Hospitality exists even beyond the commercial domain

Key finding of the study

Significance of place in the understanding of hospitality in tourism is highlighted

A triadic conceptualization of hospitality as a relationship amongst the concepts of host, guest and place is proposed

Authors

Munasinghe S., Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka

Hemmington N., Auckland University of Technology

Schänzel H., Auckland University of Technology

Poulston J., Auckland University of Technology

Summary of the study

The concept of hospitality and hospitableness in tourism has been predominantly defined from a service encounter perspective, as a dyadic, service provider-receiver relationship in a commercial hospitality setting.

However, a critical review of hospitality discourses from a range of disciplinary areas leads to a broader conceptual understanding of hospitality in tourism contexts. This critical review proposes a context-bound and place-related understanding of hospitality in tourism, by highlighting the limitations of the commercial service encounter perspective, by offering a conceptual model that seeks a more culturally diversified understanding of hospitality in tourism from an Asian and indigenous perspective. The implications of this approach lie in the positioning of hospitality in a tourism environment to identify the social and cultural nexus between tourism and hospitality, en route to finding ways to enhance hospitable tourism experiences.

Published in

International Journal of Hospitality Management

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