When Nations “Clash” but Tourists Travel: Understanding Hospitality Orientation towards Inbound Tourists during Strained Bilateral Geopolitical Relations

Tafadzwa Matiza

doi:10.58683/sp.2162

Published : 2026-05-22

Vol. 49 No. 1 (2026)

When Nations “Clash” but Tourists Travel: Understanding Hospitality Orientation towards Inbound Tourists during Strained Bilateral Geopolitical Relations

Tafadzwa Matiza

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4084-8906

DOI: https://doi.org/10.58683/sp.2162

Abstract

The study addresses the little-researched problem of how national animosity generated during a geopolitical conflict affects attitudes of residents of a receiving country towards tourists from a country perceived as antagonistic. Drawing on the theoretical assumptions of an extended Stimulus-Organism-Response (e-S-O-R) model, the author analyses a PLS-SEM model of South African residents’ hospitality orientation during strained bilateral geopolitical relations with the USA. The model was used to test a number of hypotheses based on data collected from a sample of 494 South African residents. It was found that national animosity reported by respondents towards the USA undermined their perceptions of this country’s image and heightened their sense of socio-psychological risk, which in turn influenced respondents’ hospitality orientation towards American tourists in the context of strained bilateral geopolitical relations. Moreover, the mediated relationship between national animosity and residents’ hospitality orientation validated the e-S-O-R. The study contributes to the understanding of residents’ behaviour, while providing tourism and international relations (diplomacy) practitioners with critical insights into resident-tourist relations during a bilateral geopolitical conflict.

Keywords:

bilateral relations, country image, geopolitics, nation animosity, resident hospitality, risk perceptions

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Matiza, T. (2026). When Nations “Clash” but Tourists Travel: Understanding Hospitality Orientation towards Inbound Tourists during Strained Bilateral Geopolitical Relations. Studia Periegetica, 49(1), 2162. https://doi.org/10.58683/sp.2162

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