Dear fellow students;
You started your university life, which is an important process in achieving your future goals, by gaining the right to enroll in our department. Each of you has made great efforts to be involved in this process. For that, I congratulate each and every one of you individually.
My dear friends; Universities undertake important tasks in producing knowledge in line with scientific principles and presenting it to the society for use. Rapid developments in science and technology require qualified human resources equipped with scientific knowledge and capable of applying this knowledge. Today, it is an indisputable fact that having a qualified workforce is an important factor in providing competitive advantage in all areas. In this direction, vocational education fulfills an important function in closing this qualified workforce gap. In this process, the high-level practices of universities, especially for vocational education, are very important in terms of qualified employment in the sectors. As a sector that grows every year in the world compared to the previous period and continues its development, the field of tourism requires both intermediate and highly qualified personnel in order to keep up with the developments. The tourism sector, which contains an important income volume for our country, also creates significant added value for our country’s economy with the employment and income volume it creates. On the other hand, the skilled employment gap in the sector is still an issue on the agenda. In this context; student admission to the Tourism Guidance Department (normal education: 40 people; evening education: 40 people) started in the 2015-2016 academic year within the Faculty of Tourism of Afyon Kocatepe University, which was established with the decision numbered 2013/4710 published in the Official Gazette on 24.05.2013.
The education and training period of the Tourism Guidance Department is four years and there is an optional preparatory class (English). There are 8 teaching staff, including 1 Professor Doctor, 1 Associate Professor Doctor, 2 Doctor assistant professor, 2 Lecturers and 2 Research Assistants working in the department and other faculty members are actively used.
Students who graduate from the Department of Tourism Guidance by meeting the necessary conditions can work as a tourist guide, if they have obtained at least 75 points from YDS (Foreign Language Exam) or a valid score from the foreign language exam given by TUREB, and have completed a 45-day (national) or 8-day (regional) domestic practice trip. Then they must apply to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and as a result, they will be able to provide Tourism Guidance profession in Turkish or in the language(s) written in their tourist guide card, by obtaining a Professional Tourist Guiding License. In addition, students will be able to be employed in middle or senior management positions in any of the tourism enterprises, especially in travel, accommodation and yacht marina businesses, with the tourism management education they have received in addition to the tourism guidance education. Department graduates, who get sufficient points from the Public Personnel Selection Examination (KPSS), will be able to be employed as civil servants in other public institutions. Graduates who want to pursue an academic career will be able to work as a lecturer in a program of any university, provided that they meet the necessary conditions (they get the necessary scores from the ALES-Academic Personnel and Graduate Education Entrance Exam and YDS exam conducted by ÖSYM and have industry experience if requested). Graduates of the department will also have employment opportunities at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Provincial Culture and Tourism Directorates and Information Bureaus, Museums and Ruins. As long as you study in the department, it is my greatest wish that you will develop yourself both intellectually and socially, as well as knowledge and skills related to other sub-branches of the tourism sector (travel management, accommodation management, airline management, yacht marina management, recreation management, etc.). In an environment of fierce competition, only in this way will you have the opportunity to find employment opportunities suitable for your field. This will also contribute significantly to the improvement of your quality of life. You can consider yourself lucky in this regard in terms of both the qualified academic staff and the social-cultural activities and the opportunities our university has. The importance given to practical training in the department constitutes an important advantage. In this context, it is an advantage for our students that there are significant opportunities for workplace internships, which are a part of the curriculum of the department, both abroad (Erasmus agreements, agreement with the German Employment Agency-ZAV) and domestic tourism enterprises. The fact that the developments in the field, especially related to tourism education, are reflected both in the curriculum of our department and in the physical infrastructure of the department, is another advantage for our students. In addition, the curriculum structure of our department also allows for academic career opportunities, which is an important area for students to pursue in the future, and guidance is given in this direction.
As long as you study in our department; I greet you with love and respect, as your biggest supporter to always keep open the ways of improving yourself in both academic and social areas, and to be a conscious follower of your rights in all administrative and academic relations, and I wish you success in your education and training period in the Department of Tourism Guidance at the Faculty of Tourism.
Prof. Dr. Elbeyi PELİT
Head of Tourism Guidance Department