Factors Affecting How Young Hosts Welcome Tourists: An Asian Case Study

Abstract

This study contributes to an understanding of how young citizens in developing tourist areas view and welcome tourists and tourism. The work is embedded in and builds on the conceptual and theoretical traditions of the tourist gaze and intercultural contact literature. The work was conducted in Lhasa, Tibet, and explored the views and preferences of over 250 young hosts for the types of tourists who visit the area. Photo-elicitation interviews, focus groups, and a questionnaire-based survey were employed in sequence to generate data. The welcome given to the tourists varied according to the classifications employed and the locations which the tourists visited. Five factors, which have relevance for other contexts, were identified to interpret the prospective welcome likely to be given to future tourists. The key issues shaping the young hosts’ responses were the immediate public impression tourists created, the extent of cultural distance between hosts and tourists, the nature of the tourist sites, local cultural values, and the hosts’ social life. Ways to assess young citizens’ views for incorporating in planning sustainable destination are offered.