The use of conjoint analysis to assess the impact of the cross-cultural exchange between hosts and guests

This paper discusses a conjoint analysis experiment designed to measure the impact that cultural differences between the tourist and host, have on host communities. Specifically it was undertaken to assess the importance of a tourist's culture, in this case represented by their nationality, on resident acceptance of, and attitudes towards, tourists. The experiment was designed to manipulate the nationality, age and type of tourist (independent backpacker versus arranged bus tours), to determine which of these factors is most important to the host community in determining tourist preferences. Recommendations are made in view of the findings, specifically focusing on internal marketing strategies.