65Original Scientific Paper UDC: 338.48-44(1-87)
338.483.12 doi: 10.5937/menhottur2101027Z
Cultural intelligence and heritage impact on choosing foreign tourist destination
Stefan Zdravko-vic1*, Jelena Pekovic1
1 PhD student, University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Economics, Kragujevac, Serbia
Abstract: Due to the process of globalization, travel has become much more affordable, so tourists have the opportunity to visit foreign and even some exotic destinations . Market research helps travel agencies in formulating a marketing strategy, which should attract tourists and ensure their satisfaction, which ultimately enables the service provider to make a profit. The purpose and goal of the research is to determine whether cultural intelligence as a push-factor implying the desire of tourists to learn a foreign language, and get to know other cultures and their value systems and cultural heritage as a pull-factor implying touring buildings, and cultural monuments of other countries, influence the choice of foreign tourist destinations. Furthermore, the research examines whether the influence of these variables from the aspect of a demographic characteristic of age is more pronounced in respondents belong to generation Z compared to the generation X respondents. The sample includes 208 respondents from the Republic of Serbia. After statistical processing ofthe data, the obtained results show that variables have a statistically significant positive impact on the choice of foreign tourist destinations, and that their impact is more pronounced in generation Z respondents compared to those of generation X, so the research provides useful information to marketers and travel agencies.
Keywords: cultural intelligence, cultural heritage, foreign tourist destinations JEL classification: M31, Z30, Z32
Uticaj kulturalne inteligencije i nasleda na izbor inostranih turistickih destinacija
Sazetak: Usled procesa globalizacije, putovanja su postala znatno pristupacnija, tako da turisti imaju mogucnost da posete inostrane, a cak i neke egzoticne destinacije. Istrazivanje trzista pomaze turistickim agencijama prilikom formulisanja marketing strategije, koja treba da privuce turiste i da obezbedi njihovu satisfakciju, sto u krajnjoj instanci omogucava profit pruzaocu usluge. Svrha i cilj istrazivanja je da se utvrdi da li kulturalna inteligencija kao push faktor koji podrazumeva zelju turista da nauce strani jezik, upoznaju druge kulture i njihove sisteme vrednosti i kulturno naslede kao pull faktor koji podrazumeva obilazak gradevina, kulturnih spomenika drugih zemalja, ostvaruju uticaj na izbor inostranih turistickih destinacija. Takode, u istrazivanju se ispituje da lije uticaj navedenih varijabli sa
KaBH This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http ://creativecommons .org/licenses/by/4.0/).
*
aspekta demografske karakteristike starost izrazeniji kod ispitanika koji pripadaju generaciji Z u odnosu na ispitanike koji pripadaju generaciji X. Uzorak obuhvata 208 ispitanika iz Republike Srbije. Nakon statisticke obrade podataka, dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da varijable ostvaruju statisticki znacajan pozitivan uticaj na izbor inostranih turistickih destinacija, kao i da je njihov uticaj izrazeniji kod ispitanika koji pripadaju generaciji Z u odnosu na ispitanike koji pripadaju generaciji X, tako da istrazivanje pruza korisne informacije marketarima i turistickim agencijama.
Kljucne reci: kulturalna inteligencija, kulturno naslede, inostrane turisticke destinacije JEL klasifikacija: M31, Z30, Z32
1. Introduction
For tourism and hotel service providers, information on what factors influence tourists when choosing the destination they went to visit is crucial (Anderson et al., 2009). Gaining new experiences, getting to know other cultures and communicating with the people who come from them are some of the main motives for tourists to visit foreign tourist destinations (Fong et al., 2019). Tourism as an industry has made significant progress and development in recent years, and the number ofbusiness and tourist trips is continuously increasing (Zhao & Lin, 2014). Market globalization, development of information technologies, improvement of transport networks have a very positive impact on tourism, because these factors enable tourism service providers to improve the quality of travel organization for their clients (Koo et al., 2016). An increasing number ofyoung people, such as students and employees at the beginning oftheir business careers, want to strengthen their cultural intelligence by visiting foreign cultures, learning about the history and cultural heritage of other countries (Phau et al., 2014). Communication with people from other cultures enables the development of cultural knowledge and represents a valuable experience that helps people to better adapt to future intercultural situations (Filipovic & Sapic, 2020). Tomic and Kosic (2020) state that mountain, spa and rural tourism is quite developed in Serbia, while on the other hand, Serbian tourists most often visit seaside destinations during the summer and visit famous European capitals during the spring and autumn. Seocanac et al. (2019) state that young tourists, like students, develop a degree of cultural intelligence by traveling to foreign countries and getting to know other cultures. Also, they often use the online booking platform when organizing trips. Sanicanin et al. (2019) state that Serbia has a rich cultural heritage that needs to be promoted, on the one hand, and that there is a necessity to get to know the history of other countries, on the other. Zdravkovic and Pekovic (2020) state that Serbian tourists who have adequate financial resources want to gain new cultural knowledge by traveling to foreign countries, as well as to pay attention to environmental protection and stay in green hotels when traveling.
