International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

Woodside, Arch G.

2015 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2015-0083

Purpose – This introductory paper aims to offer a rudimentary model that describes the antecedent recipes for creating native-visitors. The paper describes what is unique and valuable about the seven articles that follow in their descriptions and explanations of the behavior of native-tourists. This special issue is to honor the originality and value of the contributions of tourism research’s leading critic, John Urry. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a paradigm that includes eight profiles of tourists identified by low/high conjunctions of knowledge, training and authentication of performances of tourism places. The study calls for a normative stance that tourists should develop a sense of obligation to learn before visiting to enrich understanding of what they are seeing and to reduce the negative outcomes of the tourist gaze. The method includes describing the unique and valuable contributions in each of the seven following articles in the issue. Findings – The analysis and outcomes are viewable best as propositions from a thought experiment. The seven articles that follow the introduction are appropriate data for a meta-review of the development of new meanings of tourism generated from the concept of native-tourist. Research limitations/implications – This study may spur necessary additional work to confirm that native-tourists do interpret performing tourist places differently and more richly than naïve tourists. Originality/value – The article is high in originality in establishing the benefits from studying native-tourists as unique contributors to clarifying and deepening the meanings of tourism drama enactments.

Batat, Wided

2015 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2015-0084

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw on a subjective personal introspection (SPI) approach and Breakwell’s identity process theory (IPT) principles to show how elements from different cultures are performed by an individual to form a unique patchwork identity, and how this patchwork identity will contribute to deepen tourist gaze and, thus, achieving and maintaining authentic destination experience. Design/methodology/approach – The use of SPI gives the researcher an easy access to data collection of his personal, daily experiences related to changing destinations and consuming different places in Europe (France, UK and Italy), North America (USA and Canada) and North Africa (Algeria, Morocco and Egypt) for unlimited 24-hour access from an insider’s ongoing lived experiences. Findings – The results show that Breakwell’s IPT four principles are an integral part of patchwork identity construction when living and experiencing several places. Patchwork identity encompasses the individual’s ability to cross different social and symbolic boundaries when experiencing different destination. Each cultural context contributes to the bricolage and the assemblage of individual patchwork identity revealing one or more IPT dimensions. Practical implications – This paper serves to emphasize the importance of SPI-based research to patchwork identity construction in understanding the impact of cultural identity on tourist gaze. This approach can help marketers and tourism professionals to understand how consumers select the cultural elements that fit their identity and how the patchwork identity formed will contribute to deepen tourist gaze and destination experience of authenticity. Originality/value – The use of IPT and SPI-based research to explore tourist gaze offers a comprehensive framework based on a personal introspective approach where the starting point is the meaning individual provides to his hyphenated identity as coping mechanism to respond to social, psychological, ideological, cultural, symbolic, functional, structural, etc., aspirations.

De Villiers, Rouxelle

2015 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2015-0085

Purpose – This paper aims to situate tourism within the wider context of temporary and permanent people movements and immigration as a form of permanent tourism with a deep gaze into tourists’ own national culture and even deeper gaze into the trappings of immigrants’ quotidian identity to define a modified identity. This paper offers, through auto-ethnography (AE) and confirmatory introspection (CI), a glimpse into the complex decision-making processes tourists, migrant workers and immigrants have to cope with to survive and thrive in a home “away” from their country of birth. The literature on the comparison between temporary mobility (tourism), nomadic migration (semi-permanent mobility) and permanent mobility (drifters, wanderers or denizen globe trotters) is sparse and unsystematic. Design/methodology/approach – The use of AE and CI allows the researcher with several years of cognitive and affective information and easy access to data on the private, lived experiences of the author and closely related family. Having lived and worked in several countries, supplemented by experiences of visiting over 35 countries for varying periods, the researcher has direct access to a wealth of rich data related to tourism (one- to five-week trips to Europe, USA, South America, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islands), semi-permanent mobility (one-year exchange work placement in North America) and permanent mobility (more than ten years of being immigrants to New Zealand). Findings – The results show that tourists and immigrants are exposed to numerous decisions (varying in complexity and impact) before, during and after their travels that will impact on their acculturation, the genuineness of their experience and their willingness to modify their own identities, as well as the culture of the destinations they consume. Travelers have to overcome contextual and personal hurdles to achieve integration in a reasonable time. The way in which they tackle and overcome these hurdles will impact upon their modification of personal identity and acculturation. Practical implications – This paper offers practical advice to tourists, immigrants and employers on becoming adaptable consumers, highly resilient survivors and highly reliable organizations – able to thrive in today’s global marketplace. This study helps marketers, tourism professionals and employers of migrants to understand the processes consumers go through to modify identity to effectively and timely fit into new environments. Originality/value – AE- and CI-based research explores the tourist gaze and acculturation processes and discusses a two-directional model of modification of culture and identity. In addition, the paper highlights complex decision-making models tourists, nomads, globe trotters and immigrants use when considering alternative destinations and sought-after experiences.

