Editor's note: Andrew Erlich, Ph.D., is president of Erlich Transcultural Consultants, a research firm based in Woodland Hills, Calif.

The most important action in the renowned Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's plays occurs at dusk or dawn - the transition between light and dark, the place where night and day meet.

We are living in an exciting in-between time of profound demographic and cultural change. Every aspect of our society, from our schools to our workforce, will be affected. In all the markets available, there are few that will be as dramatically affected by transcultural marketing as travel and tourism.

Asians and Latinos typically have deep off-shore roots. Their sense of family and community consists of more than a small geographic area, as a look at a typical domestic and international long-distance bill attests. Our studies and experience have shown us that Latinos and Asians have friends and family throughout the United States and the entire world whom they treasure and want to visit. Their social and business networks are equally far-reaching.

For example, one recent travel study we conducted showed that among a particular Asian group living in Los Angeles: 

  •  80 percent had flown in the past five years;
  • 70 percent had flown to Asia in the past five years;
  • 90 percent planned to fly somewhere in the near future; and
  • 61 percent have done both, i.e., flown at least once in the past five years, and plan to fly again in the very near future.

Native-language marketing is key

When you market to these populations, in-language (i.e., in their native language) marketing and cultural understanding are the keys to success. Currently, more than 80 percent of Latinos in the country speak Spanish at home. The proportions are similar for Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese. Language is a key to marketing even with Japanese and Filipinos, groups that have much higher proportions of English speakers. The profound growth for these populations predicted by the 1990 census will come mostly from immigration. Because of this, these groups will continue to be steeped in their own languages and cultures.

As these populations grow, we will also see continuing manifestations of ethnic pride as expressions of individual identity. An example of this phenomenon is banda music, which is all the rage with Latino young people in Los Angeles. You can hear it on Spanish-language radio station KLAX. This programming helped to make this the No. 1-rated radio station in the L.A. market in the last four consecutive rating periods - that is, the No. 1 station even when all English-language stations are included. (Howard Stern, eat your heart out!) Latino adolescents and adults love to listen to this combination of Norteno, country-western music and corridos, and dance La Quebradita wearing their banda outfits - tight jeans, cowboy hats and boots, handkerchiefs sticking out of one back pocket and a leather key chain with the name of the Mexican city or state they are from sticking out of the other. (Norteno music refers to music associated with northern Mexico; corridos are ballads that were sung during the Mexican Revolution. They are narratives that may related to specific cities or places.)

Other manifestations of this ethnic pride are the frequently seen bumper sticker saying Yo [heart symbol) ("I love") followed by the name of some city or town in Latin America. This ethnic pride is also common in the Chinese community, where young ABCs (American-Born Chinese) are sent by their families or go back to Hong Kong or Taiwan to learn Chinese and be exposed to Chinese culture.

This growing ethnic pride will result in increased international travel. Latinos and Asians will want to visit their own or their ancestors' homelands in Latin America, Spain and Asia. Many of these travelers have traditionally identified with, traveled exclusively on and, to a great extent, been taken for granted by, their own national airlines. They will look elsewhere for a carrier and will switch if they are provided with in-language, culturally sensitive services at competitive prices. Thus an important strategic marketing question will be why and when the traditionally loyal Latino and Asian passenger changes carrier.

Another key marketing issue will be what, exactly, do Asian and Latino travelers expect in terms of service, and how do culture and other preconceptions affect these expectations?

Business travelers important, too

The number of Latino and Asian business travelers has been growing and will continue to grow in importance for travel industry revenue. An excellent example of that is what the Chinese refer to as "astronauts," or tai kong ren, in Mandarin. These are Chinese men, typically with businesses in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and wives and children in the United Sates or Canada. Besides the fact that these men spend so much time in the air that they are like astronauts, the sound of the Mandarin word is very similar to the word meaning "without wife." The Chinese love to make such funny associations of the sounds and meanings of words.