It is very important to determine which factors influence the choice of foreign destinations by tourists. In the domestic literature, there are practically no papers that have examined th e impact of cultural intelligence oftourists and cultural heritage on the choice offoreign tourist destinations, while in foreign literature there are many papers, but some are qualitative or use simple statistical methods of quantitative approach. The research will apply a quantitative approach using SEM analysis, in order to compensate for the research gap in scientific literature on the influence of the mentioned variables on the Serbian tourists choice of foreign destinations.
Cultural intelligence develops through travel, learning foreign languages, getting to know other cultures, beliefs, values, rules of conduct and customs (Beerli-Palacio & Martin-Santana, 2018). A high degree of cultural intelligence enables people to develop abilities and
skills that enable them to adapt to situations that are multicultural in nature (Sharma & Singh, 2018). Tourists also show interest in learning about the cultural heritage of foreign countries, which includes exceptional buildings, cultural monuments, works of art, archeological sites and other sights (Vakhitova, 2015). These goods are most often under the protection ofthe state, and if they are of international importance, they might also be under the protection ofUNESCO or other international bodies that deal with the preservation of cultural heritage at the international level (Ryan & Silvanto, 2011).
The subject ofthis study is the conceptual explanation ofthe cultural intelligence of tourists and cultural heritage, as well as the perception oftheir effect on the decision oftourists when choosing foreign destinations. Cultural intelligence can be seen as a push-factor, because it motivates consumers to get to know other cultures, learn foreign languages and communicate with the local population, while cultural heritage can be seen as a pull-factor because it attracts consumers to visit a foreign country with a significant history, cultural monuments, traditions and the like. The aim of the research is to show whether the variables of cultural intelligence oftourists and cultural heritage have a statistically significant positive influence on the decision oftourists to choose foreign tourist destinations when traveling. Also, the research examines whether the influence ofthese variables on the choice of foreign tourist destinations is more pronounced in the generation Z respondents compared to the generation X ones.
Within the research methodology, data were collected through questionnaires. Statistical software SPSS v23. was used for the application descriptive statistics, reliability analysis to examine the relevance of the research model, as well as correlation analysis. Through a model of structural equations (SEM) applied in the software package Amos v23. it was examined whether the cultural intelligence of tourists and cultural heritage have a statistically significant influence on the choice offoreign tourists destinations. Multigroup SEM analysis was applied regarding an investigation of the model and path differences between Generation Z and Generation X, respectively to examine whether the impact cultural intelligence of tourists and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations is more pronounced in then respondents belonging to generation Z compared to the respondents belonging to generation X. Based on the SEM analysis, a decision was made to confirm or reject the research hypotheses.
The study is conceptualized by proposing five sections. After the introductory part, within the literature review, the variables cultural intelligence oftourists and cultural heritage are defined and it is explained how they affect the choice offoreign tourist destinations by tourists. The researchers mainly examines the individual impact of these variables. The aim of this study is to apply a holistic approach and examine the common effect of cultural intelligence oftourists and cultural heritage on the choice offoreign tourist destinations. This section contains hypotheses and a research model. The third part presents the sample structure and methodology. The next part deals with the results ofthe study, and conclusion lists the scientific and managerial implications, limitations, and opportunities for future studies.
