DOES NATIONALITY AFFECT TOURIST BEHAVIOR

Are all tourists perceived to be alike regardless of nationality, or does nationality make a difference? To answer this question, a group of British tour-guides were administered a questionnaire soliciting their opinions on behavioral characteristics of Japanese, French, Italian, and American tourists on guided tours. The results indicated that in 18 out of 20 behavioral characteristics there was a significant perceived difference between the four nationalities. Tour guides perceived the Japanese to be the most unique among the four, and the Italians as the most similar to others. A pair-comparison found the Italians and French to be perceived as the most similar to each other. The least similar were perceived to be the French-American pair.