Despite whatever changes come in 1997 with the new status of Hong Kong, that city will remain exceedingly important for businesspeople. Deng Xiao Ping's successor will play an important role, but, as can be seen from the level of investment in Guang Dong province in the Special Economic Zones and throughout mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, these will continue to be key areas for businesspeople As one Hong Kong businessman recently said, "In Peking, they are adept at making laws, and we in Hong Kong are adept at interpreting them."

After the events in Tienanmen Square, some 45,000 to 50,000 Chinese students were granted special status in the United States under the Chinese Students Protection Act, and will be granted permanent residence at the end of 1993. As a result, overseas travel will be greatly facilitated and will dramatically increase, especially between the United States and China.

Many of these students have not been back to China for 10 years and many are now involved in businesses that require international travel. One of these students is now an Asian supervisor in my office.

Another indication of the present and future growth of international business travel is the recently passed North American Free Trade Agreement, which will undoubtedly boost travel between the United States and Mexico. I often work in Mexico and over the past several years I've seen dramatic changes not only in Mexican business and the development of infrastructure but also in the attitudes of many U.S. companies that had previously been skeptical of involvement there. For proof, simply track the movement of many U.S. businesses to the Southwest. In the future, you will see more and more businesses moving to the border corridor (e.g., Southwestern Bell's move to San Antonio, Texas).

We are also seeing Asian population growth in the Southwest. We recently conducted a study in Houston of Latinos, Mandarin Chinese and Koreans. This population shift can be explained to some extent by depressed real estate values, but it also relates to Asians going where there is the promise of present and future commerce.

Asian businesspeople do travel and will continue to travel to Latin America. As an aside, you may be familiar with Mexican President Salinas' modernization of Mexico, or "Salinastroika." Does it come as a surprise to you that he is a student of Japanese culture, fluent in Japanese and that he sends his children to a Japanese school? Salinas, an architect of world trade, seems to realize the importance of transcultural awareness.

Growing market means new products

The profound growth to the Latino and Asian markets will also require the development of new travel products. For example, this month Fiesta Marina Co., a division of the profitable Carnival Cruise Corp., will launch the Fiesta Marina, the world's first ship catering exclusively to Spanish speakers on a year-round basis. According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, Carnival President Robert Dickenson said the firm's Latin business had increased threefold in the past five years. "It's ready, we think, to explode," Dickenson said. Five percent of the 1 million guests Carnival now carries annually are Spanish speakers from the United States, Latin America and Spain. Carnival believes these Latino passengers are more affluent than their typical passenger.

Besides going after the general market in Latin America and Spain, in a unique move the cruise ship company is going directly after the U.S. Latino market. The Fiesta Marina will feature a Spanish-speaking crew and Spanish language entertainment. Besides North American food, guests will be able to dine on cuisine from Mexico, Cuba, South America and Spain. Spanish-language brochures will be available to market this endeavor.

Asians love Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a favorite destination for Asians, and the lure of that city can shed light on the need for culturally sensitive marketing. Caesar's Palace has already developed a theme-park-like shopping area and is considering other "themed" attractions; The Mirage has opened a permanent home for le Cirque du Soleil, a unique, non-verbal international circus that draws huge numbers of Asians - who face no language barriers for this entertainment.

Las Vegas promoters also know that the Japanese love theme parks like Disneyland and that many of them love golf. With the opening of MGM's theme park, Treasure Island, and several more golf facilities in the works, we should see a new boom in Japanese visits to that gambling oasis. Japanese tourism will also grow as Japan recovers from its recent recession and the yen gains value against the dollar.

Chinese from Taiwan and Hong Kong are drawn to Las Vegas because they love to gamble. It doesn't matter if they are poor or rich, the motivation for the majority of those who visit Las Vegas to gamble is the same - when they go to Las Vegas to gamble, they go with the mindset of winning a fortune. Now you can begin to understand the intensity in the casino air as you pass those rows and rows of Pai Gow tables. Las Vegas is also extremely popular with Koreans.

We are in an exciting time of transition, which is likely to last for some time. This transition is a golden opportunity for market researchers to explore new avenues, both at home and abroad.