Cultural influences on cross-border vacationing

This study investigates the impact of cultural variables on cross-border vacationing in the Western New York-Southern Ontario region in North America and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen area in Asia. A survey of 635 cross-border vacationers in the two regions indicates that economic, quality and service variables and the affective pleasure of vacationing in a foreign environment exert culturally consistent effects on vacationers' perceptions, behavior and satisfaction.

Introduction

International tourism typically occurs in the context of a host of cross-cultural variables many of which have the potential to influence the outcomes experienced by the vacationer. Indeed, one's cultural background not only affects the way in which he/she evaluates the vacation experience but also influences the choice of destination and type of vacation. Depending upon cultural proximity/distance, vacationers may have differing perceptions, attitudes and expectations toward various tourism-related services and options. Since tourism is among the most globally oriented industries, participants in the tourism economy need to pay particular attention to cross-cultural variables.

In their study of the glamorous lure of "tourist destinations" to consumers around the globe, researchers often overlook the more mundane reality that in border regions the disproportionate share of vacation marketers' revenue comes from repeated visits by consumers who inhabit the neighboring country, often less than a day's drive away. Geographers and economists have documented the overall contribution of cross-border transactions to border regions (e.g., Timothy, 1999). In contrast, and perhaps understandably, tourism researchers have focused their efforts on studying traditional long-haul vacations to new and exotic destinations (Crotts, 2004; Letho, O'Leary and Morrison, 2002). The result is that little attention has been paid to cultural and other factors that determine the appeal of the cross-border vacations that are of shorter duration but occur more frequently. This research attempts to fill that gap.

Adopting a cross-cultural perspective, this research examines cross-border consumption in the vacationing domain. It investigates cultural similarities and differences in two border markets - the Western New York-Southern Ontario region in North America and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen area in Asia - as they relate to cross-border vacationers' perceptions, choices and judgments.

Literature and Hypotheses

Among the variables that have been shown to influence consumers' willingness to engage in cross-border consumption are ability, willingness and freedom to cross the border, awareness of purchase opportunities and contrast between home and neighboring markets (Leimgruber, 1988). Many scholars have found that economic variables play a significant role on cross-border transactions. These variables include prices, exchange rates, taxation, profit margins and transfer costs (Ferris, 2000; Lord and Putrevu, 2000; Timothy, 1999). Researchers have noted that retail characteristics such as hours of operation, retail atmosphere, service, selection, quality and availability have an impact on the amount and frequency of cross-border travel and consumption (Lord and Putrevu, 2000; Sullivan and Kang, 1997). In addition, media coverage and marketing promotions (Lewis, 1990), affective factors such as personal pleasure, leisure and recreation (Van Der Velde, 2000) and ethnocentrism (Piron, 2002; Timothy, 1999) seem to influence the cross-border activities of consumers.

In the domain of tourism or vacation marketing, researchers have explored the impact of some of the above variables as well as a few psychographic and cultural factors. Specifically, studies have shown that economic factors are a significant determinant of long-run tourism demand (Dwyer, Forsyth and Rao, 2002; Webber, 2001) and that the existence of a formal border decreases the amount of travel between countries (Smith and Xie, 2003). Researchers have found that affective variables such as being venturesome (Plog, 2002) and risk-taking (Pizam et al., 2004) influence the choice of vacation destination and activities. In a recent study, Letho, O'Leary and Morrison (2002) found that psychographic variables relating to travel philosophies, benefits sought and destination attribute preferences explained British travelers long-haul destination choices. Finally, a few researchers have examined the influence of cultural orientation on tourist perceptions and behavior. For example, Asian tourists visiting Australia seem to evaluate their experience based on cultural factors such as courtesy and responsiveness, competence and personal interaction (Reisinger and Turner, 1999) and cultural distance seems to be related to the activities that are undertaken by tourists (Crotts, 2004). Also, Litvin and Kar (2003) found that a high level of congruence between self-image and destination image leads to higher satisfaction among individualists than collectivists. Under low levels of congruence, collectivists have higher satisfaction compared to individualists. The studies cited above highlight the importance of considering multiple cultural dimensions when studying tourism and have called for more research in this area. In response to such a call, this study examines the influence of several cultural variables on cross-border vacationing behavior.

One cultural construct with the capacity to influence the motivations and priorities of border-area consumers has been labeled as individualism-collectivism (Hofstede, 1980; 2001). Examining 50 nations on this and other cultural dimensions, Hofstede and Bond (1988) found the United States to rank highest in individualism, while Hong Kong had a more collectivist orientation (ranking 37th in individualism). People in individualistic cultures tend to place their personal desires and benefits ahead of the group, while satisfaction for those from collectivist societies derives more from a shared identity and outcomes (Kagitcibasi, 1997). This difference could affect the criteria consumers employ in evaluating potential vacation destinations and responding to their experiences in those locations. Thus the choices and judgments of North Americans may be affected by the personal value they derive from the vacation experience (e.g., price, exchange rate, taxes, perceived quality and service):

H1.The individualism prevalent in North America will lead U.S. consumers to (a) evaluate the attractiveness, (b) determine the likelihood and frequency and (c) find satisfaction in the vacationing in Canada based on variables that affect the value they derive

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