Culture and Cultural Differences Notes

Culture is the shared way of life of a group of people, comprising knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and acquired habits (Tylor, 1871).
It serves to guide socially acceptable behavior, establish societal rules and regulations for peace and stability, and unify social groups.

Types of culture include Universal, Civilization, National, and Minor levels (Industry, Organizational, and Individual).
The first layer of culture consists of shared cultural traditions, myths, ceremonies, legends, and rituals passed down through generations.
The second layer comprises subcultures based on factors such as race, religion, geographic region, socioeconomic class, or occupation.
The third layer contains cultural universals, which are collectively shared learned behaviors such as classifying people by age and gender.

Cultural distance represents the gap between distinct national cultures (Reisinger, 2009).
Tourists often prefer visiting culturally similar destinations to minimize conflict, such as Hong Kong nationals traveling to mainland China or Saudi tourists visiting Muslim countries.
Essential attributes of culture include being learned, shared, functional, prescriptive, arbitrary, value-laden, adaptive/dynamic, implicit, explicit, and acting as a social, environmental, and political phenomenon.

Tourist Culture: The country culture travelers bring with them, influenced by their residual culture at home.
Host Culture: The culture of the destination nation providing local offerings and services.
Tourism Culture: The unique cultural outcome resulting from the interaction between tourists and hosts.

Cultural variability involves appreciating and respecting cultural differences (Rosinski, 2003).
Cultural values regulate customs, etiquette, and behaviors in the workplace (Dong & Liu, 2010).
Hofstede's Cultural Dimension Theory measures cultural differences across Power Distance, Individualism vs. Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation, and Masculinity vs. Femininity (Minkov, 2011).

Corporate culture is defined as a system of shared beliefs, values, and standards for solving problems within an organization (Edgar, 2004).
Industry cultures (e.g., hospitality vs. healthcare) establish distinct professional norms, conduct codes, and dress standards.

Tourism development leads to cultural phenomena such as acculturation, enculturation, cultural drift, cultural borrowing, diffusion, adaptation, and demonstration effects.
Cultural Commoditization and Transformation: Packaging authentic local traditions and art into superficial products for commercial sale.
Cultural Hostility: Antagonism expressed by hosts when tourism disrupts local economies and traditional life.
Cultural Arrogance: Staging superficial cultural displays in front stage areas to protect authentic local traditions in backstage areas (MacCannell, 1973).