ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with a ubiquitous issue in tourism: the quality and success of tourist-host interaction. The range of views on this topic is striking. At one end of the spectrum we have consistent calls from politicians and tourism executives claiming that tourism can help overcome many real prejudices, foster new bonds of fraternity and become a real force for world peace (Canan and Hennessy, 1989). The optimism of some speechmakers has a parallel voice in pessimism: some media commentators and church groups see tourism as a series of short, unhappy encounters where people feel disgruntled, dissatisfied and, finally, disgusted with one another (Crick, 1989; Lovel and Feuerstein, 1992). In this chapter initial emphasis will be placed on exploring an understanding of tourist-host contact. The core case study presented here will focus on an evaluation of one strategy to make such encounters more effective.