2. Literature review
The concept of cultural tourism has a great influence on the choice of foreign tourist destinations. Vargas Hernandez (2012) defined cultural tourism as "the movements of persons for essentially cultural motivations, which includes study tours, performing arts, cultural tours, travel to festivals, visits to historic sites and monuments, folklore a pilgrimages" (p. 147). Vareiro et al. (2020) defined cultural tourism as "the movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal place of residence, with the intention
of gathering new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs" (p. 43). There are numerous cultural motives of tourists, such as artistic (e.g. history, architecture), manifestation (e.g. sport, music), religious, archeology and other, so that the concept of cultural tourism encompasses a large number of cultural areas (Woyo & Woyo, 2019). Cultural tourism is experiencing its expansion and the awareness of state bodies as well as the economic sector about the huge possibilities oftourist valorization of cultural heritage is progressively increasing, having in mind the significant economic effects that result from that (Foxell & de Trafford, 2010). Tourists have a desire to visit a foreign country that has a significant cultural heritage, and, on the other hand, cultural tourism enables the realization of profits and encourages economic development (Filipovic, 2018). Dimitrovski et al. (2019) state that there are two groups of motivational factors of travel. Push-factors include recreational holidays, learning foreign languages, making social contacts with people from other cultures, exploring other countries and improving the level of cultural intelligence. Pull-factors include learning about the history of other countries, cultural heritage, visiting cultural monuments, as well as visiting various cultural events.
Cultural intelligence is the ability ofpeople to function and be successful in situations that are multicultural (Thomas & Van Dyne, 2018). Andresen and Bergdolt (2017) state that Cultural intelligence (CQ) can be linked to similar concepts such as Cross-cultural Competencies (CC) and Global Mindset (GM). Cultural intelligence as well as the mentioned concepts are very important during international marketing activities and can be a crucial factor in the success of multinational companies. The company's marketing managers need to have intercultural skills and adapt the marketing strategy to the local market (Pratono & Arli, 2020). Andresen and Bergdolt (2017) defined cultural intelligence as the ability to succeed in complex intercultural environments by applying cognitive, motivational and behavioral abilities. Cultural intelligence consists of four factors: metacognitive, cognitive, motivational and behavioral (Ang & Van Dyne, 2015). Metacognitive processes are used to acquire and understand cultural knowledge, including knowledge and control of individual thinking processes related to culture (Frias-Jamilena et al., 2018a). Cognitive cultural intelligence refers to understanding the norms, practices, conventions of other cultures as well as knowledge of their economic and legal system (Zhou et al., 2018). Motivational cultural intelligence refers to attention and energy that is directed towards understanding and adapting to the environment within which cultural differences are present, as well as with the desire to visit foreign tourist destinations and get to know the history and cultural heritage of other countries (Rahman et al., 2020). Behavioral cultural intelligence involves showing verbal and nonverbal competencies when communicating with people from culturally diverse backgrounds, during visits to foreign tourist destinations (Thomas & Van Dyne, 2018). The process of learning and development of the concept of cultural intelligence has been followed since the very beginnings oftourism, and the popularization of tourism in the 20 th century has enabled its wider social significance. The development of cultural intelligence through tourism is not new, however, the term itself was introduced in the tourism literature by the (Early & Ang, 2003) and since then the influence of cultural intelligence on numerous aspects of traveling has been examined.
Frias-Jamilena et al. (2018a) found that when visiting a foreign tourist destination, tourists develop their cultural intelligence. It is very important for tourists that the foreign country has natural beauties, that the local population is kind and open to communication, that the country is recognizable by its specialties in food. This makes a positive impression on tourists and they will want to visit the country in the future. Also, the study found that a pleasant experience gained while visiting a foreign country, positively affects the intention of tourists to visit some other foreign countries and get to know other cultures. The research was conducted on the basis ofa sample of503 tourists from Great Britain, who visited Spain.
