The Influence of a TV Drama on Visitors’ Perception: A Cross-Cultural Study

The goal of this study is to assess the effects the Korean food featured on the Korean TV drama series Daeganggeum has on the perceptions of national image and intention to visit Korea by residents of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand. Estimates of structural equation models are used for samples from the three countries to produce information for comparing relationships between variables: on preferring Korean food, the national image of Korea, and the intention to visit Korea for food tourism. The results show similarities and differences between the three national groups. Virtually identical models are found for Hong Kong and Taiwan groups. However, the comparison of Hong Kong and Taiwan groups to the Thailand group demonstrate differences. Specifically, in the Thai sample, distinctiveness of Korean food culture significantly increases the intention to visit Korea for food tourism. All three national groups demonstrate that a strong relationship exists between the national image of Korea and the intention to visit Korea for food tourism.     

Factors Affecting Outbound Tourists' Destination Choice: The Case of Hong Kong

Trip expenditure, length of stay during the trip, size of the travel party, monthly household income, discovering new places and/or things, and getting away from daily routine, role, obligation, stress and troubles have significant influence on Hong Kong residents' destination choice. Hong Kong residents' destination choice is highly associated with trip characteristic in comparison to socio-demographics and travel motivation factors. Destinations close to Hong Kong can focus on packaging their products with shorter trip lengths and making the packages attractive to travel companions in addition to the travelers. Destinations that are relatively far away from Hong Kong should focus on packaging their products to attract the Hong Kong outbound travelers with longer trip lengths and plan activities that cater to individual needs.     

Mainland Chinese residents' perceptions and motivations of visiting Hong Kong: Evidence from focus group interviews

Focus groups were employed to identify Mainland Chinese residents' perceptions, motivations and perceived behavioral inhibitors of visiting Hong Kong. Three group discussions were conducted in Beijing and two groups in Guangzhou, with a total of 36 participants. Results showed that Mainland Chinese residents perceived Hong Kong mainly as a shopping destination. Accordingly, their most prominent visitation motivation to Hong Kong was shopping. Other motivations identified from the group interviews were knowledge enhancement, curiosity, family togetherness and kinship enhancement, sightseeing, experiencing different culture and lifestyle, and visiting friends and relatives. In addition to time and money as the most salient perceived behavioral inhibitors, language, complexity of getting travel documents, and improper accommodation supplies were perceived as inhibiting factors for Mainland Chinese residents to visit Hong Kong. Based on the results, implications on destination management and marketing were discussed.     

Motion Picture-Induced Visual,Vocal and Celebrity Effects on Tourism Motivation: Stimulus Organism Response Model

Motion pictures play a predominant role in enhancing the consumers' awareness of tourism destinations and inspiring their motivation to visit destinations. “Hallyu” (Korean Wave), a platform of Korean cultural exports, has altered the Korean tourism industry and now attracts travelers from around the world. Utilizing the popularity of the Korean Wave, the Korean Tourism Organization promotes Korean tourism attractions through motions pictures, including Korean films, television drama series, music and K-pop. The visual, vocal and celebrity effects which emanate from Korean motion pictures are expected to influence travelers' intent to visit and actual visitation. A questionnaire was distributed to Thai travelers and a total of 191 valid questionnaires were analyzed using regression analysis. The results indicate that visual and vocal effects emanating from Korean motion pictures fueled travelers' intention to visit Korea and explore Korean culture and tourism attractions. However, the results indicate no significant effect of celebrity endorsements on travelers' intentions.     

From branded exports to traveler imports: Building destination image on the factory floor in South Korea

In international marketing, it is believed that a positive image of an exporting country positively influences consumer behavior toward products from that country. An emerging notion is that a reverse effect may exist in which positive evaluations of products lead to equally positive image of the origin country. Based on a sample of 500 American purchasers of South Korean products the relationship between product purchasing and intention to visit is explored using SEM in a model that links product evaluation with an intention to visit. The study confirmed that consumers' willingness to interact with South Korea based on past product purchasing was a significant indicator of their intentions to visit the country.     

The Impacts of Mass Media on Organic Destination Image: A Case Study of Singapore

The shaping of organic destination image received limited investigation though it is an important factor influencing destination image and tourist's intention to travel. This study explores the impacts of mass media on shaping the organic destination image of tourism destinations. The organic destination images of Singapore in the views of Hong Kong residents were explored. This study explores the consumers' subconscious awareness of Singapore, and identifies that organic destination images are the outcome of readers' assimilation of material from newspapers, publications and books. The findings also demonstrate the process underlying the changes of organic destination images due to the information feeding of mass media. The findings indicate the importance for destination marketing organizations to monitor the new reports related to the destination in its main tourist origin countries/regions, and strategically deploy their marketing efforts to leverage the impacts of positive news reports, minimize the negative influence of unfavorable news.     

