3.02
Understand how
cultural diversity
impacts products
and services offered
by hospitality and
tourism destinations.
Cultural Differences
– Having different cultures respect
each other's differences.
– Personal Appearance
– Negotiating Styles
– Gift Giving Protocol
– Language
– Dietary Habits
Personal Appearance
– The state, condition, manner, or style in
which a person or object
appears; outward look or aspect.
– Example: Saudi Arabians wear conservative
clothing that covers entire body.
Negotiating Styles
– Negotiating- a dialogue between two or more people
or parties intended to reach a mutually beneficial
outcome, resolve points of difference, to gain
advantage for an individual or collective, or to craft
outcomes to satisfy various interests.
– Companies have different ways of negotiating
contracts.
– For example: Indian culture is slow in the decision making
process; therefore, an American business person must be
patient with determining a contract with a hotel in India.
Gift Giving Protocol
– Gift giving customs vary greatly from
country to country.
– For example: In some cultures, it is proper
behavior to present flowers or chocolates
to potential business partners before a
meeting while in other cultures consider it
inappropriate behavior.
Language
– Spoken language produced by articulate sounds, as
opposed to written language.
– There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the
world today. However, about 2,000 of those
languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers. The
most popular language in the world is Mandarin
Chinese.
– Example: From a global perspective, different people may
speak different languages when they visit other countries.
Dietary Habits
–The habitual decisions an individual
or culture makes when choosing what
foods to eat.
– Example: Different airlines offer several
menu options to accommodate their
passengers.
How do companies embrace
cultural differences?
– Hospitality and Tourism is a very diverse industry.
– Employees speak different languages and have different
customs and beliefs.
– Companies within the Hospitality and Tourism Industry
provide training to embrace cultural diversity.
– Training helps employees learn about other cultures to
avoid offending coworkers and guest.
– Training also helps employees to be respectful of cultural
differences.
How do companies embrace
cultural differences?
– As American hospitality and tourism
business sell products to other countries it
is very important that they modify their
marketing strategies to those of the
different countries to which they are
reaching out.
– For example: Conducting research about China
when opening a new hotel.