People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the people they ignore at home

People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the people they ignore at home

Attraction to foreignness constitutes a central reason for travel. Drawing on research from social and evolutionary psychology, TCM researchers Astrid Nørfelt, Florian Kock & Alexander Josiassen provide the first investigation of tourism xenophilia (TXI), defined as ‘individuals attraction towards the perceived foreignness of destinations’.

Across three studies they conceptualized, developed, and applied a reliable, valid, and parsimonious TXI scale. The scale explains several important tourist and resident behaviors, for instance willingness to engage with locals, willingness to stay at B&B, intention to try local food, resident hospitability, support for immigration policies, and travel to foreign destinations. The authors also empirically investigate three key antecedents of TXI: promotion focus, boredom proneness, and mind-wandering.

The study’s implications for tourism academics and practitioners are many - The extensive research article can be found here https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0047287519883037 (Published in the Journal of Travel Research).

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