Rahman et al. (2020) found that tourists develop their level of cultural intelligence by getting to know a culture, value system, beliefs, customs, history, economic and legal system of the country, rules of conduct and other while staying in a foreign tourist destination. Also, the study found that a high level of cultural intelligence of tourists has a notable influence on their decision to visit foreign countries and to pass their positive impressions to friends, as well as to spend their next vacation in another foreign destination and thus continue to improve their knowledge ofother cultures and to develop their ability to adapt to different intercultural environments. The authors emphasize that tourism service providers should include in their offer foreign tourist destinations, whose content enables tourists to significantly improve their cultural intelligence. Beerli-Palacio and Martin-Santana (2018) in their research state that tourists who have developed cultural intelligence perceive traveling to a foreign country as a valuable authentic experience and a chance to step out of their comfort zone and learn something new. Developed cultural intelligence helps tourists to adapt to the culture of the host country, to interact and communicate with the local population and to spend their vacation in a more comprehensive and interesting way. In the study, a total sample of 411 respondents proved that cultural intelligence has a notable influence on the intention of tourists to visit Tenerife (Canary Islands). Koo et al. (2016) state that the integration of modern information technologies and tourism marketing campaigns in which the country is promoted is very important. It is necessary to provide tourists with all the useful information about the country they want to visit. Also, the authors state that information technology facilitates the placement of all necessary travel information to tourists, as well as that the high level of development of cultural intelligence has a positive impact on the intention of tourists to visit and get to know South Korea.
Previous research has determined that cultural intelligence is one of the determinants of the choice offoreign tourist destinations, and studies have used a qualitative approach or simple statistical analyzes. This research aims to determine through a quantitative approach (SEM model) whether cultural intelligence has an effect on the choice of foreign tourist destinations. Based on the above, the first hypothesis is defined:
H1: The cultural intelligence of tourists has a positive statistically significant effect on the choice of a foreign tourist destinations.
It is very important that each country continuously launches initiatives in order to preserve its cultural heritage (Jamieson & Jamieson, 2019). Cultural heritage represents a unique and irreplaceable cultural value ofnation, because created for generations, it directly indicates the social as well as the entire educational, cultural and even civilizational level of development. Therefore, the care for the preservation of cultural heritage is not only a declarative obligation ofthe competent institutions, but it is also the moral role of the entire modern society, which recognizing the importance of cultural heritage, creates conditions for its preservation in the future (Bordoni, 2011). Settembre Blundo et al. (2019) define cultural heritage as "a collection of tangible objects and intangible elements related to the cultural development of a society, which comes from past generations and are esteemed by contemporary individuals, not only for their aesthetic values or its utility, but also as an expression ofthe culture of a society development" (p.7). Tangible cultural heritage includes monuments and buildings, while intangible cultural heritage includes language, tradition and rituals (Kim et al., 2019).
There are numerous examples in the literature according to which cultural heritage is one of the key factors influencing the choice of a foreign tourist destinations. Shi et al. (2019) state that one ofthe most interesting destinations for tourists is the famous Great Wall of China. Cultural heritage of China also includes buildings of distinct architectural and practical value built for rulers or the worship of deities. Moreover, tourists say that they are very interested
in visiting the Forbidden City that was built in Beijing in the 15th century and is the greatest work of the Ming dynasty. Bordoni (2011) states that the Colosseum in Rome is visited annually by about 7 million tourists. The famous amphitheater in which gladiatorial fights used to take place is included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and the List of World Wonders. Vareiro et al. (2020) state that many tourists visit Paris to visit the famous Louvre Museum as well as the Eiffel Tower. Underberg-Goode (2014) states that tourists want to get to know the history of the Inca Empire better and to visit the famous city of Inca people in the Andes, Machu Picchu, which is part of the world cultural heritage and is located in Peru. Jamhawi and Hajahjah (2017) state that the attention of tourists is attracted by the ancient city of Petra, which is located in today's Jordan and is under the protection of UNESCO.
From previous research, the second hypothesis is defined:
H2: Cultural heritage has a positive statistically significant effect on the choice of a foreign tourist destination.
