Soft infrastructure at tourism sites: identifying key issues for Asian tourism from case studies

Abstract

Building on the under-utilized power of case studies, this conceptual review considers information to enhance Asian tourism sites and attractions. Soft infrastructure, defined as the total effect of the hospitality, interpretive and person-to-person encounters, was considered at 16 strategically selected locations drawn from 7 Asian countries. An emic, tourist-oriented perspective was used to appraise the effects of the soft infrastructure. The researchers employed information from academic publications, attraction websites, tourists' reviews and personal visits to identify common cross-site issues. Seven key issues were identified: the importance of emotional labour/sincerity; the value of quality and professionalism; creating understanding and the role of language; the appeal of performance and spectacle; the usefulness of immersion and participation; the power of authentic local voices; and the management of crowding and close encounters. Site and tourist precinct attraction managers can evaluate these issues to better use their tourism assets and create enhanced on-site experiences.

Keywords:

• soft infrastructure
• tourists' experiences
• case studies
• Asia
• tourist attractions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Philip Pearce was appointed as the first full Professor of Tourism in Australia. He studied psychology at Adelaide and Oxford Universities and has long-standing interests in tourist behaviour. He supervises a broad range of students investigating aspects of Asian tourism and applying positive psychology to tourism studies.

Mao-Ying Wu completed her undergraduate and Master's level degrees in China and earned her PhD degree at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia. She is interested in the well-being of tourism communities, tourists in emerging markets, and tourist-host interaction in cross-cultural contexts and is publishing productively in these areas.