Intercultural Competence Development Through Tourism: A Study of Czech Visitors to France

This study examines international travel as a context for informal intercultural learning and the development of intercultural competence, aligning with the broader goals of training and development. Using the Cross‐Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI), this research assesses changes in four dimensions—Emotional Resilience, Flexibility/Openness, Perceptual Acuity, and Personal Autonomy—among Czech tourists before and after a 2‐week guided cultural experience in France. A longitudinal design involving 120 participants and Wilcoxon signed‐rank tests revealed statistically significant improvement in the Flexibility/Openness dimension. These findings suggest that structured travel experiences may foster greater openness and receptivity to cultural differences, representing a partial yet meaningful enhancement of intercultural competence. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on experiential learning in tourism and offers nuanced implications for intercultural training, particularly regarding how short‐term international experiences can serve as informal opportunities for developing selected facets of intercultural competence.