Date of Award
5-17-2004
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
This qualitative research examined the lived experience of volunteers in providing information to international travelers at a Visitors Information Center. The research focused on intercultural communication during these touristic encounters. Interpersonal communication and meaning engagement practices between volunteer information providers and international visitors were examined from a narrative theoretical perspective. Narratives of six volunteer information providers were gathered using conversational interviews and analyzed using the method of thematic analysis. Six themes emerged from volunteers' narratives of their experience: independent/package tour travelers, visitors' expectations, information as product/process, foreign language skills, adaptability and accommodation, and public inebriation of homeless local residents. Contrary to expectations, volunteers reported that the experience of providing information for international visitors was very little different from providing information to visitors with cultural patterns of communication similar to their own. Several explanations are offered for the apparent absence of difficulties in providing information to international visitors. The surprising finding warrants further research.
Recommended Citation
Peterson, Sherrill Lea, "Touristic encounters of an intercultural kind: communication between volunteers and international visitors at a visitors information center" (2004). Communication . 19.
https://ualaska.researchcommons.org/uaf_grad_comm/19
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/5935