How do international and domestic tourists perceive the service quality of Japanese ryokans? A cross-cultural perspective

A research article co-authored by CTR researchers, Assoc. Prof. Kaede Sano (Faculty of Tourism) and Mr. Sun Hao (Graduate of Tourism, Wakayama University; CTR Visiting Junior Fellow) has been published in the Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism.

 

 

 

Title

How do international and domestic tourists perceive the service quality of Japanese ryokans? A cross-cultural perspective

 

Authors

Fukumi Maki, Tourism Exchange Division, Wakayama Prefecture Administration, Wakayama City, Japan

Kaede Sano, Faculty of Tourism, Wakayama University, Wakayama City, Japan; Center for Tourism Research, Wakayama University, Wakayama City, Japan

Hao Sun, Faculty of Tourism, Wakayama University, Wakayama City, Japan; Center for Tourism Research, Wakayama University, Wakayama City, Japan

 

Source

Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism

https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2024.2447879

* Indexed in Scopus

Journal details: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/4700152735

 

Abstract

Though tourists’ cultural background is known to substantially influence their assessment of hotel service quality, how tourist and hotel cultures mutually affect each other remains understudied. Focusing on a representative Japanese ryokan as a heritage hotel, this article employs Hofstede’s cultural dimension model to investigate the mechanisms relating tourists’ cultural backgrounds and service quality assessment. From a theoretical perspective, it demonstrates that tourists’ uncertainty avoidance influences perceived quality in tangible aspects of service, while power distance matters for intangible aspects. From a managerial perspective, it shows that tourists’ cultural distance from the ryokan affects their service quality assessment.

 

Keywords

Ryokan, Service quality assessment, Cross-culture, Hofstede’s cultural dimension model, American tourist, Japanese tourist