Attracting more tourists by taking
account of their cultural background
Marinel Gerritsen
Professor of Intercultural Business Communication
Department of Business Communication Studies
Radboud University Nijmegen
The Netherlands
M.Gerritsen@let.ru.nl
Three aspects of marketing communication of a
tourist area that will be dealt with
a) Content of the information about the area (text and pictures)
b) Communication media used to convey information about the tourist
area
c) Form of the communication
Outline of the paper
1. A model and a hypothesis that indicate that responding to the
communicative conventions of the culture of a target group might be
an important device in attracting tourists
 A communication model
 The similarity attraction hypothesis
2. Which elements of culture: visible and/or invisible elements?
3. Applying knowledge of the values of the target group in the
marketing communication of a tourist area
4. Adapting to the communication style of the target group
5. Implications for tourist marketers
In communication at least two persons are involved
• Sender
A person who sends a message in the form of symbols for
example words, pictures
• Receiver
A person who interpretes these symbols and deduces a message
from these symbols
Effective communication
Communication between sender and receiver is most
effective if the interpretation of the message by the
receiver is similar to what the sender intended to
communicate with the message
Targowski/Bowman Layer-based pragmatic
communication model
RECEIVER
SENDER
Message
Storage
Retrieval
Value
Link
Behavior
Link
L10
L9
L8
Symbols
Link
L7
Functions
L6 & Role
L6
Environ-
L5
Session
Link
L4
L5 ment Link
L4
L7
Audience
L3 Link
L3
Systems
L2 Link
L2
Physical
L1 Link
L1
Message
L8
L9
L10
Twitter in Europe, the more colour the
more twitter is used
Targowski/Bowman Layer-based pragmatic
communication model
RECEIVER
SENDER
Message
Storage
Retrieval
Value
Link
Behavior
Link
L10
L9
L8
Symbols
Link
L7
Functions
L6 & Role
L6
Environ-
L5
Session
Link
L4
L5 ment Link
L4
L7
Audience
L3 Link
L3
Systems
L2 Link
L2
Physical
L1 Link
L1
Message
L8
L9
L10
The marketer of the tourist area has to adapt to the
communicative conventions of the target group and has
to realize
In intercultural marketing communication, what matters is
not what you show, but how it is seen, and not what you
say but how you are heard
10
Similarity attraction hypothesis
The more similar two individuals are, the higher the attraction
between them
…… and that is precisely what a tourist area wants: attract tourists.
Ng et al (2007): Tourist marketers should taken into account cultural
similarities between their tourist area and the target group in their
image building of a tourist area.
Similarity between which elements of a culture play the
major role in attracting tourist?
Model of culture: Hofstede's onion-diagram
symbols
heroes
rituals
values
13
Symbols
Tea rituals in Japan
16
Model of culture: Hofstede's onion-diagram
symbols
heroes
rituals
values
17
Model of culture: The floating ice berg of Edward T. Hall
Behavior,
customs,
language , history
1/9 visible elements
Values, perception of the world,
way of thinking ,presuppositions
8/9 invisible elements
18
Similarity between which elements of the models of
culture should be taken account by tourist marketers:
the visible or invisible elements?
Invisible elements, values
Why taking account of the invisible elements?-1
Because tourists travel to see and experience new things, and they
can especially observe the visible elements of a culture
Two questions that call for further research:
1. Do touristst from high uncertainty avoidance cultures (“what is
different is dangerous”) and tourists from low uncertainty
avoidance cultures (“what is different is interesting”) differ in the
extent to which visible elements of a culture attract them?
2. Do difference between tourist area and target group in all visible
aspects of a culture play the same role in attraction?
