Decoding southern culture and hospitality

Purpose - The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the special issue of the International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research (IJCTHR) on "Decoding southern culture and hospitality".Design methodology approach - The editorial outlines the primary objective of the IJCTHR special issue and introduces a southern tourism schema.Findings - The special issue serves as a valuable platform for new theory and research that integrates multidisciplinary perspectives in describing, explaining, predicting, and influencing culture, tourism, and hospitality in the US Southern States. This region of the USA is distinguishable from other regions by its cultural values and practices. Tourism in the US South is multi-faceted and includes destination-, ritual-, heritage-, and experiential-based attractions. The articles in the special issue touch on these various aspects of southern-based tourism and reveal its unique attributes as it relates to culture and southern hospitality.Originality value - This editorial provides an overview of the special issue and highlights key contributions of each paper.