Towards a better tourist-host relationship: the role of social contact between tourists’ perceived cultural distance and travel attitude

Abstract

The ambiguous effect of cultural distance on travel attitude and tourist behaviours has long been debated, but its implications are vital to the success of achieving a sustainable tourist-host relationship. The study explored the direct and indirect effects of perceived cultural distance on travel attitude by adopting a mixed-methods approach and introducing a multi-dimensional perspective regarding the tourists’ social contact with the local. The mediating role of tourist-host social contact was also confirmed. The study found that the relationship between perceived cultural distance and travel attitude is “contact elastic”. Results empirically support the co-existence of the paradoxical effects of cultural distance on travel attitude. Implications are provided to policy-makers, practitioners and local communities regarding achieving a sustainable tourist-host bond.

Keywords:

• Social contact
• perceived cultural distance
• travel attitude
• tourist-host relationship
• social sustainability

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daisy X. F. Fan

Daisy Fan is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of People and Organisations at Bournemouth University, UK. Her research interests include tourist-host social contact, ageing and wellbeing, tourists’ ethnocentrism, cultural distance and cruise travel.

Hanqin Qiu

Hanqin Qiu is Dean and Distinguished Professor in College of Tourism and Service Management at Nankai University, China with research interests in consumer behavior, China hotel and tourism development and policy issues. She is the Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism.

Carson L. Jenkins

Carson L. Jenkins isan Emeritus Professor in Hospitality and Tourism Management at University of Strathclyde, UK and a Visiting Professor of International Tourism at Nankai University, China. His research focuses on tourism policy and planning and the impact of tourism development, particularly in developing countries.

Chloe Lau

Chloe Lau is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with research interests in impacts of events, convention, exhibition and meeting management, club management, ICT, local economic development, and tourism planning.