Description
Based on the following readings:
Litvin, S.W., Crotts, J.C., & Hefner, F.L. (2004) Cross-cultural Tourist Behaviour: a Replication and Extension of Hofstedes Uncertainty Avoidance Dimension. International Journal of Tourism Research. Vol. 6, pp. 29-37.
Litvin, S.W. (2008) Sensation Seeking and its Measurement for Tourism Research. Journal of Travel Research. Vol. 46, pp. 440-445.
ZAP Adventures specializes in sustainable adventure travel with a focus on cultural journeys and wildlife encounters. Their tours take customers off the beaten track and strive to create lasting travel memories. You have been hired by ZAP Adventures to deal with recent challenges faced by the organizations tour guides. There have been a growing number of conflicts and misunderstandings arising between the guides and guests that require immediate attention. Specifically, an alarming number of customer complaints have emerged during recent trips to Argentina, Iceland, and South Africa. The popularity of ZAP Adventures tours has resulted in the attraction of customers from increasingly varied cultures. Most of the ZAP guides are from Canada, the U.S., and Australia, while an increasing number of customers are coming from Russia, India, and China. The guides are frustrated and claim that the quality of their guests is declining. The guests claim that the guides are disrespectful and unprofessional. What to do?
a) You studied the work of Geert Hofstede and suspect that culture may play a role in this situation. Discuss why and how culture may be responsible for such different perceptions between the guides and the guests AND use one of Hofstedes cultural dimensions to explain the possible cause for the growing number of conflicts. Based on Reading #9: Litvin, Crotts, and Hefner (2004) (2.5 marks)
b) Your answer in part (a) addressed culture as a source of the emerging challenges. You suspect that other factors may be responsible and may find answers by looking at the work of Zuckerman. It is possible that a growing number of ZAP clients are experiencing anxiety as they travel to these destinations. Describe Zuckermans Sensation Seeking Scale and explain how it can be linked to client anxiety. Based on Reading #10: Litvin (2008) (2.5 marks)
a) Impact/role of Culture on conflict- Hofsede (2.5 marks)
b) Impact/role of Sensation Seeking Scale on anxiety – Zuckerman (2.5 marks)