engleski

TOURISM CULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE: PEER-TO-PEER ACCOMMODATION RENTALS IN THE REGION OF ISTRIA

With the increase in intermediaries in the online marketplace for lodging accommodations, opportunities for consumers to book lodging accommodations and for home owners to rent out their own homes, condominiums, and bedrooms are growing. In the context of the sharing economy, Airbnb and other similar “peer-to-peer short term rental” services have become a formidable mode of accommodation in the tourism industry worldwide. The private tourism accommodation concept and cross-cultural communication interactions between tourists and private accommodation owners have not been largely represented in the scientific research. The main research objective of this paper was to examine cross-cultural communication interactions between tourists and private accommodation owners in the region of Istria. In particular, the authors identify two dimensions of cross-cultural communication competence: cultural uncertainty with cultural empathy and cross-cultural interpersonal skills. Self-administered questionnaires were used for collecting data. Questionnaires were sent to private accommodation owners who helped us distribute the questionnaire to the tourists at the end of their stay. The main participants of the study were targeted during the 2018. season. The survey was conducted among 208 owners and 537 tourists. The results of our study stated that private accommodation owners show openness to cultural differences, have a spirit of inquiry about other cultures and an ability to view other cultures from some different perspective. According to the tourists’ perceptions, the private accommodation owners are less able to deal with cultural differences and they are less comfortable when dealing with cultural uncertainty. Our findings can have important practical implications for the tourism sector.

cross-cultural communication ; dimensions of communication, Istrian tourism ; private accommodation owners ; tourists

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