Tesin et al. (2020) state that older people have a more developed level of cultural intelligence, as well as a greater desire to learn about the history and cultural heritage of other countries than young people. Sagovnovic and Kovacic (2020) emphasize that touring the cultural attractions (museums, monuments, opera, etc.) requires adequate financial resources, which can be a problem when it comes to students and young people at the beginning of their professional careers. Beerli-Palacio and Martin-Santana (2018) in their research focus on young tourists who dominate the sample, because they are more mobile and have a higher degree of cultural intelligence and motivation to meet other cultures compared to older people. Phau et al. (2014) state that younger people have a more developed level of cultural intelligence than older ones. Young people, like students, employed at the beginning of their business career, travel a lot and get to know other cultures due to their professional obligations. Also, young people travel a lot as tourists, they have a desire to get to know the history and cultural heritage of other countries, but they also travel for fun and vacation.
These studies examined whether the impact of cultural intelligence of touris ts and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations is more pronounced in older or younger respondents. In this study, respondents were segmented into three categories based on demographic characteristics of age: Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z. Generation can be defined as a group of people who are of an approximate age (Yang & Lau, 2015). There is no generally accepted classification in the academic literature, but it can be said that people born in the period 1960 - 1980 belong to Generation X, while people born between 1981 and 1995 belong to generation Y. People who belong to generation Y are more globally oriented, more informed and have a higher degree of cultural intelligence compared to people belonging to Generation X, who visit foreign destinations to a lesser extent (Yang & Lau, 2015). Generation Z includes people born after 1995, who are quite innovative, electronically literate, follow the development of new technologies and want to develop cultural intelligence by traveling aboard, as well as to learning about of the cultural heritage of other countries. People belong to Generation Z want to visit exotic foreign destinations, and pupils and students visit foreign countries through exchange (Robinson & Schanzel, 2019). The aim of the research is to determine whether the influence of cultural intelligence of tourists and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations is more pronounced in respondents belonging to Generation Z, who can be characterized as younger, compared to the respondents belonging Generation X, who can be characterized as older.
From the previous research and the aim of this study, the third hypothesis is defined:
H3: The influence ofthe cultural intelligence oftourists and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations is more pronounced in the respondents who belong to Generation Z compared to the respondents belonging to Generation X.
The conceptual model of the study is shown in Figure 1 and it examines the influence of
cultural intelligence oftourists and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations.
Figure 1: Conceptual model
Source: Author's research 3. Research methodology
The empirical research was conducted on the territory of the cities of Belgrade and Kragujevac in the Republic of Serbia in December 2020. A questionnaire was used for data collection, and from most respondents the answers were obtained in person, i.e. during the field research, while a questionnaire was distributed to a smaller number of respondents via email. A total of 223 questionnaires were distributed, which contained the eliminatory question ofwhether the respondent had traveled to a foreign country at least once and 15 respondents did not travel to any foreign country, which excluded them from the survey. Thus, the number of respondents who participated in the survey is 208. Respondents are segmented according to demographic characteristics gender, age and status, and gave answers to the findings using a seven-point Likert scale (1-completely disagree; 7-completely agree). The variables cultural intelligence oftourists, cultural heritage and the choice of foreign tourist destinations were measured through statements taken from the relevant literature which is a common approach in field marketing research. The statements used are shown in Table 1. Statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics Version 23 was used for the application of descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, as well as correlation analysis, while SEM analysis within the Amos software package was used for proving research hypotheses.
Table 1: Variables and statements
Variables Statements Source
Cultural intelligence of tourists 1. When communicating with people from other countries, I check the level of my cultural knowledge. 2. I know the values, customs, beliefs, rules of conduct that are characteristic of other cultures. 3. I have a high level of self-confidence when communicating with people who come from foreign cultures. 4. I adjust my verbal behavior (accent, tone) and non-verbal abilities (body language, Adapted from: Ang et al. (2007) Frias-Jamilena et al. (2018b) Rahman et al. (2020)
facial expression) to the requirements of the intercultural situation.
