Among the vast array of topics being subject of studies in the tourism field, there has been a general neglect in investigating the role that humour plays in tourism generally, and destination images in particular. This neglect is more noticeable when contrasted with the considerable number of studies on measuring tourists’ perceived image of physical attributes of destinations. The unique importance of humour in marketing tourism destinations has been largely overlooked by tourism academics on the one hand and tourism practitioners on the other. This thesis recognises the neglect of the role of ‘humour’ and ‘sense of humour’ (SOH) in tourism research and examines this overlooked and underexplored topic in detail. It makes a novel contribution to research on tourism and culture, and on tourism destination image (TDI). By taking a cross-cultural communication perspective and employing sociology, psychology and anthropology-oriented approaches within the field of tourism studies, the thesis focuses on the qualitative nature and the importance of the British sense of humour (BSOH) and its respective role in shaping Britishness, and British national character and national identity. It examines how BSOH, British society, and British culture contribute to Great Britain’s (GB’s) destination image and its attractiveness in tourists’ minds. In doing so, it makes an empirical contribution to our understanding of tourists’ perceived images of nations and destinations.
The thesis employs a qualitative methodology. 82 international tourists were interviewed face-to-face in capital cities of GB: London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff. The interviews were concerned with giving a deeper insight into the behaviour and reaction of tourists visiting GB and examined the role of BSOH in study participants’ images, perceptions and encounters with BSOH during their visits. The interviews were further concerned with giving a deeper insight into how BSOH might influence visitors’ thinking around GB’s social, cultural, and national identity.
The Constructive - Contemporary Grounded Theory (CCGT) analysis method employed sheds light on the reciprocal relationship between the notions of ‘humour’, ‘image’, ‘perception’, ‘mediated stereotypes’, ‘identity’, ‘language and language barriers’ and ‘experience’. By looking at these notions, the thesis goes beyond the established wisdom that physical attributes of tourism destinations are at forefront of tourists’ perceptions and imaginations of destinations. The results reveal BSOH plays a significant role in shaping national character and national identity representations of Britishness in tourists’ minds. The results further reveal the ways in which when tourists come across BSOH during their visits, how it affects their experiences and results in different types of image making, which further impacts their perceptions of British cultural and national identity and additionally contributes to the attractiveness of GB as a tourism destination
