A cross-cultural study on casino guests as perceived by casino employees

Abstract

The casino industry for foreign visitors has been used as a tool of economic development in Korea. The objective of the current study was to examine cultural elements of the interaction between casino workers and guests at Korea's largest casino, the Walker Hill Casino located in Seoul. The guests were grouped into five major cultural groups: Japanese, Korean residents abroad, Chinese (Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong Chinese), Westerners (US citizens and Europeans), and others (mainly Sri Lankan, Philippine, Bangladeshi, Thai and Malaysian). Based on casino employees' perceptions significant differences were observed on all 28 items of behaviours of casino customers from the five cultural groupings. As a result, it is apparent that cultural differences will have a range of implications for management including marketing, training of staff and service provision for guests.