Exploring the importance of similarity in the perceptions of foreign visitors and local service providers: the case of long-haul pleasure travelers

Abstract

Long-haul pleasure travelers to Tahiti make a significant investment in their vacation in terms of time and money. As a result, it is essential for a destination like Tahiti that these visitors have a satisfying experience so they will spread positive word-of-mouth and revisit the islands in the future. For that reason, tourism organizations are interested in promoting strategies that contribute to positive opinions of their destination. This exploratory study indicates that one such construct is ‘buyer–seller’ similarity. The paper discusses the concept of similarity and shows that there was a considerable overlap in the perceptions of tourists and employees. This overlap tends to increase a visitor's satisfaction in the destination and in the tourism employees they deal with. At the same time, there was much less agreement on the groups' perceptions of societal characteristics. The paper discusses the specifics, implications, and limitations of the findings, as well as suggestions for future research.