Does a Food-themed TV Drama Affect Perceptions of National Image and Intention to Visit a Country? An Empirical Study of Korea TV Drama

A Korean TV drama series (Daejanggeum), with a story line focusing on Korean food, was exported to over 50 countries resulting in a surprisingly popular mega-hit. The popularity of this TV drama, transcended across countries and cultural boundaries, has brought an enhancement to the national image of Korea or national brand, and led to a surge in sales of Korean industrial products, as well as an increased interest in Korean tourism resources. This study attempted to empirically investigate the effects of the TV drama series on the national image and intention to visit Korea as perceived by Chinese diners. Interestingly, the “peculiarity of Korean culture” was a main reason for preferring Korean cuisine, which positively affected the perception of the national image and the intention to visit Korea to partake in food tourism. Further, this study suggests that future studies are needed to compare the results of this research according to national, ethnic, regional, or religious boundaries. The comparison of other ethnic groups will be helpful for establishing different marketing strategies according to the different cohorts with different consumption patterns.     

ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF INTERNET HOTEL MARKETING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Despite the continuously increasing number of published work on the use of the Internet in tourism and hospitality literature, little has been written specifically on issues faced by hoteliers in developing countries and how they could learn from other successful practices. Indeed, analyzing the well performing destinations would provide useful insights for hoteliers in less performing counterparts around the world so as to better exploit the advantages of Internet technologies within their own constraints. Using Northern Cyprus and Hong Kong as examples, this study attempts first to find out the typical issues and usage of Internet marketing in a less developed tourist destination—Northern Cyprus, and compare the Internet‐related practices carried out by hotels in another well developed tourist destination—Hong Kong. A set of self‐administered questionnaires were mailed to members of major hotel associations in both locations. Results revealed that hoteliers in Hong Kong used the services of professionals in designing their websites and launched their websites before their Cypriot counterparts. A discussion of the findings, implications, and limitations are also given.     

The comparative analysis of Hong Kong as an international conference destination in Southeast Asia

The purpose of this study was to analyze the competitiveness of Hong Kong as an international conference destination in Southeast Asia. Survey questionnaires were sent to the conference end-users, organizers, and venues in Hong Kong and Singapore to study the limitation of holding a large conference in Hong Kong, and the importance and satisfaction of site selection criteria for holding conferences in Hong Kong and Singapore. The pair mean t test was used to compare satisfaction differences on the selection criteria in Hong Kong and Singapore. The ANOVA analysis was conducted to identify the selection criteria perceived differently by end-users, organizers and venues. The finding showed that Hong Kong was perceived as less competitive than Singapore as an international conference destination. The study suggested that Hong Kong must overcome its weaknesses and develop competitive advantages to maintain itself as an ideal international conference destination in Southeast Asia.     

Tourist stereotype content: Dimensions and accessibility

Stereotyping tourists is a common practice by hosts to deal with large numbers of culturally different tourists, while research on tourist stereotypes remains limited. Two studies were conducted herein to explore and assess the content and common dimensions of stereotypes shared across tourist groups. Study 1 collected 234 responses from Hong Kong residents to an online repertory grid test. Three dimensions were extracted by a conjunction of multidimensional scaling and content analyses – Civility, Travel Behaviour, and Economic Power. Study 2 collected 97 tourist-host interaction stories from 20 Hong Kong residents. A narrative analysis not only validated the tri-dimension identified by Study 1, but also assessed each dimension's accessibility and predictability by examining residents' emotional and behavioural responses.     

旅游市场客源结构的SSM分析——以上海市海外游客市场为例

转移-份额分析法是考察区域经济结构极其重要的一种方法.客源市场结构变化是旅游目的地发展战略制定的主要影响因素.基于海外游客市场结构的SSM分析,发现上海海外客源市场中,日、韩、德、加、泰及澳大利亚等市场结构份额比较稳定,港澳台地区及马、菲等市场呈现结构份额下降趋势,美、英、新等市场结构份额呈上升趋势;港台地区和美、英、德、新、俄市场竞争潜力较强;澳门地区及马、韩市场竞争潜力呈现弱化趋势,应引起上海乃至中国拓展海外旅游市场营销的关注.     

Customer Satisfaction with Korean Restaurants in Australia and Their Role as Ambassadors for Tourism Marketing

This is the first study to explore the connection between Australian residents’ satisfaction with Korean cuisine, the various characteristics of the restaurant experience, and Australians’ intention to visit Korea. Data was collected from customers of 16 Korean restaurants in the state of Queensland, Australia. While four factors (facility, menu, service, and food) were derived as selection attributes, menu factors had the most positive effect on customer satisfaction. The study found a positive correlation between satisfaction with local Korean food and the propensity of diners to think about visiting Korea. The results of this study can be used to enhance competitiveness and tourist marketing for Korea. The results reported here may have a broader application to provide effective managerial and marketing information to many other ethnic restaurants in Australia and beyond.     

Image,satisfaction, destination and product post-visit behaviours: How do they relate in emerging destinations?