Cultural heritage 5. Cultural heritage is a treasure for every country and should be under state protection. 6. I enjoy seeing buildings and monuments when traveling abroad. 7. I have a great interest in the history of other countries as well as in the archeological sites that are located in them. 8. Getting to know the cultural heritage of other countries arises positive feelings in me. Adapted from: Rahman et al. (2020) Ricart et al. (2019)
Choice of foreign tourist destinations 9. For my next trip, I plan to choose a foreign destination recognizable by its rich cultural heritage. 10. I plan to visit foreign countries because it allows me to improve my cultural intelligence. 11. I usually spend my vacation in foreign destinations. 12. Visiting foreign countries is a valuable experience for me. Adapted from: Beerli-Palacio & Martin-Santana (2018) Frias-Jamilena et al. (2018a) Rahman et al. (2020)
Source: Author's research
The demographic characteristics of the respondents (gender, age and status) are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Demographic characteristics of respondents
Number of respondents Percent of respondents %
Gender Females 102 49
Male 106 51
Total 208 100%
Age Generation Z 85 40.9
Generation Y 41 19.7
Generation X 82 39.4
Total 208 100%
Status Unemployed 31 14.9
Employeed 86 41.3
Student 71 34.1
Retired 20 9.7
Total 208 100%
Source: Author's research
There are 102 woman and 106 men in the sample. Most respondents belong to generation Z and generation X and most of them are either employed or students.
4. Research results
The results of the arithmetic mean and standard deviation are listed in Table 3.
Table 3: Descriptive statistical analysis (arithmetic mean and standarc deviation)
Statements M SD
1. When communicating with people from other countries, I check the level of my cultural knowledge. 4.97 1.95
2. I know the values, customs, beliefs, rules of conduct that are characteristic of other cultures. 5.14 2.01
3. I have a high level of self-confidence when communicating with people who come from foreign cultures. 5.44 1.79
4. I adjust my verbal behavior (accent, tone) and non-verbal abilities (body language, facial expression) to the requirements ofthe intercultural situation. 4.34 2.20
5. Cultural heritage is a treasure for every country and should be under state protection. 5.51 1.82
6. I enjoy seeing buildings and monuments when traveling abroad. 4.52 1.73
7. I have a great interest in the history ofother countries as well as in the archeological sites that are located in them. 4.12 2.06
8. Getting to know the cultural heritage ofother countries arises positive feelings in me. 5.12 1.85
9. For my next trip, I plan to choose a foreign destination recognizable by its rich cultural heritage. 4.18 1.82
10. I plan to visit foreign countries because it allows me to improve my cultural intelligence. 4.50 2.05
11. I usually spend my vacation in foreign destinations. 4.94 1.96
12. Visiting foreign countries is a valuable experience for me. 4.33 1.98
Source: Author's research
Respondents expressed the most positive attitudes in the statement, Cultural heritage is a treasure for every country and should be under state protection (M=5.51), while the least positive attitudes were expressed in the statement, I have a great interest in the history of other countries as well as in the archeological sites that are located in them (M=4.12). Respondents expressed the most homogeneous attitudes in the statement, I enjoy seeing buildings and monuments when traveling abroad (SD=1.73), while the least homogeneous attitudes were expressed in the statement, I adjust my verbal behavior (accent, tone) and non-verbal abilities (body language, facial expression) to the requirements of the intercultural situation (SD=2.20). In should be noted that the values of the standard deviation, which are over 2 in some statements, show that there were certain discrepancies between the answers ofthe respondents. Reliability analysis was used to examine whether the statements used were internally consistent and whether the set research model was relevant. In order for the above to be achieved, it is necessary that the Cronbach's alpha coefficient has a value greater than 0.70 (Nunnally, 1978). The coefficient values are listed in Table 4.
Table 4: Reliability analysis
Research variables Cronbach's alpha
Cultural intelligence of tourists 0.81
Cultural heritage 0.78
Choice of foreign tourist destinations 0.88
Source: Author's research
The results show that the value of coefficient for all variables is greater than 0.70, so that they are measured through adequate statements, and thus the research model is relevant. To explain the relationship between the variables, correlation analysis was applied. The results are shown in Table 5.
