* Corresponding author. Tel.: #61-754-601387; fax: #61-754- 601171. E-mail address: b.prideaux@mailbox.uq.edu.au (H. Master). Tourism Management 21 (2000) 445}449 Culture and vacation satisfaction: a study of Taiwanese tourists in South East Queensland Hoda Master*, Bruce Prideaux The Department of Hospitality Tourism and Property Management, The University of Queensland, Lawes, QLD 4345, Australia Received 1 July 1998; accepted 12 December 1998 Abstract Taiwan has been targeted as one Asian market with the potential to supply large numbers of tourists to Australia however, after a promising start in the "rst half of the 1990s growth in this market ceased. This paper examines the role of material culture in determining visitor satisfaction amongst Taiwanese tourists. One hundred and "fty Taiwanese tourists travelling on inclusive tours were surveyed in South East Queensland. The major "ndings were that most Taiwanese respondents believed that culture did not play a major role in determining their satisfaction levels and they expressed a high level of satisfaction with their visit. The implications of these "ndings are that, while Taiwanese culture is important to the Taiwanese visitor in a holiday situation, they are tolerant of cross-cultural di!erences and therefore do not evaluate their vacation based on these di!erences.  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Culture; Taiwanese; Australia; Visitor satisfaction 1. Introduction The aim of the research reported on in this article was to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if there was a signi"cant relationship between material culture and the level of holiday satisfaction of Taiwanese tourists visiting South East Queensland. Rather than take an all-inclusive de"nition of culture, the study fo- cused on the material aspects of culture such as cuisine, shopping habits, language and accommodation prefer- ences. The need for such research has arisen because of the paucity of knowledge of the Taiwanese market by Australia's tourism industry in spite of rapid growth of Taiwanese inbound tourism into Australia in the period 1990 (25,000 visitors) to 1995 (152,000 visitors). Based on the "ndings of the research it appears that di!erences in material culture between Taiwanese visitors and their Australian hosts had little e!ect on overall levels of visitor satisfaction. 2. Research issues Taiwan can be characterised as a traditional society in#uenced by Confucian values. Australia, on the other hand, is predominantly an Anglo-Saxon society exhibi- ting many aspects of mass culture found in other western societies such as the USA, UK, and Canada. One of the major di!erences between the two cultures is the empha- sis given to the role of the individual and society. Taiwan is highly collectivist and group orientated thus the group comes before the individual, a common feature of socie- ties that embrace Confucian values. Australian society, on the other hand, is individualistic with a focus on the individual's right to independence, self-reliance and self- assertion (Reisinger & Turner, 1997a). Di!erences in culture may in#uence tourist's enjoy- ment of a holiday experience (Mill & Morrison, 1985). For example, where there is a lack of knowledge by the host and the visitor of each other's culture, misunder- standings and complications may arise. Despite the ap- parent potential of the Taiwanese tourism market, little systematic research has been conducted to "ll the sub- stantial gaps that exist in Australian marketers' know- ledge of Taiwanese tourists, particularly in the area of possible cross-cultural barriers encountered by 0261-5177/00/$ - see front matter  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 2 6 1 - 5 1 7 7 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 1 0 0 - 4