A paradigmatic discussion for the study of immigrant hosts

Personal relationships play a substantial part of many tourism trips, commonly referred to as visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism, yet despite the high volume of VFR it is a relatively under researched subject, receiving little attention from tourism practitioners. Immigration and VFR travel patterns are linked, and the study of immigrants who host visiting friends and relatives has implications for integration, community development, and destination marketing. This paper offers a discussion on the paradigmatic considerations of approaching research on this topic, drawing from literature on VFR, immigrant integration and leisure. The paper ultimately proposes that a constructionist approach would be most beneficial at this point of the topic development because of the unknown and highly contextual nature of the experience.