Cross-cultural Differences and Cultural Stereotypes in Tourism - ChineseTourists in Thailand

Stereotypes exit everywhere, and there is no exception in tourism. Thailand has been one of the most popular places for Chinese tourists, and thanks to Chinese visitors, tourism in Thailand has become the single biggest source of growth in the Thai economy. The tourism industry in Thailand is also faced with an increasing number of travelers from all over the world, with different cultural backgrounds as well. As a result, greater cross-cultural awareness, understanding and acceptance of cultural differences is needed in tourism industry. This paper mainly explores the cultural differences between Thai people and Chinese tourists in a tourism context, and examines some stereotypes of Chinese tourists held by Thai people. As stereotypes range from highly favorable to highly unfavorable, this paper focuses on some negative perceptions Thai people hold toward Chinese tourists and discusses the negative effects of stereotyping in cultural understanding and some suggestions to reduce stereotypes in cross-cultural communication.