| International tourism is one of the world's largest industries where people from different cultural backgrounds meet together. Intercultural Sensitivity (IS) is the ability to discriminate and experience relevant cultural differences (Hammer et al, 2003). To reveal comprehensive and culturally sensitive models of IS, research from non-western perspectives is indispensable. Using an indigenous approach, Panggabean (2004) showed that there are cultural specific characteristics in dealing with cultural differences in German-Indonesian workgroups. In compare with Indonesia, China represents an Asian culture which culture diversity is relatively homogenous and its international exposures increase rapidly. Our research aims at discovering the indigenous intercultural sensitivity of the Chinese people working in the international tourism industry.Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted, 32 Chinese professionals (general manager, tour guide, tour leader etc.) from the industry took a part. Interview data was fully transcribed and then analyzed using grounded theory approach and Atlas.ti software. The results demonstrated that Chinese IS exhibits particular characteristics, which reflects the uniqueness of the Chinese culture. Cultural Comprehension, Chinese Ethno Identification, Differences Harmonization, Relationship Optimization and Change Accommodation as well as the push (value) and pull (goals) factors are the central characteristics of the Chinese IS. Based on these findings, a generic model of Chinese Intercultural Sensitivity will be introduced and discussed. |
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