The Role of Social Contact between Perceived Cultural Distance and Travel Attitude.

Abstract

The ambiguous effect of cultural distance on travel attitude and tourist behaviours has long been debated, and the implications are vital to the success of achieving a sustainable tourist-host relationship. The current study, by introducing a multi-dimensional perspective of the social contact, explored both the direct and indirect effects of perceived cultural distance on travel attitude. The mediating role of tourist-host social contact was also confirmed. The study found that the relationship between perceived cultural distance and travel attitude is “contact elastic”. Results could offer empirical supports to the co-existence of the paradoxical effects of cultural distance on travel attitude. Implications were also provided to policy-makers, practitioners, and local communities regarding achieving a sustainable tourist-host bond. Keywords: consumer behaviour, social contact, perceived cultural distance, travel attitude, tourist-host relationship, social sustainability