Are tourists from the same source market culturally homogeneous?

ABSTRACT

This study questions whether tourists are culturally homogeneous regardless of the destination visited or type of travel undertaken. This question is premised on the belief that tourists are culturally homogeneous, which underlies research that applies Hofstede’s national cultural value framework; yet, it has not been asked before in the tourism literature. To address this research gap, a survey of Hong Kong residents who had travelled outside of the city for pleasure was conducted using the Cultural Value Scale (CVSCALE), a scale developed and validated to measure Hofstede’s national cultural values at an individual level. The study revealed significant differences in expressed national cultural values on most dimensions tested, as well as the overall scale by destination choice and style of trip. This study contributes by showing that an examination of individual-level culture may be more important when looking at sub-populations of tourists from the same source market.

KEYWORDS:

• Hofstede
• CVSCALE
• cross-cultural studies
• Hong Kong

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Notes on contributors

Bob McKercher

Bob McKercher is a Professor of tourism in the Business School at the University of Queensland. He has wide ranging research interests.

Vincent Wing Sun Tung

Vincent Wing Sun Tung is an Associate Professor of tourism in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His core research focuses on tourism experiences, consumer behaviour, and destination management.

Michael Ahn

Michael Ahn earned a Doctor of Hotel and Tourism Management from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is the Executive Vice President of Rakkojae Hanok Hotels in Seoul, South Korea.