An Examination of the Elements of Cultural Competence and Their Impact on Tourism Services: Case Study in Quintana Roo, Mexico

Economic transformations in emerging countries have resulted in an increase in the volume of international travellers from diverse geographical regions. In the tourism sector, service providers must possess cultural competencies that foster a flexible and appropriate attitude, which in turn affects the perception of service. The present study aims to shed light on the motivational factors and cultural behaviours that influence intercultural empathy among staff working in the tourism sector in Quintana Roo. To this end, a comprehensive literature review has been conducted, during which the variables have been validated, and a quantitative study has been undertaken, employing multivariate analysis through a Multiple Correspondence Analysis and inferential statistics with an Ordinal Logistic Regression. The findings of this study demonstrate a positive correlation between motivation and cultural behaviour, which is contingent on experience and age, and its impact on empathy in understanding and meeting the diverse needs of tourists. Cultural motivation is defined as the interest in learning and interacting in multicultural situations, and its impact on behaviour is reflected in appropriate personal management for effective cultural interactions. The probabilities estimated by ordinal logistic regression models of consistently or predominantly exhibiting intercultural empathy increase with age and experience for the most significant variables obtained by the Multiple Correspondence Analysis. The pilot test was conducted with 35 workers in the tourism sector to evaluate the reliability of the instrument in various tourist destinations in the Mexican Republic. The subsequent sample comprised 4- and 5-star hotels located in Cancun, Quintana Roo, specifically in the municipality of Benito Juárez. A total of 84 questionnaires were administered, of which 77 were deemed valid. These questionnaires were administered to individuals who performed functions related to international tourism service during the second semester of 2019.