Circumstantial impact of contact on social distance

Abstract

Despite its century long existence, social distance is still a rare area of investigation in the tourism and hospitality context. In particular, there is a lack of attention on the empirical investigations about the relationship between contact and social distance in host–guest relations in a tourism setting. Hence, the purpose of this study is to determine whether there is such a relationship between social distance and different contact factors (previous visits and close friendships). An on-site survey on tourists and locals at a popular tourist destination, Mugla, in Turkey revealed partial support for these relationships under certain circumstances. Implications and future research suggestions are discussed.

Keywords:

• social distance
• contact theory
• attitude change
• resident attitude
• tourism and culture
• tourism and hospitality

Acknowledgements

The authors pay special thanks to Yvette Reisinger for sharing her Social Distance Scale to be used in this study.