Table 5: Correlation matrix
Cultural intelligence of tourists Cultural heritage Choice of foreign tourist destinations
Cultural intelligence of tourists 1 0.451** 0.502**
Cultural heritage 0.451** 1 0.499**
Choice of foreign tourist destinations 0.502** 0.499** 1
Note: ** significant level 0.01 Source: Author's research
All correlation coefficients are significant at the level 0.01. Cultural intelligence oftourists (coefficient 0.502) and Cultural heritage (coefficient 0.499) represent significant determinants of the Choice offoreign tourist destinations. Also, the results show that tourists develop cultural intelligence by getting to know the cultural heritage of other countries (the value of coefficient is 0.451).
In order to examine the influence of the cultural intelligence oftourists and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations and the test research hypothesis, the SEM analysis was applied (SEM-structural equation modeling). The results are showed in Table 6.
Table 6: Testing the relationship between variables in a research model (SEM)
Hypothesis Standardized beta coefficient (ß) Statistical significance (p value)
Cultural intelligence oftourists—►Choice offoreign tourist destinations 0.385* 0.000
Cultural heritage-^Choice of foreign tourist destinations 0.297* 0.000
Source: Author's research
The results of the SEM analysis show that the cultural intelligence of tourists (P=0.385, p=0.000) and cultural heritage (P=0.297, p=0.000) have a positive statistically significant impact on the choice offoreign tourist destination, so that the research hypothesis H1 and H2 are confirmed.
When it comes to the influence of cultural intelligence oftourists and cultural heritage on the choice offoreign tourist destinations, and in order to examine the moderating influence of demographic characteristics ofthe age ofrespondents (Generation Z and Generation X) on relationships in the model of structural equations, an invariance test was performed by comparing values x2 (and corresponding degrees offreedom) for the Constrained model and Unconstrained model. The results of this analysis are shown in Table 7. The results indicate that there are statistically significant differences between the models.
Table 7: Invariance testing in models, cultural intelligence of tourists and cultural heritage -_choice of foreign tourist destination_
Overall model X2 Degrees of freedom A X2 Agl P value Invariance
Unconstrained model 2088.118 816 612.125 408 0.000 No
Constrained model 1495.58 408
Source: Author's research
After determining statistically significant differences at the model level, it is necessary to analyze the specific moderating influence that the age ofrespondents has on the relationship between the variables in the model. To this end, a test was performed that compares the regression coefficients between the structural models related to the influence of cultural intelligence oftourists an cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations by respondents which belong Generation Z (85 respondents) and Generation X (82 respondents). Jaccard and Wan (1996) state that in order to meet the basic criteria for the application of Multigroup SEM analysis, it is necessary that the minimum number of respondents per group is 75, so that in this case the condition for the application of the analysis is satisfied. The results of this analysis are shown in Table 8.
Table 8: Statistically significant differences between relationships in the structural model -
Differences between Generation Z and Generation X in terms of the impact of cultural intelligence of tourists and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations
Relationships between variables Generation Z Generation X z-value
(ß) coefficient p value (ß) coefficient p value
Cultural intelligence of tourists Choice of foreign tourist destination 0.344 0.000 0.198 0.000 -2.381*
Cultural heritages-Choice of foreign tourist destination 0.294 0.000 0.179 0.000 -2.115*
Source: Author's research
Based on the results, it can be concluded that the influence of cultural intelligence oftourists on the choice of foreign tourist destinations is more pronounced in the respondents belonging to Generation Z (P=0.344, p=0.000) compared to the respondents belonging to Generation X (=0.198, p=0.000). Furthermore, the results show that the influence of cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations is more pronounced in the respondents who belong to Generation Z (P=0.294, p=0.000) compared to the respondents belonging to Generation X (=0.179, p=0.000), so that the research hypothesis H3 is confirmed.
