Cultural distance and participation in cultural tourism

Cultural distance refers to the extent to which the culture of the originating region differs from that of the host region. It is hypothesized in this article that cultural distance influences participation in cultural tourism, with visitors from more culturally distant source markets being more interested in cultural tourism than those from culturally proximate source markets. Through the comparison of visitor profiles, cultural tourism participation rates, and activities pursued, visitors to Hong Kong from three Asian and three Western source markets are examined. The article reveals that there are statistically significant differences between these two groups.