Existing research in hospitality literature has studied hospitality vis-à-vis the host-guest spectrum, focusing on either the practice of hospitality in different service encounters or hospitality ...outcomes such as customer expectations and satisfaction. While existing studies are predicated on the assumption that satisfactory experience is achieved through the enactment of ‘hospitality’, what it means to be hospitable, though, remains a poorly defined concept in the scholarship. Drawing on the ‘hospitality as culture’ perspective, this research aims to understand the culture of hospitality in the alternative healthcare of chiropractic. Guided by constructivist grounded theory, we conducted in-depth interviews with eleven chiropractors and ten patients in Malaysia. Our findings reveal three mechanisms that help chiropractors understand hospitality as a culture: negotiating, internalizing, and enacting.
•Advances the understanding of hospitality as a culture.•Identifies a process of how hospitality is negotiated, internalized, and enacted.•Explores hospitality in non-conventional industry.•Proposes future research direction.
Drawing on symbolic interactionism, this paper explores the nexus between tourism and national identity in China. Unlike current research's focus on the role of inbound heritage tourism sites in ...fostering national identity, this study uses symbolic interactionism to frame an analysis of how Chinese national identity is expressed and affirmed as a phenomenon of experiential consumption through the act of international outbound tourism. A multi-method approach guided the data collection from 28 Chinese tourists in two groups. Data analysis follows a constructivist grounded theory approach that is expressly suited to symbolic interactionism. The findings revealed that international tourism offers a platform on which to affirm and express Chinese national identity through the symbolic interaction between Chinese tourists and the world outside of China.
•Examines Chinese National Identity in tourism•Uses Symbolic Interaction as a theoretical lens•Tourism is a symbolic platform for national identity affirmation.•Tourism allows citizens to affirm their national identity motives.•Introduces a new conceptual perspective to understand tourism and identity
In the age of global pandemics, increasing geopolitical conflicts, and subsequent restrictions on human mobilities (including tourism), the question of consumer agency in tourism is particularly ...pressing. Previous scholarship has largely assumed that tourists are free agents in the pursuit of authenticity through increasing mobility. This conceptual research problematizes the lack of conceptualization of agency in tourism. Based on various streams of tourism literature that demonstrated—although did not explicitly discuss—tourist agency in action, we theorize tourist agency as a product of intersectional and institutional forces, accentuated by spatiality and temporality. We further built a parsimonious typology of tourist agency consisting of Unconstrained, Stigmatized, Constrained, and Negotiated agencies. We hope that this conceptual paper fuels further research and acknowledgment of agency.
As one of the most medically advanced nations in the world, it is observed that more Japanese couples are travelling abroad for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). At present, at least one in ...six Japanese couples suffer from infertility and requires the use of ART. However, the usage of ART has raised several ethical questions. Notably, Japanese society objects to the use of donor eggs and surrogacy. Thus, reproductive tourism that offers prohibited procedures in another country becomes a viable alternative. Drawing upon institutional theory, specifically regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive pillars, this paper demonstrates that the emerging phenomenon of outbound reproductive tourism from Japan can be seen as an outcome of the interplay of institutional forces. A conceptual model of reproductive tourism is also proposed to advance the existing nebulous understanding of the phenomenon.
Human reproduction is increasingly marketised with technologies that alter the traditional parameters of parenthood and childbirth, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the premises of biological ...foundationalism. This conceptual paper explores the sociology of markets by conceptualising the emergence of the reproductive tourism market in China as the outcome of institutional work. Drawing on a historical trajectory that extends from the Maoist era to the Reformation and Post-reformation era, we demonstrate how the reproductive tourism market emerges as a result of a combination of historical, political, socio-cultural forces, epitomising a social process of market development. This study demonstrates how technology and the proliferation of consumer culture have transformed parenthood in China into a new form of conspicuous consumption, and addresses a relatively infrequently studied topic in current marketing literature, the nexus of geneticized markets and consumer culture.
•Understanding tourism impact through institutional isomorphism•Massive Chinese outbound tourism leads to homogenization of mobile payment•The role of tourism in facilitating ...homogenization•Introduces a new research direction to understand the impact of tourism on host community
The unprecedented occurrence of COVID-19 highlights the susceptibility of the tourism industry to external threats. From flight cancellations to the closure of hospitality establishments, COVID-19 ...has greatly transformed the industry. Whilst a crisis such as a pandemic is not new in tourism and hospitality, the unique characteristics of COVID-19 have altered the risk perceptions associated with destinations. To date, the tourism risk literature has predominantly focused on typology of risks, at the expense of examining the process of how risk perceptions are formed. Following a social constructivist epistemological position, this conceptual paper proposes an integrative model that unpacks the underlying psychological process of risk perceptions and demonstrates how the framing process influences the safety perceptions and moulds the travel image of a destination in the COVID-19 context. The paper proposes several suggestions for future studies to consider when testing the conceptual model.
Efforts to promote inclusivity of marginalized groups in tourism have mainly focused on people with disabilities, seniors, and ethnic minorities. However, other marginalized groups such as plus-size ...travelers have been neglected. The Plus-Size Travel Movement draws attention to travel restrictions and ostracization from the market due to body size and intersectional identities. This study is the first of its kind to address this phenomenon. It aims to unpack the plus-size travel movement through a netnographic analysis of four major online movement platforms. The analysis reveals how community leaders mobilize with different discourses to politicize travel for plus-sized individuals and empower the community. This research seeks to stimulate further scholarly discussion about expanding theoretical approaches that examine consumer marginalization in tourism consumption beyond its current scope. It also provides recommendations for the industry, including engaging with plus-size travel influencers to establish more inclusive practices and policies and following the movement on social media closely to identify ways to enhance the experience of plus-size travelers.
This commentary examines the increasing politicization of tourism and attempts to theorize the phenomenon through a multilevel analysis. Tourism scholars have examined the link between politics and ...tourism through the prism of sustainability, terrorism, geopolitics, and tourism development. However, these studies have focused on different tourism activities or encounters without theorizing the relationship between politics and tourism consumption. This commentary argues that the increasing influence of nationalism in global politics, which also affects tourism consumption, requires a new conceptualization. The theoretical premise of political consumption is used to guide the multilevel (macro, meso, and micro) analysis of two recent tourist boycotts: 1) the THAAD incident between South Korea and China and 2) the APA boycott by Chinese tourists.