This study proposes a conceptual model that sheds light on how the destination image of emerging tourist destinations relates to tourism satisfaction and intention to subsequently recommend the place and purchase its products. Destination image is studied through three components – cognitive, affective, and unique. Unique image has been overlooked in previous research and few studies focus on its measurement. This study uses a new method of measuring it through text-mining of user-generated blog posts. Findings from a sample of 314 foreign visitors to Sofia, Bulgaria, reveal that the affective image influences tourist satisfaction and post-visit behaviour; the cognitive component has a significant effect on all the constructs, except for tourist satisfaction, whereas unique image only influences the intention to recommend and purchase destination country products. Joining together two streams of research, this study also argues that the intention to recommend a destination spot influences the intention to buy its products.     

Importance of residents’ perception of tourists in establishing a reciprocal resident-tourist relationship: An application of tourist attractiveness

This study was guided by the notion of tourist attractiveness to understand residents' perception of tourists in establishing a reciprocal resident-tourist relationship. To explore the concept of reciprocity and how it is associated with tourist attractiveness, this study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed-method approach in the context of Chinese tourists visiting Jeju Island, South Korea. Findings from semi-structured interviews indicate that residents' perception of reciprocity can be conceptualized and measured through the constructs of resident satisfaction and resident commitment. Further, structural equation modeling found that residents are more satisfied and likely to be committed to the relationship with tourists when these visitors are perceived as attractive partners. The results demonstrate a mechanism for explaining how the residents’ perceptions of tourists influence their satisfaction with tourists and intention to host, market, or attract them again in the future.     

Influence of popular culture on special interest tourists' destination image

In this study the role of pop-culture on shaping destination image was derived from focus groups and interviews with 24 fans from different nationalities of the Korean pop star Ahn Jae-wook. Three main theses emerged from the study: 1) the destination image induced by pop-culture was changed in a positive way; 2) the pop-star's event reinforced a positive place image through experiences of the event and travels in South Korea; and 3) the positive image from pop-culture experiences had a strong impact on future behavior. Results of the study suggest that pop-culture as an autonomous agent delivers a more powerful and stronger influence on destination image than previously recognized in the literature. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.     

Perceptual content analysis for city image: a case study of Hong Kong

This paper presents a case study investigating the most salient impressions and unique attractions of Hong Kong, perceived by government officials, inbound visitors and local residents. The study utilizes neural network analytical content analysis as a tool to understand the shared and disparate images and perceptions of the uniqueness of Hong Kong by quantifying the occurrence of open-ended self-reported textual answers by the respondents. The clustering of the answers and perceptual mapping confirms that the stakeholder groups think of Hong Kong as a conventional tourist destination and as a cosmopolitan metropolis. This strong stereotype, which displays an obvious knowledge gap between visitors and residents, as well as inter-group discrepancies, has created obstacles to innovating Hong Kong's image and branding.     

Destination Image of Taiwan From the Perspective of Hong Kong Residents: Revisiting Structural Relationships Between Destination Image Attributes and Behavioral Intention

Destination image plays an important role in how tourists make their travel and purchase decisions. This study examines the perceived image of Taiwan as a travel destination from the perspective of Hong Kong residents. The Hong Kong outbound tourism market is important for Taiwan. Using a self-completed questionnaire, this research examines the destination image of Taiwan among 213 Hong Kong residents. The results indicate that affective image is a stronger predictor of travel intention than cognitive image. Affective image also plays a mediating role in the relationship between cognitive image and behavioral intention. Hence, affective image is an important intangible quality for today’s destinations.     

Government websites for promoting East Asian culinary tourism: A cross-national analysis

The content of government tourism websites is very important for promoting a tourist destination's exciting cuisine and food culture. These websites help to shape a country's, region's or locality's culinary-cultural image; they create a virtual experience for culinary tourists. This study explores the contents of the cuisine and gastronomy websites of Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, analyzing the techniques used to introduce and promote these East Asian tourist destinations' cuisine and food culture. Specifically, the researchers examined the capacity of government websites to introduce and advertise traditional and local foods, restaurants, gastronomic tours, recipes and culinary cultures (including table manners and other dining customs). They also looked more generally at culinary tourism marketing strategies, including the use of restaurant guides and certifications.     

Projected Images of Major Chinese Outbound Destinations

This study aimed to explore the projected images of major outbound destinations based on popular travel magazines in China. Travel articles on Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan from 2006 to 2008 were content analyzed. Japan was reported on most, and the projected images of the six destinations are dominated by leisure and recreation, and culture, history and art. Correspondence analysis was used to examine relationships between destinations and popular image attributes. The results showed that South Korea and Macau had distinct projected images, whereas Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam shared many similar image attributes. Practical implications for destination marketing organizations are provided.     

Residents' Participation in Events,Events Image,and Destination Image: A Correspondence Analysis

The Algarve, the most renowned Portuguese destination, is usually associated with its main tourist product, sun and beach. In 2007, the Portuguese government launched a program of events called Allgarve, intending to reposition the destination image. Conceived from the tourists' perspective, the Allgarve program was not initially welcomed by residents. Based on data from 384 questionnaires applied to residents in the region, this study examines the dimensions of the Algarve image and the Allgarve image, and shows how participation in Allgarve events is affecting both. The conclusions from this study reinforce the relevance of residents' participation in events in supporting repositioning strategies of a destination image.