approximately 5 million Russian tourists arrived in Antalya. Findings: According to findings it is found that; Among the foreigners who came to Turkey to work, the first rank is occupied by Russian Citizens (35,2% ), the Turkic Republics Citizens are in the second rank, 26-30 age group prefer Turkey more to work (40,3%), 75,2%？ of respondents hold undregraduate and postgraduate degrees, 80%？ of all repondents are received education in tourism, more than 60%？ have at least 3 years of guidance experience, 73,6%？ do not have any jobs in their country, 60%？ of the respondents visited Turkey at least 3 times before, 96%？ of them earn more than 300 dollars per month, 49,1%？ of them have found their jobs in Turkey through employment companies, 98,4%？ of them can speak Turkish, 35,7%？ can speak English as a second language other than Turkish and their mother tongue, the most influential factors in choosing Turkey and choosing a job are family and close friends', 39%？ of them have work permit, 31,8%？ had problems with travel agencies, the most important problems experienced were ‘work intensity’ and ‘obeying the social rights’, the most positive evaluations were they believed they earn good money in Turkey, 99%？ of them are satisfied with being in Turkey, 84,5%？ think that they will come back to work in Turkey, Limitations/Implications: Foreign personnel who come to Turkey to work in the travel industry are more likely to come and leave after the season. According to TURSAB'S research, the number of foreign personnel employed in travel sector in the country is