ABSTRACT
Tourists explore the Other from the tourist space and the backpackers frequently escape into it to get a relief from the confusion the encounter with the Other causes. Dr. Petri Hottola replaces the traditional U-curve hypothesis with his own dynamic model of culture confusion. The central idea is the simultaneous interplay of contradicting emotions during the process of learning to cope with the Other. Thus culture confusion in travel primarily revolves around euphoria and disillusionment, and the need to balance this confusion by escaping to a metaworld: tourist space. The vast majority of tourists experience euphoria because their stay is so short and they mainly stay inside the tourist space. Stereotypes are centres, which organise the world around them by representing certain characteristics that are perceived to be present in those particular domains. These stereotypes are a natural part of one's stock of knowledge, formed on the basis of one socio-cultural heritage and personal experience.
