Cultural intelligence and heritage impact on choosing foreign tourist destination

Stefan Zdravković^1* , Jelena Peković¹

¹PhD 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 of the 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 nasleđa na izbor inostranih turističkih destinacija

Sažetak: Usled procesa globalizacije, putovanja su postala znatno pristupačnija, tako da turisti imaju mogućnost da posete inostrane, a čak i neke egzotične destinacije. Istraživanje tržišta pomaže turističkim agencijama prilikom formulisanja marketing strategije, koja treba da privuče turiste i da obezbedi njihovu satisfakciju, što u krajnjoj instanci omogućava profit pružaocu usluge. Svrha i cilj istraživanja je da se utvrdi da li kulturalna inteligencija kao push faktor koji podrazumeva želju turista da nauče strani jezik, upoznaju druge kulture i njihove sisteme vrednosti i kulturno nasleđe kao pull faktor koji podrazumeva obilazak građevina, kulturnih spomenika drugih zemalja, ostvaruju uticaj na izbor inostranih turističkih destinacija. Takođe, u istraživanju se ispituje da li je uticaj navedenih varijabli sa aspekta demografske karakteristike starost izraženiji kod ispitanika koji pripadaju generaciji Z u odnosu na ispitanike koji pripadaju generaciji X. Uzorak obuhvata 208 ispitanika iz Republike Srbije. Nakon statističke obrade podataka, dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da varijable ostvaruju statistički značajan pozitivan uticaj na izbor inostranih turističkih destinacija, kao i da je njihov uticaj izraženiji kod ispitanika koji pripadaju generaciji Z u odnosu na ispitanike koji pripadaju generaciji X, tako da istraživanje pruža korisne informacije marketarima i turističkim agencijama.

Ključne reči: kulturalna inteligencija, kulturno nasleđe, inostrane turističke 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 of business 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 of young people, such as students and employees at the beginning of their 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 (Filipović & Šapić, 2020). Tomić and Košić (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. Seočanac 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. Saničanin 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. Zdravković and Peković (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 the impact of cultural intelligence of tourists and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign 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 of the state, and if they are of international importance, they might also be under the protection of UNESCO or other international bodies that deal with the preservation of cultural heritage at the international level (Ryan & Silvanto, 2011). 
The subject of this study is the conceptual explanation of the cultural intelligence of tourists and cultural heritage, as well as the perception of their effect on the decision of tourists 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 of tourists and cultural heritage have a statistically significant positive influence on the decision of tourists to choose foreign tourist destinations when traveling. Also, the research examines whether the influence of these 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 of foreign 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 of tourists and cultural heritage are defined and it is explained how they affect the choice of foreign 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 of tourists and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign 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 of the 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 of tourist 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 (Filipović, 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 of people 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 of tourism, and the popularization of tourism in the 20th 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 of a sample of 503 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 of other 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 of foreign 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 of nation, 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 of the 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 of the 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 of the 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.
Tešin 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. Šagovnović and Kovačić (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 tourists 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 of the cultural intelligence of tourists 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 of tourists 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 of whether 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 of tourists, 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

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

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 standard deviation)

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 of the 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

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

 Note: ** significant level 0.01
Source: Author’s research

All correlation coefficients are significant at the level 0.01. Cultural intelligence of tourists (coefficient 0.502) and Cultural heritage (coefficient 0.499) represent significant determinants of the Choice of foreign 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 of tourists 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)

Source: Author’s research

The results of the SEM analysis show that the cultural intelligence of tourists (β=0.385, p=0.000) and cultural heritage (β=0.297, p=0.000) have a positive statistically significant impact on the choice of foreign tourist destination, so that the research hypothesis H1 and H2 are confirmed.
When it comes to the influence of cultural intelligence of tourists and cultural heritage on the choice of foreign tourist destinations, and in order to examine the moderating influence of demographic characteristics of the age of respondents (Generation Z and Generation X) on relationships in the model of structural equations, an invariance test was performed by comparing values χ2 (and corresponding degrees of freedom) 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

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 of respondents 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 of tourists 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

 Source: Author’s research

Based on the results, it can be concluded that the influence of cultural intelligence of tourists on the choice of foreign tourist destinations is more pronounced in the respondents belonging to Generation Z (β=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 (β=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 of tourists 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 of foreign 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 of previous research in which it was proven that the cultural intelligence of tourists 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 of research 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 of foreign 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 of foreign 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 (Šagovnović & Kovačić, 2020; Tešin 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

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Received: 3 February 2021; Sent for revision: 7 March 2021; Accepted: 23 May 2021