Are tourists from the same source market culturally homogeneous?

Abstract

This study questions whether tourists are culturally homogeneous regardless of the destination visited or type of travel undertaken. This question is premised on the belief that tourists are culturally homogeneous, which underlies research that applies Hofstede’s national cultural value framework; yet, it has not been asked before in the tourism literature. To address this research gap, a survey of Hong Kong residents who had travelled outside of the city for pleasure was conducted using the Cultural Value Scale (CVSCALE), a scale developed and validated to measure Hofstede’s national cultural values at an individual level. The study revealed significant differences in expressed national cultural values on most dimensions tested, as well as the overall scale by destination choice and style of trip. This study contributes by showing that an examination of individual-level culture may be more important when looking at sub-populations of tourists from the same source market.