This study presents the first bibliometric analysis of the International Journal of Spa and Wellness (IJSW) to assess its academic influence, publication trends, and thematic research focus. IJSW was chosen for this analysis due to its specialized focus on SPA and wellness tourism—an emerging and rapidly growing niche in health tourism. Unlike broader wellness and wellbeing journals, IJSW provides a dedicated academic platform for SPA tourism research, making it a key source in this field. However, despite its increasing contributions, no systematic bibliometric evaluation of the journal has been conducted to date. To address this gap, this study employs bibliometric analysis using data retrieved from the Scopus database, covering all articles published in IJSW between 2018 and 2024. Microsoft Excel and VOSviewer 1.6.20 software were used for data processing and visualization. Overlay Visualization was applied for citation analysis, while Network Visualization was used to identify key research topics through keyword analysis. The results indicate a steady increase in IJSW's academic influence, with notable growth in publication and citation counts. The most cited authors, the countries contributing the most, and the prominent research themes have been identified, with “wellness,” “tourism”, “wellness tourism,” “Spa,” and “well-being” emerging as the most dominant topics, respectively. The findings underscore IJSW’s role as a critical platform in SPA and wellness tourism research and provide valuable insights into emerging trends and future research directions.

The EU Habitat Directives and the Convention on Biological Diversity define stakeholder participation as an essential component in the preparation of protected area management plans and emphasize its importance in achieving biodiversity conservation goals. However, the legal framework in Türkiye remains insufficient in terms of identifying relevant stakeholders, clarifying participation methods, and defining the potential benefits, opportunities, and risks associated with stakeholder involvement. These uncertainties hinder the effective implementation of participatory approaches in protected area management and negatively impact the success of management plans.
The aim of this study is to develop a new approach for analyzing the participatory dimension of protected area management in Türkiye by quantitatively measuring the effectiveness of management plans. In this context, the Saros Bay Special Environmental Protection Area (SEPA) was selected as a pilot case. The management type and key parameters of the area's management plan were identified, and its effectiveness was evaluated using a 3-point Likert scale based on expert questionnaires. The level of stakeholder participation in the planning process was analyzed using stakeholder information forms. According to the findings, the average effectiveness score of the management plan was calculated as 43.87, placing it in the “high” effectiveness category. These results highlight the need to strengthen protected area management plans in Türkiye through more effective participatory approaches and emphasize the importance of improving the relevant legal framework..Keywords: Special environmental protection area, Participatory approach, Saros Bay, Management plan, Çanakkale.

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of cultural heritage in shaping sustainable tourism development in Istanbul’s Kalkhedon region. The historical ruins of Kalkhedon have largely remained in the shadow of urbanization and population changes throughout the 20th century. Existing literature has explored the relationship between cultural assets and tourism destinations from various perspectives. However, there is a significant gap in research that specifically examines the impact of historical and cultural heritage on sustainable tourism, particularly in regions like Istanbul’s Kalkhedon. This study aims to fill this gap by contributing to the field. The research adopts a qualitative approach with a phenomenological design, conducting in- depth interviews with nine participants. The data collected from the interviews were analyzed thematically, and the analysis process was systematically carried out using MAXQDA. Furthermore, the findings of this study reveal that sustainable tourism not only contributes to economic development but also plays a crucial role in preserving cultural values and raising environmental awareness. Lastly, the study emphasizes the importance of environmental consciousness and local cooperation in sustainable tourism strategies, providing related recommendations.

The advent of social media and online communities has facilitated interaction, commentary and the dissemination of reviews among tourists. Google Maps, a platform utilised by travellers, has evolved into a medium for documenting travel experiences, holiday recollections and complaints. A number of studies have recently been conducted to explore or understand memorable tour experiences, as they are very important indicators of tourist behavioural intentions. The purpose of the current study is therefore to explore the underlying dimensions of memorable tour experiences. Accordingly, data was collected through online reviews (731) posted about memorable tour experiences on Google Maps platform between 1 January 2022 and 10 February 2025. The data was analysed using a phenomenological approach and content analysis technique. In the results of the current study, a theoretical model of memorable tour experiences (MTEs) was developed with eight key components: shared experiences, knowledge, accommodation, professional guide, tour staff, hedonism, novelty, and local culture. The findings of the research contribute to a more sophisticated understanding of MTEs and augment the corpus of literature on tour experiences by incorporating MTEs through online reviews. The results of this study are discussed in terms of their practical and managerial implications, and recommendations for future research are proposed.

Career decidedness is a concept that expresses the determined attitudes and behaviours that individuals maintain towards their career goals and is gaining importance in the career development literature. Basically, this concept, which includes the stability of the individual in career choices, resistance against obstacles and determination to achieve career goals, is a critical component of the professional development process. In this context, the main purpose of the research is to determine the differentiation between the perceptions of the students studying in the undergraduate programme of tourist guiding and their career stability regarding the amendment to the Law No. 6326 on Tourist Guiding Law No. 7500 dated 27/04/2024. In the research, data were collected with a questionnaire, which is one of the quantitative research techniques. A total of 177 students studying at Nevþehir Hacý Bektaþ Veli University, Department of Tourism Guidance were reached. According to the findings, while the relevant law amendment caused students to be concerned about the tourist guiding profession, it also affected their perceptions of career expectations. It also negatively affected students' perceptions about the future of the tourist guiding profession. Moreover, according to the research findings, students' anxiety about the tourist guiding profession, career expectations and perceptions about the future of the profession after the changes in the Law show significant differences according to their career decidedness levels.