Internet as an information source and social distance: any relationship?

Abstract

Purpose – Findings of previous research imply that virtual contact with other social groups, such as the internet, may have an impact on sociocultural dimensions such as social distance; however, there is a lack of empirical evidence supporting this implication. To fill this void in the literature, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between social distance and the internet as an information source. Design/methodology/approach – A self-administered survey was conducted on tourists from several different European countries, through random sampling, in select popular tourist destinations of Turkey. Findings – A direct relationship between the use of the internet as an information source about the host community and social distance was not revealed within the scope of this study. Originality/value – There is limited research on the relationship between Internet and several sociocultural aspects in tourism. This study investigates the relationship between social distance and internet empirically.

The Influence of Place Attachment on Social Distance: Examining Mediating Effects of Emotional Solidarity and the Moderating Role of Interaction

“…Later, Yilmaz and Tasci (2013;2015) used a different social distance scale with factors of affinity and avoidance to measure the social distance between European guests and Turkish hosts. The authors used 12 items that Reisinger and Turner (2002a;2002b) initially developed.…”

“…More recently, Joo et al (2018) used Yilmaz and Tasci's (2013;2015) scale with 12 items reflecting affinity and avoidance dimensions in order to investigate intergroup attitude of residents of a U.S. destination towards domestic visitors. They looked into the complex relationship between the nature and frequency of interaction and social distance as well as emotional solidarity and social distance.…”

“…Second, as two intergroup attitudinal concepts of opposite nature, the increase in emotional solidarity is expected to reduce the negative concept of social distance, maximizing positive attitude such as acceptance and minimizing negative attitude such as hostility (Joo et al 2018). Although previous studies have suggested some determinants and effects of social distance, including information source, destination image, and visit intention (Tasci 2009;Yilmaz and Tasci 2013;2015), the link between emotional solidarity and social distance, has only been recently considered. In a domestic tourism setting, Joo et al (2018) provided empirical support for the direct link between the influence of residents' emotional solidarity and their social distance towards tourists.…”

“…Later, Yilmaz and Tasci (2013, 2015) used a different social distance scale with factors of affinity and avoidance to measure the social distance between European guests and Turkish hosts. Yilmaz and Tasci (2013) tested the potential of the Internet in influencing European guests’ distance toward Turkish hosts and failed to find a significant relationship between the two.…”

“…Later, Yilmaz and Tasci (2013, 2015) used a different social distance scale with factors of affinity and avoidance to measure the social distance between European guests and Turkish hosts. Yilmaz and Tasci (2013) tested the potential of the Internet in influencing European guests’ distance toward Turkish hosts and failed to find a significant relationship between the two. It was found that tourists who used the Internet as the primary information source about the host community did not differ significantly in their perception of social distance, compared to those using other information sources, even previous visit experiences.…”