Cultural complexity and situated mediation: Chinese visitors at Port Arthur historic site

The tourism industry and research community are cognizant of the importance of mediation in creating desirable tourist experiences. This paper argues that the mediation process should not be general but needs to be situated, that is a tourism mediator must take into account the nature of the tourist product, the specific social and environmental circumstances of consumption, the background of tourists and the inter-personal dynamics during the activity. Focusing on Chinese visitors, this study uses a cultural complexity frame that understands culture as a resource for members to express, control and navigate diverse situations and encounters to understand how experiences are dynamically shaped in diverse circumstances. Based on fieldwork at a British colonial convict heritage site – Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasmania, Australia – this study contributes to the understanding of using culture as a pool of productive resource in the mediation of the Chinese tourist experience.