Cross-Cultural Destination Image Assessment: Cultural segmentation versus the global tourist (PDF)

modern lifestyle and merging Western aspects, yet without neglecting the core of their own culture and tradition (Rayappa 2005). They want all the freedom that Western counterparts enjoy, but embedded in Islamic values. A research project conducted by Rayappa (2005) deduced that Arab youths want to become part of a global youth culture. ‘Unabashed consumerism, a passion for technology, a need to have fun, hope and trust in what the future might hold, self-confidence and a sense of identity, wanting to make the world a better place to live, and an awareness and respect for global icons’. From this it emerges that contemporary Arab youths share similar goals with the Western world, which will be shown subsequently. Protestant Europe also appears to be within a transformation process due to a youth movement (Keller &, Stewart 2005, p.63). Bell (1987) claims that Protestant youth culture is suffering a fractured ethnic identity, characterised by wide-ranging dissonances with traditional parental values. There is a shift away from church and culture among protestant youths, progressing towards a love for nature, which almost recalls the era of romanticism and leads to a new conception of the universe (Keller &, Stewart 2005, p.69). It seems that Protestant belief plays a minor part in theirconception and that they follow the ideal of a unified world, in which felt fellowship is more important than Protestant individualism. More emphasis is quasi put upon raising the awareness of common responsibilities for the world and promoting personal liberty on a global scale, than on traditional values. Consequently, only 7% of Protestant youths go to church (Bertelsmann 2008), which illustrates the secondary role of religion. Protestant youths are nevertheless shaped by protestant values according to Dr. Feldmann (cited Black 2007). Protestantism incorporates hard work, which is transmitted to youths through public institutions, such as schools. He argues that this work ethic still distinguishes Protestants from people from other societies, for example, Muslims. The strong work ethic is also conducive to the strong position of women in the labour environment and generally in society, which extremely differs from women’s position in Arabic countries. In this context, the implications on tourism need to be stated. While women from Protestant Europe can freely travel, women from Islamic countries only travel in the presence of a male family member and this attitude is still prevalent. However, in another aspect, Arab youths and Protestant youths seem to be similar, both are facing problematic situations that may induce structural changes to their societies. Arab youths face the problem of high unemployment, which almost forces them to consider cultural modifications for the pursuit of a better life, as cultural constraints often hinder the Arab world’s development in economic terms. Protestant youths, however, face problems on a cultural and moral level (Tucker 2000), since moral conscience is incrementally decreasing, not only among Protestants but generally within Western culture (Benedict XVI 2006).