The Role of Tourist Guides' Storytelling in Shaping Destination Image

<jats:p>This study aims to examine how tour guides mitigate tourist ethnocentrism through their role as cultural mediators, transforming visitors into voluntary destination evangelists. Utilizing a qualitative research design, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 active professional tour guides, and the resulting data were subjected to thematic analysis. The findings indicate that ethnocentric resistance among tourists manifests most intensely within the domains of belief systems, rural life, and gastronomy, primarily through non-verbal physical reactions and verbal comparisons. To overcome these cultural barriers, guides employ immediate crisis management techniques alongside strategies such as fostering historical empathy, highlighting cultural similarities, and utilizing storytelling. Consequently, the research demonstrates that the profound emotional bond forged through storytelling during guide-tourist interactions constitutes the fundamental dynamic in transforming tourists into passionate advocates for the destination.</jats:p>