Expectation vs. Reality

When I first came to Jordan, there was several thoughts in my head; mixed feelings between anxiety, curiosity and excitement. One of the main thoughts that I kept thinking about is the chance of meeting local people and being able to listen to their stories. However, the reality does not fit into the story; the local people were refraining from having interactions with tourists. When I tried to make conversation with them, they only answer me in Arabic, thus, language barrier serves as an obstacle as well.

One of the shops in Madaba

I felt a little bit disappointed, for not being able to have significant conversation with the locals, even though they had been very welcoming and friendly to us; the tourists. This example is related to the theory of tourism expectation. Tourism expectation determines "performance perceptions" of products, services and experiences, as explained by Gnoth (1997). In this case, I expected a certain kind of behavior to be performed by the locals, in order to better understand their opinions and ways of thinking. The failure to fulfill my initial motivation thus influences my satisfaction formation. This is in line with the argument posed by Gnoth (1997).

Even though it was dissatisfying at first, the attitudes and hospitality of the locals has fascinated me. The language barrier did not stop them from being nice to the tourists. The attitudes of the Jordanians make me realize that we do not necessarily need to know the spoken language to show any kind hospitality. It shows me that although my initial expectation shaped the way I experience the encounters in the destination, there are still other cultural, social and situational conditions that can influence my perception on the site. Therefore, restating Gnoth’s (1997) argument, it is important to note that the impact of motivational reasons should be guided by value systems covering all aspects of the tourism life domain, including emotions and hospitality.

One of the people who helped our friend to put on the Keffiyeh

The strangers we met during our visit

References:

Gnoth, J. (1997). Tourism motivation and expectation formation. Annals of Tourism research, 24(2), 283-304.