The Effect of Distance, Expenditure and Culture on the Expression of Social Status Through Tourism

Abstract

Tourists view tourism not only as an opportunity for recreation, relaxation and a way to visit other places, but also as a means of expressing their social status, using their travel as a pathway to reconfirm their social positioning to friends, relatives and colleagues. A stratified sample of tourists from three different nationalities was used in this research. The study examines the factors of distance, trip cost and origin versus destination, similarities in culture and human behaviour, and tourists' expression of perceived social status, whilst it also evaluates the influence of nationality, age and level of education on the examined factors. Findings reveal that distance is the fundamental factor expressing social status, followed by expenditure and culture. These factors also present an almost equal moderating effect upon each other. The article proposes an explanatory model for tourism dealing with the expression of social status through distance, expenditure and culture.