Fourth International Conference on Tourism and Leisure Studies

Abstract

Increased access to travel alongside a growing multi-ethnic global population gives rise to a myriad of cultural influences that may be in effect within the social interactions that occur within tourism service experiences. The role of the front-line employee as a co-creator of value and its consequences for creating a quality service experience is well researched in the services literature. In discussing service quality in the tourism and hospitality industry, there are a myriad of contested roles and theories of the front-line employee in the co-creation of the service experience. A review of the methodologies that inform the empirical studies embracing cultural studies in both services and tourism is examined and the challenges inherent in the articulation and commoditization of the lived experience discussed. This critical discussion highlights the ontological and epistemological concerns that are raised when including cultural perspectives in the delivery of quality tourism service experiences. The discussion responds to the call for innovative methodologies that can be used to explore the ever changing nature of culture across time and spatial contexts and the need to strengthen the theoretical underpinnings of both services and tourism knowledge. As the primary agent in the production and delivery of quality service experiences, theorizing the perspective of the front-line employee, provides an opportunity to explore the latent potential within culture that may have social, economic and political influence on what is available should be kept sacred, not available for commercial use within host communities.