Tourism and understanding: The case of Japanese tourists in Singapore — revisited.

"International tourism has often been hailed as an instrument of international understanding, for in the movement of people from one land and culture to another, what can result but increased contact and interpersonal communication between people who might otherwise only have stereotypes of each other” (Hassan 1975). The above is the opening sentence of an article published a quarter of a century ago that went on to conclude that tourism was not living up to its promise as a conduit to intercultural communication and understanding. This article revisits Hassan's (1975) research and finds that progress has been made in crafting tourism products that today offer hope for the industry to fulfil its promise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]