Can host–tourist interaction pull the plug on tourist stereotypes? Exploring the power of emotional solidarity

Abstract

Multifaceted tourist stereotypes (i.e., general stereotypes towards tourists by residents) have only recently been conceptualised within a theoretical framework. Thus far, whether and how host–tourist interaction influences tourist stereotypes remain inconclusive. This study adopts an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design to examine the influencing mechanism of host–tourist interaction on tourist stereotypes and explore the underlying factors contributing to the phenomena. Structural equation modelling and bootstrapping indicate that emotional solidarity is a strong antecedent of tourist stereotypes, which partially mediates the effect of interaction variety on tourist stereotypes and fully mediates the effect of interaction quality on tourist stereotypes. Interview findings reveal that language barriers and cultural differences are two underlying factors that hinder host-tourist interaction from effectively influencing tourist stereotypes. This study offers a novel framework on the anterior mechanism that affects tourist stereotypes, which finetunes the contact theory, enriches the social identity theory, and contributes to improving destination policymaking.