Between Production and Consumption: The Tourism Service Class as ‘Cultural Intermediaries’

Tourism is a multi-billion dollar industry in the Pearl River Delta of China today. Yet little is understood of the significance of the tourism service class as ‘cultural intermediaries’ who shape the tourists’ experience as well as contribute to the branding of cities and their cultures at large. In this paper, the author examines three related questions: (1) What are the work routines, professional experiences, cultural knowledge, social discourses, and self- identities of the frontline tourism service providers (such as tour guides, hotel front desk staff, F&B staff, etc.), as provided by their own self- reflection, as well as through their interaction with colleagues in their work? (2) To what extent has their work in tourism contributed to and transformed their own cities’ cultural and symbolic value through the narratives, anecdotes, imageries, and rhetorical frameworks they provide? Additionally, how do the selected PRD cities compare and/or compete in terms of their cultural images and everyday life, as understood through the discourse of the tourism service providers? (3) How have their work and associated social practices contributed to the formation of an emerging ‘pan-Delta culture’ mediated by tourism in the broader context of rapid integration taking place in the PRD? Using qualitative methods, this cultural studies of tourism workers as ‘cultural intermediaries’ promises to provide a locus for cultural policy debates in regional tourism, contributing to the present and future discussion of broad issues of cultural interaction, synergy, and integration. The results will also have implications for tourism management and quality control issues.