Cross-cultural study of hotel practices as perceived by Chinese and North American travellers: A data mining analysis

Abstract

This paper aims to unearth the different perception styles of Chinese and North American travellers from analytic versus holistic thinking perspectives. Python was utilized to gather online textual data from Chinese and North American travellers, while word frequency analysis, latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modelling analysis and content analysis were employed to elucidate the perception styles in a cross-cultural context. In general, North American travellers mainly leaned towards analytic thinking, whereas Chinese travellers showcased a blend of holistic and analytic thought processes. The topic of travel, leisure and accommodation showed both holistic and analytic thinking styles. The topics of nature and environment, front desk service, and travel routes and scenic spot areas mainly represented a holistic thinking style. The topics of convenience and facilities, breakfast, transportation, hotel theme and features, and decoration and amenities mainly suggested an analytic thinking style. Hotels should consider the different perception styles of Chinese and North American travellers to facilitate strategies accordingly and to maximize the experience of travellers from different cultural backgrounds.

Keywords

• Perception difference
• Holistic thinking
• Analytic thinking
• Word frequency
• LDA modelling
• Content analysis