Discussion of results
The results showed that both variables have a positive statistically significant influence on the intention oftourists to visit a foreign destination, so that the research hypotheses H1 and H2 were confirmed. Moreover, the results showed that the influence of cultural intelligence of tourists and cultural heritage on the choice offoreign destinations is more pronounced in the respondents who belong to Generation Z compared to the respondents belonging to
Generation X, so that the research hypothesis H3 was confirmed. The study confirmed the results ofprevious research in which it was proven that the cultural intelligence oftourists is a valuable determinant of the choice of foreign destinations (Beerli-Palacio & Martin-Santana, 2018; Frias-Jamilena et al., 2018a; Koo et al., 2016; Rahman et al., 2020). The study also confirmed the results ofresearch in which it was proven that cultural heritage is a valuable determinant of the choice of foreign destinations (Bordoni, 2011; Jamhawi & Hajahjah, 2017; Shi et al., 2019; Underberg-Goode, 2014; Vareiro et al., 2020). The results of the research also showed that the choice offoreign destinations of Serbian tourists is more influenced by cultural intelligence than cultural heritage based on the data obtained by SEM analysis. Thus, it can be concluded that Serbian tourists visit cultural monuments, museums and cultural events, but the bigger motives for going to a foreign country are communication with people from other cultures, getting to know their values, beliefs, learning foreign languages and the like. The results also showed that the influence of these variables on the choice offoreign destinations is more pronounced in respondents belonging to Generation Z compared to the respondents belonging to Generation X, and similar results were obtained in previous research (Robinson & Schanzel, 2019; Yang & Lau, 2015), as well as by the authors who state that the influence of these variables is more pronounced in younger than in older respondents (Beerli-Palacio & Martin-Santana, 2018; Phau et al., 2014). At the same time, the obtained results are different in relation to studies that found that the impact of these variables is more pronounced in older people than in younger people (Sagovnovic & Kovacic, 2020; Tesin et al., 2020). Compared to the older category, young people have more information and it is easier for them to access it thanks to electronic literacy. Young people are more willing and able to adapt to other cultures when going to a destination and adapt faster than older ones. On the other hand, older people have more significant financial income than young people like students, and visiting foreign countries and touring museums, operas, and cultural events requires a certain amount of money (Phau et al., 2014). Due to the fact that the results of previous studies are contradictory when it comes to the impact of these variables on the choice of foreign tourist destinations from the aspect of demographic characteristics of age, we should be careful when drawing conclusion. It would be desirable to include diverse demographic characteristics such as education in future studies, then the results would be clearer and more complete.
5. Conclusion
The research was undertaken to explain the impact of cultural intelligence oftourists and cultural heritage on the choice offoreign tourist destinations. Research hypotheses have proven that these research variables are significant determinants of the choice of foreign tourist destinations, as well as that their impact is more pronounced in the respondents belonging to Generation Z compared to the respondents belonging to Generation X. Cultural intelligence of tourists is a relatively new concept and in foreign literature there is a very small number of works that dealt with the topic, while in domestic literature there are almost no such works, which represents the originality of this work. It should be noted that unlike previous studies that analyzed cultural intelligence as a partial determinant of the choice of foreign tourist destinations, this study applied a holistic approach by analyzing the effect of cultural heritage, which can be characterized as the main contribution ofthe paper. Scientific implications are reflected in the expansion of knowledge about the influence of cultural intelligence oftourists and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations. Managerial implications are reflected in helping marketing managers in shaping an adequate marketing strategy that should take into account the requirements and needs of tourists. Tourism service providers should include in their offer foreign destinations that have a rich cultural heritage and enable tourists to develop their cultural intelligence. The limitation of
the research is reflected in the sample size. Also, it should be noted that the demographic structure ofthe respondents in the sample deviates from the demographic structure of the population in the Republic of Serbia, which should be borne in mind when interpreting certain results and proving research hypothesis H3. If the sample were more representative, different results might be obtained. It would be useful to examine whether there are statistically significant differences in the impact ofthese variables on the choice of foreign tourist destinations from the aspect of education as a demographic characteristic. In future research, the sample should be increased and other variables should be included in the conceptual model, which may have a significant impact on the choice of foreign tourist destinations, such as natural resources (national parks, flora and fauna), tourist infrastructure (hotels and restaurants), and/or sports activities (swimming, cycling). Also, it would be interesting to undertake an empirical research in several different countries, since cross-cultural research makes it possible to compare the attitudes ofmembers of different nations, which would make the results are more interesting and comprehensive.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest. References
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Received: 3 February 2021; Sent for revision: 7 March 2021; Accepted: 23 May 2021