Why taking account of the invisible elements? -2
• Values are learned at one’s mother knee
• By the age of twelve a child has acquired values and because this
learning process has taken place so early and unconsciouslousy, a
person believes that persons all over the world have the same values
Six basic values (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck 1961)
1. Human nature
2. Underlying motives for acting
3. Human Relations
4. Time
5. Space
6. Person-Nature
22
16 values anno 2012 and the six basic values of (Kluckhohn
& Strodtbeck 1961)
1. Human nature
2. Underlying motives for acting
Indulgence-Restraint (Hofstede)
Uncertainty Avoidance (Hofstede)
Masculinity-Feminity (Hofstede)
3. Human Relations
Collectivism-Individualism (Hofstede)
Power distance (Hofstede)
Particularism-Universalism (Trompenaars)
Achieved-scribed status (Trompenaars)
Neutral-Affective (Trompenaars)
4. Time
Past, present, future (Trompenaars)
Polychrony-monochrony (Hall)
Confucian Dynamism (Hofstede)
5. Space
Personal space (Hall)
Private-Public (Hall)
Specific-Diffuse (Trompenaars
6. Person-Nature
23
16 values anno 2012 and the six basic values of (Kluckhohn
& Strodtbeck 1961)
1. Human nature
2. Underlying motives for acting
Indulgence-Restraint (Hofstede)
Uncertainty Avoidance (Hofstede)
Masculinity-Feminity (Hofstede)
3. Human Relations
Collectivism-Individualism (Hofstede)
Power distance (Hofstede)
Particularism-Universalism (Trompenaars)
Achieved-scribed status (Trompenaars)
Neutral-Affective (Trompenaars)
4. Time
Past, present, future (Trompenaars)
Polychrony-monochrony (Hall)
Confucian Dynamism (Hofstede)
5. Space
Personal space (Hall)
Private-Public (Hall)
Specific-Diffuse (Trompenaars
6. Person-Nature
24
Indulgence versus restraint ( the 6th value of Hofstede
(Hofstede, Hofstede, Minkov 2010, p. 281))
Indulgence
A tendency to allow relatively free gratification of basic and natural
human desires related to enjoying life and having fun
Restraint
A conviction that such gratification needs to be curbed and regulated
by strict social norms
Indulgence versus restraint and attracting tourists
Content
Indulgence: aspects of a tourist area that show that one can have
fun, enjoy life and pamper oneself
Restraint: aspects of a tourist area that are related to learn something
(history, geography, art)
Communication media
Indulgence: glossy, glamorous
Restraint: serious books, flyers
Uncertainty avoidance
The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by
ambiguous or unknown situations
High uncertainty avoidance : “What is different is dangerous”
Low uncertainty avoidance: “What is different is interesting”
Uncertainty avoidance and attracting tourists
Content
High uncertainty avoidance: package tours, all inclusive, travelling in groups, well
known hotel chains, well known destinations, booking long before the journey,
risk free activities, transparency of information (facts and figures), strengthen de
confidence of travelers by assuring stability, free insurance, guarantee of
personal safety and security
Low uncertainty avoidance: new things, adventures, last minutes, bed and breakfast
Communication media
High uncertainty avoidance: travel agency
Low uncertainty avoidance: internet, word of mouth
Form of the communication
High uncertainty avoidance: precise, facts and figures, information long before the
journey will take place
Low uncertainty avoidance: last minute information
Masculinity versus Femininity
Masculine
Emotional gender roles are clearly distinct: men are supposed to be
assertive, tough and focussed on material success, whereas women
are supposed to be more modest, tender and concerned with the
quality of life
Feminine
Emotional gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed
to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life
Masculinity versus femininity and attracting tourists
Content
Masculine: division of gender roles, one can show achievement in
personal life and in for example sport and financial soundness during
the holiday
Feminine: no division of gender roles, environment friendly,
sustainability, one helps the population by visiting the area as a
tourist , social responsibility, development assistance
Communication media
Masculine: media that show achievement (glossy magazines)
Feminine: simple environment friendly media
Collectivism versus Individualism
Individualism
Ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after
him- or herself and his or her immediate family
Collectivism
People are from birth onward integrated into strong, cohesive ingroups, which throughout people’s lifetime, continue to protect then in
exchange for unquestioning loyalty
Collectivism versus individualism and attracting tourists
Content
Collectivistic: to have a holiday with the whole (extended) family and the
possibility to travel in groups
Individualistic: individual activities that are tailor made to the individual
desires
Communication media
Collectivistic: more reliance on family/ friends or company colleagues
for travel information
Individualistic: more reliance on the internet
Form of the communication
Collectivistic: high context, indirect, flowery style, metaphors, narratives
Individualistic: low context, direct, facts and figures
Power distance
The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and
organizations within a country expect and accept that power is
distributed unequally
Power distance and attracting tourists
Content
High power distance: highest quality and service, you will be treated as
a queen, well known destinations (Montreux!), the most important,
powerful and famous people of the world were here too.
