The Entitled Tourist: The Influence of Psychological Entitlement and Cultural Distance on Tourist Judgments in a Hotel Context

ABSTRACT

This research examines how a tourist’s degree of psychological entitlement (sense of deservingness) influences their responses to hotels that differ in cultural distance. Using a visit to China by Western tourists as a context, an experiment shows that entitled tourists respond more negatively to high cultural distance hotel environments compared with low cultural distance environments. Results are mediated by tourist irritation. Research contributions include demonstrating how entitlement moderates cultural distance effects, revealing tourist irritation as a mechanism that explains these effects, and showing how psychological entitlement influences how tourists react to hotel environments when visiting a foreign destination.

KEYWORDS:

• Psychological entitlement
• hotels
• cultural distance
• affect
• cultural theme

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brett A. S. Martin

Brett A. S. Martin, PhD, is Professor of Marketing, School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia (E-mail: [email protected]).

Hyun Seung Jin

Hyun Seung Jin, PhD, is Senior Lecturer of Marketing, School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia (E-mail: [email protected]).

Nhu Vi Trang

Nhu Vi Trang, MBus, is Postgraduate Researcher, School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia (Email: [email protected]).