Beyond “culture” : a comparative study of forces structuring tourism consumption

Abstract

Knowledge informing tourism management originating in Anglo-Western and/or capitalist societies is ill-fitted for understanding consumptive practices of tourists from societies with different socio-economic and political systems. Based on 75 interviews, this cross-national (China, Russia, U.S.A.) comparative research aims to delineate how tourism consumption is reflective of the broader social reality. Results shed lights on influential factors beyond personal agencies that include four society- (Economic development, Political shifts, Ideology, Wars/disasters) and three individual-level (Family, Life course mobility, Religion) consumption forming forces. We discuss the extent of these influences across the national contexts. Although the modus operandi in tourism is to understand tourism markets as global affecting a local environment, we argue that tourism consumption remains ingrained within a tourist's local societal contexts.