The Nine Safeties

How Inexperienced Tourists Manage the Strangeness of China

Bibliographic Data

ID12974331
AuthorsBob Mckercher (0000-0001-7451-1266, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, corresponding author), Sau Lai Lui (Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Year2013
Volume9
Issue4
Pages381-394
Publication date2013-09-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of China Tourism Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1938-8160 • E-ISSN: 1938-8179
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19388160.2013.839408
OpenAlexW1594989444
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited39

Tourism can be an intimidating activity, especially for inexperienced tourists who are entering a culturally distant destination. They may encounter such extreme culture shock that the quality of experience can be affected. To cope with that, the literature suggests tourists envelop themselves in an environmental bubble of familiarity to reduce the level of strangeness. In practice, the process must occur rapidly, and if the person is inexperienced, often without the benefits of a known context to inform them how to do so. This paper reports on a range of strangeness reduction strategies developed by a group of mostly inexperienced Canadian tourists who were making their first pleasure trip to China. Three sources of environmental bubble were identified that resulted in the development of “Nine Safeties.”

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