Commercializing Hospitality: A New Concept for Residents of Viengxay, Laos

Abstract

Recently, small numbers of independent tourists and small groups have begun to visit the remote and poor region of Viengxay in northern Laos. This article is based on focus-group interviews and on-site observation in thirteen villages in Viengxay, intended to explore the perceptions and expectations of locals regarding their roles as hosts in this emerging tourism context. It discusses the ways in which locals are developing att itudes and practices of hospitality towards tourists. These practices are emerging under the infl uence of factors such as native cultural traditions, individual and communal expectations and att itudes towards tourism, as well as historical factors arising from the area's history of war and political isolation. Although locals intuitively treat tourists according to their society's 'traditional' treatment of guests, this treatment is also modifi ed to refl ect an appreciation that tourists are a specifi c type of guest for which the rules of hospitality may need to be reinterpreted. Locals' perceptions of tourists and behaviour in their relations with tourists are evolving as a result of growing contact between locals and tourists and the concomitantly changing expectations from and understanding of the tourism industry. This article articulates common themes for conceptualising the ways in which hospitality practices in the Viengxay villages are emerging from interaction and confl ict of these various aspects.

Ethnic tourism in mainland Southeast Asia: the state of the art

“…179-182) or local community participation in tourism development (Keovilay, 2012;Kim, Park, & Phandanouvong, 2014;Phommawong & Sörensen, 2014;Suntikul, Bauer, & Song, 2009), and do not generally focus on issues of ethnicity. Tourism to the northern province of Luangnamtha (Keovilay, 2012;Suntikul, 2007) and the district of Viengxay in the northeastern Houaphanh province gained particular attention by researchers (Suntikul, 2012;Suntikul et al, 2009;Tappe, 2011). It appears that tourism in the highlands has not yet become routinised.…”

Malaysian Accommodation Providers’ Understanding of Halal Hospitality

“…Hospitality is prone to reciprocity (Heumen, 2005;Lashley, 2008). Suntikul (2012) argues that there is no definite distinction in offering hospitality freely, or as an act of generosity in the context of commercial. She further indicates that domestic hospitality, for example, is always associated with host-guest relationship with some degrees of social…”

“…Burgess (1982) emphasizes the importance of elements of social relationships in hospitality, particularly warm, friendly, welcoming, and generous behaviour of hosts to guests. Suntikul (2012) indicates that the social relationship between host and guest is an important part of hospitality. She argues that in the pre-modern era, providers strongly emphasized their responsibilities as a host, in comparison to contemporary society that considers hospitality as an economic and commercial accomplishment.…”