Enriching the Tourist and Host Intercultural
Experience by Reconceptualising
Communication
Carol J. Steiner
School of Contemporary Communication, Central Queensland University,
Mackay, Queensland, Australia
Yvette Reisinger
Tourism Research International, Bradford, MA, USA
The aim of this paper is to reconceptualise intercultural communication as it is conventionally
understood in the field of tourism studies. Tourism literature identifies
many problems related to intercultural communication between tourists and hosts
from different cultural backgrounds. Some of these ‘problems’ occur only because
tourism researchers assume that the appropriate goal for communication is ‘communing’,
that is, finding common ground or understanding. This philosophical
paper suggests that if one reconceptualises communication without the communing,
using the philosophy of Martin Heidegger and Jean-Luc Nancy, the ‘problems’ in
intercultural communication disappear and communication becomes a source of
enrichment for both tourists and hosts. This paper suggests that the basis of intercultural
communication in tourism should be the acknowledgement of cultural
differences between international tourists and local hosts, and the goal should be
the ‘spacing’ of culturally different individuals rather than the ‘communing’ of ‘idle
talkers’. Treating intercultural communication in this way creates an opportunity for
both sides to appreciate and value cultural difference. Experiencing cultural difference
is one of the most fundamental motivators for travel and for opening host communities
to international tourists. Reconceptualising intercultural communication
by adopting Heidegger’s and Nancy’s philosophies promises not only to enrich
the tourism experience but also to transform researchers’ approaches to tourism education
and training, and to tourism marketing and management.
Keywords: communication, intercultural experience, tourism
Introduction
As technology...