Researching The Literature: the Ethics of Chinese and Western Tourists in Hong Kong

As our research is looking at the potential of fluctuating morality whilst abroad, there is a surplus of previous pieces of research that looks at morals, values, and attitudes that will help shape our research and provide the foundations for how we shape our research.

Tolkach, Pratt, and Zeng’s (2017) research looking at the ethics of Chinese and Western tourists in Hong Kong provides a preliminary understanding for how the behaviour of tourists can lead to tensions between said tourists and the local residents and how different ethical beliefs can lead to justification of questionable actions in moral dilemmas. The results of the research show that those with ethics based on utilitarianism, egoism, and relativism are more likely used to justifying questionable actions in moral dilemmas and therefore unlikely to change their actions to ones that are perceived as being morally sound in reference to the surrounding culture and in return reducing tension between local and tourist. Yet, the research does also suggests that tourist, through there liminal experiences at the destination, adapt their ethics in some form or another. This research therefore helps me and my group understand that there is an ethical change happening when a tourist travels however depending on the predetermined ethics of an individual the extent of this change can vary, moreover we learn that those who are already used to justifying there questionable moral behaviour due to there ethical beliefs will be comfortable with doing this in a foreign country and thus will more likely partake in questionable behaviour.

Tolkach, Pratt, and Zeng (2017) Ethics of Chinese and Western Tourists in Hong King, Annals of Tourism, Vol 63, pp.83-96

You perceive I generalize with intrepidity from single instances. It is the tourist’s custom

Mark Twain