A Study Of Models, Effecting Factors And Effect Appraisal Of Hosts-Tourists Interaction--Taking Dali And Lijiang As A Case Study

Hosts-tourists interaction has long been hot issue among scholars from different disciplines, with sociologists and anthropologists forming the main stream. Hundreds of case studies, among which, the majority was host-oriented and socio-culture impact concerned, have been carried out throughout of the world. Yet there were few studies approached the issue from a micro point of view--the behavioral level. Here the author confined the definition of hosts-tourists interaction to observable and face-to-face behaviors, including signification, contacts. transactions, communications and conflicts between locals and tourists.Various types and models, groups of categories of factors of locals-tourists interaction and the consequential overall effect were analysed. Accordingly, these facets in Dali and Lijiang, two ancieot towns with distinctive ethical style in Southwest China, were examinated. Wifh six well-chose indicators serving as factor-set, and three grades of effect, namely, "significantly satisfactory", "generally satisfactory" and "dissatisfactory", as evaluation-set, the comprehensive effect of the destination was appraised with the help of Multiple-layer Fussy Synthetic Evaluation Model. The result demonstrated that the synthetic effect of hosts-tourists interaction in Dali-Lijiang was with "significantly satisfactory".Reasons to explain the result were easy to be found out but hard to decide to what extend it contributed. Job opportunities and community relationship and other effect contributed largely to the good result. The dominant types of locals-tourists interaction which were favorable and positive there also contributed its part. Since it was a synthetic appraisal, the final result was not a simple addition of all single effects. The author checked into various factors of hosts-tourists interaction in Dali-Lijiang and found that tourists ' motive to have social interaction with locals, hosts benefits from tourists, age-factor of tourists and locals involved in tourism, tourists' experience and the way they were organized all have positive Influences on the overall effect of hosts-tourists interaction. Unfavorable factors should not be neglected. Investigation and interviews showed thatthe main obstacles standing in the way of hosts -tourists interaction were socio-cultural factors as language barrier and cultural differences, ranking as No. one obstacle, then the lack of skills for and confidence in communication. For hosts, they showed much stronger sense of class -gap while they found they were in sharp contrast with those who tour their land. Accordingly, the author proposed counter-measures for solving these problems and measures to maintain those favorable factors functioning well.