CROSS-CULTURAL TOURIST BEHAVIOR IN CULTURAL EVENT TOURISM

Purpose – The aim of this study was focussed on an investigation of the tourist behavior who make a cultural journey for the purpose of attending an event, both at the stage of taking decisions about the journey, that is, before undertaking it, and once at the destination, as a function of the dimensions of national culture proposed by Hofstede et al. (2010). From a review of the literature it is possible to observe growing interest in analysing culture within the tourism sector (Reisinger and Turner, 2003). Culture is seen as an effective tool allowing a better understanding of tourists and the identification of similarities and differences among them, this permitting the development of products more suited to their needs and more appropriate and efficacious communication campaigns. There are various theories on culture, but Hofstede’s cross-cultural investigation (1980) is one of the most widely accepted and tested of these. Design/methodology/approach – In carrying out this investigation, use was made of data from the international survey performed by the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS). Discriminant analysis was applied to identify the cultural tourist behavior patterns that most strongly distinguished between the cultures that developed, with countries being classified in accordance with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.