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Emerging Airbnb accommodations provide a unique sharing economy platform where tourists can co-create their travel experiences with different participating groups. However, limited research has been conducted to understand the social contact of guests in the Airbnb accommodation. This study explores the social contact of Airbnb guests during their stay and identifies three types of contact during such stay, namely guest-host, guest-community, and guest-guest contacts. In each contact, the contact activities, intensity, and impacts, as well as attitude toward contact are discussed. A social contact model for Airbnb guests is then established. Theoretical and practical implications are provided accordingly.

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Tourist-host social contact significantly influences the perceptions of tourists and deserves more attention from scholars in the field of tourism research. However, studies on the relationship between these two constructs are limited. To address this research gap, the present study develops and validates instruments for measuring social contact and perceived cultural distance in the context of tourism, explores the effects of social contact on perceived cultural distance, and provides implications for tourism stakeholders, including governments, tourism operators, and local communities. A survey was conducted among Hong Kong tourists traveling to Mainland China. The study had two significant findings: 1) the quality of contact negatively influences tourists' perceived cultural distance; 2) in terms of the quantity of contact, socialoriented contacts negatively influence perceived cultural distance, whereas service-oriented contacts positively affect perceived cultural distance. Implications were provided to contribute to theoretical and empirical realms, and to guide policy formulation.Keywords: tourist-host contact, perceived cultural distance, quantity of social contact, quality of social contact, policy issues 2 INTRODUCTIONIn the tourism academia, social contact and cultural distance are widely believed to play important roles in developing the understanding of intergroup relations, travel experiences, and the attitudes of tourists. Contact between different groups can boost mutual understanding, eliminate bias and stereotypes, and enhance intergroup relations (Allport 1979;Pettigrew 1998; Kawakami et al. 2000; Binder et al. 2009; Kirillova, Lehto, and Cai 2015). Furthermore, such contact may reduce negative emotions-such as anxiety, distrust, and cultural sensitivitytoward outgroups, who are considered socially repulsive (Dovidio et al. 2002; Islam and Hewstone 1993;Stephan and Stephan 1985). Contact between separate groups can also enhance empathy toward outgroups, thereby positively influencing intergroup relations (Baston et al. 1997;Stephan and Finlay 1999). However, social contact may not necessarily lead to a positive change in attitude (Pizam, Jafari, and Milman 1991;Anastasopoulos 1992;Pizam, Uriely, and Reichel 2000; Chen, Lin, and Petrick 2013). Sometimes, intergroup contact may increase tension, hostility, and suspicion. The greater the social contacts are, the more likely that friction and hostility will be triggered (Bochner 1982). Tourist-host social contact-as a unique type of social contact-deserves more attention from scholars in the field of tourism research considering its remarkable influence on tourists' perceptions, which is a major determinant in choosing a travel destination. Cultural distance negatively affects tourists' enthusiasm to travel to a certain region. Cohen (1979) argued that people seek novelty and change when traveling but only to the extent that the novelty and change remain non-threatening. Goeldner and Ritchie (2008) argued that the greater the cu...

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