Gountas, John ; Gountas, Sandra

2015 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2015-0093

Purpose – This paper aims to explore tourism consumer’s perceptions of cultural, emotional and behavioural differences. The subjective personal introspection (SPI) approach is used to investigate specific cultural differences which impact tourism satisfaction. It aims to identify the key attributes of cultural tourism satisfaction by comparing three European cities. The cultural attributes are synthesised into a confirmatory personal introspection (CPI), and a provisional research model is proposed. Design/methodology/approach – The research data of the cultural experiences are based on SPI data of “native-visitors” to London and ordinary visitors to Venice and Barcelona. The duration and the travel arrangements are the same for all three cultural experiences. The CPI uses thought experiments to formulate new research propositions. Findings – The SPI results show that the tourism gaze focus can be the cognitive-affective experiences of cultural holidays. Tourism consumer satisfaction is dependent on the quality of natural and man-made attractions and the social-emotional interactions between the hosts and guests in a destination. The three cities in our research, London, Venice and Barcelona, have different micro-cultures and levels of social-emotional interactions vary considerably between them. Overall tourism satisfaction is hypothesised to be influenced by the degree of social interaction and micro-cultural differences. Practical implications – The findings support the usefulness of SPI in tourism consumer research. SPI research findings produce in-depth understandings of the cultural tourism product attributes which cannot be captured in any other way. The personal insights are valuable to marketing professionals because they provide first-hand feedback of consumer’s perceptions over a longer period than a focus group session. The confirmatory introspections are valuable hypotheses to be tested empirically with specific tourism segments to identify product strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats. Originality/value – The use of SPI and CPI produces original hypotheses of the cultural tourism attributes which influence tourism satisfaction. The paper demonstrates that the tourism gaze can be expanded to investigate the cognitive-affective observations which have a direct effect on tourism satisfaction and decision-making.

Holmes, Kirsten ; Rowley, Steven

2015 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2015-0086

Purpose – This study aims to apply confirmatory personal introspection (CPI) to illuminate the experiences of the authors as partial native-visitors to Western Australia. The native-visitor is the tourist who is able to see beyond Urry’s shallow conception of the Tourist Gaze through their lengthy immersion as “insiders” in the destination’s culture. In this paper, the experiences of two immigrants, the authors, to Western Australia illustrate the different perspectives of the Tourist Gaze 4.0. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses CPI, as this is a more reliable method of uncovering a traveler’s experiences than subjective personal introspection because CPI uses additional data sources such as written historical records and photographs for confirming the researcher’s accounts. In this study, accounts of both authors alongside photographs are used to both confirm and contrast their individual experiences. Findings – The paper demonstrates the varied forms of the tourist gaze, with an emphasis on that of the native visitor. The findings illustrate how individuals’ both maintain aspects of their original cultural identity and adopt those of the new country after an extended time living in that country. This enables individuals to see attractions and destinations from an insider perspective. Practical implications – This study shows how even after an extended period of time living in a new country, visitors may not have the cultural confidence to behave as local residents at tourist attractions and destinations, which could limit their engagement and enjoyment of these experiences. Marketers should take this into account in designing and promoting tourist experiences to visitors. Originality/value – CPI provides a valuable means for illustrating the range of perspectives within the Tourist Gaze 4.0. The method enables individuals’ rich experiences to be uncovered but at the same time uses multiple data sources to provide additional rigour.

Marshall, Roger ; De Villiers, Rouxelle

2015 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2015-0087

Purpose – Urry’s model of Tourism Gaze as described by Woodside is problematic, in that tourist participant observers change the phenomenon they observe. The purpose of this study is to present an alternative model that better represents the dialectic between tourists and the destination culture. Design/methodology/approach – A story-telling technique, based upon personal experience and introspection that matches the story told by Woodside, is used to illustrate the theory development and formulate an alternative model. Findings – A new model is proposed that acknowledges that the more a tourist lives their tourism experience and becomes immersed in the destination culture, the greater the affect he/she has upon the destination. The issue of authenticity is discussed in relationship to this new model, as – in a sense – the experience of a one-time traveler is as authentic as those of a long-term stay tourist. Practical implications – The practical implications are both for tourist operators and policymakers. Cultures change, regardless of any tourism activity; but, such activity is a major change-agent, especially so as the emerging Asian countries discover the pleasures of “globe-trotting”. Although the cultural experience of tourists will remain authentic, large-scale tourism projects will inevitably change the culture the tourists sought to experience in the first place. The value of alternate tourism strategies based on the tourist’s impact upon the host culture is becoming increasingly critical. Originality/value – The new model is simple but effective, and is more pragmatic and accurate than the original tourist gaze model of Urry. The introspective, story-telling, methods used are more typical of academic marketing than tourism research, but serve the purpose here well by making the conceptual idea readily available to the reader.

Martin, Drew

2015 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2015-0088

Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate deep gaze using a Japanese Shinto wedding ceremony as an example. Some long-term tourists develop an intimate understanding of the host country’s culture by gaining access to authentic experiences typically limited to the locals. These native visitors experience a deep gaze. Design/methodology/approach – Combing subjective personal introspection (SPI) and confirmatory personal introspection (CPI), the author’s 76 wedding photographs are examined critically. Findings – Results demonstrate how a native visitor uses SPI and CPI analyses of native gaze. While the Shinto wedding ceremony’s authenticity mixes traditional and evolutionary elements, the ceremony is best viewed as a Gestalt experience. The evidence suggests authenticity need not have deep roots in the culture. Research limitations/implications – The findings serve as only one configuration of many possible gazes. Tourist Gaze 4.0 is a set of complex antecedent conditions and multiple configurations. Originality/value – Using photographs taken by native family members, this paper demonstrates how SPI and CPI identify deep gaze through a different lens.