Low power distance: population of the area is easily approachable
Communication media
High power distance: glossy, luxurious brochures
Low power distance: internet
Form of the communication
High power distance: show respect to elderly and people with power
Low power distance: you will be one of us
Past, present, future orientation
People differ in the way they think about the past, present and future, which
of the three is most important and how they are related
Past, present, future orientation in a number of
countries
Past, present, future orientation and attracting tourists
Content
Past: history, historical monuments, archeology, glorious past
Present: modern buildings, modern life, hic et nunc mentality,
innovations
Polychrony and monochrony
In monochronic cultures time is sequentially ordered, one prefers to
do one thing at the same time and one does not like to change
schedules that are settled
In polychronic cultures one likes to do several things simultaneously
and schedules are not important and can be changed easily
Polychrony and monochrony and attracting tourists
Content
Polychronic: appointments can be changed easily and time is flexible
Monochronic: everything will be organized in the way that is announced
before, in time, there will be no changes in schedules
Communication media
Polychronic: many different media and information about an area has
not to be univocal
Monochronic: univocal, same information everywhere
Form of the communication
Polychronic: communication way be woolly
Monochronic: facts and figures, direct, logically structured, sound
communication
16 values anno 2012 and the six basic values of
(Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck 1961)
1. Human nature
2. Underlying motives for acting
Indulgence-Restraint (Hofstede)
Uncertainty Avoidance (Hofstede)
Masculinity-Feminity (Hofstede)
3. Human Relations
Collectivism-Individualism (Hofstede)
Power distance (Hofstede)
Particularism-Universalism (Trompenaars)
Achieved-scribed status (Trompenaars)
Neutral-Affective (Trompenaars)
4. Time
Past, present, future (Trompenaars)
Polychrony-monochrony (Hall)
Confucian Dynamism (Hofstede)
5. Space
Personal space (Hall)
Private-Public (Hall)
Specific-Diffuse (Trompenaars
6. Person-Nature
40
Communication style
The Context theory of Edward T. Hall
Cultures differ in the extent to which they use context and situation for
the interpretation of a message
In high-context cultures, most of the meaning of a message is
deduced from the context in which the words occur, for example nonverbal communication, and the setting of the communication
In low-context cultures, the meaning of a message is primarily
deduced from the words
Context and attracting tourists
Form of the communication
High context: implicit, indirect, flowery, narrative, poetry-like, non-verbal
Low context: explicit, direct, to the point, no waste of words
Communication media
High context: media with a high information richness ( face-to-face
communication, travel agencies)
Low context: media with a low information richness (travel guides, email, letter, text message, twitter )
Implications for tourist marketers
• Determine target markets
• Adapt the communication about a tourist destination to the communicative
conventions of the culture of the target group regarding:
- content (text ánd pictures),
- communicaiton media used to convey the message
- form of the message
This implies market segmentation and different marketing approaches for different
target groups (Reisinger and Turner 2002, Frias et al 2011)
Suggestion: web sites tailor made for each target group. Just as tourist areas have web
sites in different language they could have web sites for different cultures (reduction of
costs by asking students from the target group cultures to help with content and design)
Consequences for education of tourist marketers
Future tourist managers should have knowledge about the cultural
background of their customers (Tsang and al 2007).
More information: M.Gerritsen@let.ru.nl