Resident attribution of encounters with tourists and tourist stereotypes are two interrelated concepts, but their interactions remain unknown. To explore the triggers, content, formation and change of tourist stereotypes, attribution theory was adopted as the theoretical framework in this study. Twelve video vignettes were developed from 20 in-depth interviews with Hong Kong residents, and nine qualitied video clips were selected and validated in the pilot interview with six HK residents. The pilot interview not only helps researchers to further edit the video vignettes that will be used in the formal study, but also provides interesting preliminary results for the three proposed research questions. A comprehensive conceptual model is thus revised to delineate the interactions between a three-step resident attribution process of encounters with tourists and tourist stereotypes’ activation, application/suppression, and modification. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of this study are addressed.