Destination hospitality indicators

Commercial hospitality provided by hotels, restaurants, and tourism-related activities have been the focus of many studies. By contrast, social hospitality provided by the destination has received little scholarly attention. Previous research has investigated hospitality in various settings, such as airports, hotels, and restaurants, but there has been no integrated study of hospitality at the destination level. Despite the long-established industry practice of promoting destinations as hospitable, few studies have investigated the self-proclaimed hospitality of destinations. This study fills this gap in the literature through the development of a set of indicators of destination hospitality, using a focus group method. Three dimensions of hospitality were considered, hospitable behaviors, infrastructure, and tourism atmosphere and key indicators of each dimension were identified and discussed.