Exploring tourists’ social identities in a similar-others destination: the case of Chinese tourists in North Korea
Exploring tourists’ social identities in a similar-others destination: the case of Chinese tourists in North Korea
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DOI：
10.1108/tr-11-2022-0593
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发表时间：
2023-05
期刊：
影响因子：
7.8
通讯作者：
Ganghua Chen;Siqi Bie;C. Zhang;Zhenghuan Li
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ganghua Chen;Siqi Bie;C. Zhang;Zhenghuan Li
目的本研究旨在通过探讨中国游客访问朝鲜的反应以及他们如何在这个相似的目的地协商他们的群体间身份，为旅游中的社会身份理论做出贡献。设计/方法/方式数据通过在线平台和深入访谈收集。采用定性方法，即专题分析，对这两组数据进行了分析。结果-结果表明，当遇到朝鲜人被认为是相似的其他人在社会，经济和政治环境中，他们嵌入，中国游客往往归类为普通游客，优先对待游客和替代游客的基础上组间相似的朝鲜人。他们还进行组间比较，以提高他们的自尊在群体和集体的水平，并制定相应的策略，以产生不同的情感群体承诺。实用意义-建议旅游目的地加强友好和独特的关系，他们的类似他人的客源市场，以提高他们的吸引力。旅游目的地还应努力提高游客在同类市场的体验，激发他们积极的集体情感、情感共鸣和怀旧记忆，避免负面情绪。独创性/价值-这项研究提供了一个理论框架，分析游客的社会身份的特点，同时访问一个类似的其他目的地，有助于我们了解的互动性和偶然性的社会身份在旅游，并响应呼吁解决更广泛的社会背景下，游客的群体身份是嵌入式的。
Purpose This study aims to contribute to social identity theory in tourism by exploring the reflections of Chinese tourists visiting North Korea and how they negotiate their intergroup identity in this similar-others destination. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected via online platforms and in-depth interviews. A qualitative approach, i.e. thematic analysis, was used to analyse the two sets of data. Findings Results showed that when encountering North Koreans perceived as similar others amid the social, economic and political environments in which they were embedded, Chinese tourists often categorised themselves as ordinary tourists, preferentially treated tourists and vicarious tourists based on intergroup similarities to North Koreans. They also performed intergroup comparison to boost their self-esteem at group and collective levels and developed corresponding strategies to generate distinct emotional group commitments. Practical implications It is recommended that destinations reinforce the friendly and unique relationship with their similar-others source markets to improve their attractiveness. Destinations should also strive to enhance the experience of tourists from their similar-others markets by arousing their positive collective-level affection, emotional resonance and nostalgic memories and avoiding negative emotions. Originality/value This study offers a theoretical framework analysing the features of tourists’ social identities while visiting a similar-others destination, contributing to our understanding of the interactive and contingency nature of social identity in tourism, and responding to the call for addressing the broader social contexts in which tourists’ group identity is embedded.