Acculturation and tourist stress among US Korean immigrant leisure travelers

The global immigrant population has accelerated the need and opportunity to understand this new potential travel market. Despite a growing body of research on travel stress, attention to experiences in immigrant communities and cultural factors is scarce. Using Berry's (Applied Psychology, 46, 5-34, 1997) bidimensional acculturation model, this study examined associations between acculturation strategies and leisure travel stress among Korean immigrants (n = 294)-one of the fastest-growing major ethnic groups in the USA. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) results revealed that immigrants experienced stress across the travel stages and most often used an integration acculturation strategy. Although the overall level of stress was generally low among participants, significant acculturation differences in stress assessments were observed by travel stages and within specific stressors. In general, immigrants using either an integration or assimilation strategy reported lower stress levels than those using separation or marginalization. Implications for more effective visitor experience management and suggestions for future research with immigrant leisure travelers are also discussed.