Samuel Seongseop Kim

The influence of push and pull factors at Korean national parks.

Abstract This research examines the influence of push and pull factors on visitors to the National Parks in Korea. During the summer of 1999, 2720 visitors to six different National Parks in South Korea completed a survey instrument designed to assess their reasons for visiting the park they selected (push factors) and evaluate how well that park performed on a selected set of attributes (pull factors). The results of a factor analysis identified four push factor domains and three pull factor domains underlying respondents’ push and pull factor ratings. Additional analyses investigated differences in the push and pull factor domains for different socio-demographic subgroups; and examined the interrelationships among the push and pull factor domains. The study results hold useful implications for park managers and researchers interested in studying how push and pull factors impact tourist and visitor behaviour.

Preference and Positioning Analyses of Overseas Destinations by Mainland Chinese Outbound Pleasure Tourists

The objective of this study is to explore the competitiveness of overseas destination countries where potential Mainland Chinese outbound tourists consider making an overseas travel and the positioning of these destination countries. According to the analysis of importance of a destination’s attributes, Mainland Chinese respondents considered “safety” and “beautiful scenery” to be the most important attributes. On the basis of KYST (Kruskal, Young, Shepard, and Torgerson) analysis, Mainland Chinese respondents perceived that the country pairs of Singapore and Thailand, Japan and South Korea, and Egypt and Germany showed a similar image. Results of the alternating least-square scaling (ALSCAL) analysis provided information on the relationship of competing countries to destination attributes. The results demonstrate competitiveness of destination countries and suggest strategies for destination markets to attract more Mainland Chinese tourists.

An Integrative Model of Place Image: Exploring Relationships between Destination, Product, and Country Images

To advance place image theory, this study combines elements from two areas that have explored place image more than any others: tourism destination image (TDI) and product-country image (PCI). Key constructs from each are measured simultaneously in an Integrative Model of Place Image. The model test uses consumer survey data from South Korea to compare image measures of the United States and Japan using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that cognitive country image has greater influence on product factors than on destination factors, while affective country image has greater influence directly on receptivity than indirectly on beliefs. In addition, consumer beliefs exhibit a strong crossover effect between product beliefs and destination receptivity. Newly tested relationships point to a number of directions for future research in place image and branding, and provide empirical evidence of the need for place marketers to move toward greater integration between product- and tourism-oriented place image campaigns.

Convention industry in South Korea: an economic impact analysis

Abstract Objective of this study was to assess the economic impact of the convention industry in Korea. An input–output model was used to investigate the economic impact of the convention industry in terms of output, employment, income, value-added, and import. Considering multiplier effects, rate of exchange earnings, and substitution effect, the convention industry was compared with other major export products. According to results of this study, estimated economic impact of the convention industry was reported to be very significant to the Korean economy.

Development Characteristics and Implications of Mainland Chinese Outbound Tourism

This paper provides a thorough examination of the Mainland Chinese demand for outbound travel. It analyses the impacts of the Mainland Chinese outbound tourism market according to factors such as policy, economy and socio-political issues. The origins, destination perceptions and organization of Mainland Chinese outbound tourists are also explained, together with the negative impacts of tourism on Mainland Chinese travellers, travel agencies, national image and economic loss. Finally, the marketing policies for Mainland Chinese outbound tourism in travel agencies, government tourism offices and destinations are examined.

Conceptualizing Destination Brand Equity Dimensions from a Consumer-Based Brand Equity Perspective

ABSTRACT This study develops a conceptual framework for destination brand equity that goes beyond image by adapting and expanding a multidimensional consumer-based brand equity scale for application within a tourism context. The empirical results, based on a consumer survey in Malaysia (n = 326) measuring the brand dimensions of Korea, identify the relational linkages between four principle brand equity dimensions (brand awareness, brand image, brand associations, and brand loyalty), and overall customer-based brand equity. The importance of brand image, associations, and awareness is confirmed, and the mediating role of brand loyalty in building destination brand equity is highlighted.

Effects of News Shock on Inbound Tourist Demand Volatility in Korea

This study introduces the concepts and theories relating to conditional heteroscedastic volatility models and the news impact curve, and applies them in the analysis of the tourist market in Korea. Three volatility models are used to estimate the conditional volatility of monthly arrivals of inbound tourists into Korea, and news impact curves are examined in the context of these models. The major findings of this study include the existence of monthly seasonality in conditional mean equations, the existence of asymmetric effects from the EGARCH and TARCH models, and the persistence of the impact of news shock on monthly tourist arrivals into Korea in the estimation of the GARCH model.

Tourism, peace, politics and ideology: impacts of the Mt. Gumgang tour project in the Korean Peninsula

A number of researchers have postulated that tourism between nations that have been divided or remain hostile to each other may be a means of reducing tension and promoting peace. The Korean Peninsula has remained divided since the Korean War and tensions between the North and South remain high. In the first tangible attempt to develop meaningful relations between the North and South outside of the UN structure, the Hyundai Corporation of South Korea was given permission to build and operate a resort destination at Mt. Gumgang in North Korea. The project has not been well supported by South Korean tourists and has required significant financial assistance from the South Korean Government. The paper examines the background of the project, the issues that were the primary cause for low demand and the role of the project as a vehicle for promoting peace. The paper finds that while tourism may be a method of reducing political tension as suggested by Butler and Mao (Asia Pacific J. Tourism Res. 1(1) (1996) 25) and Yu (Asia Pacific J. Tourism Res. 2(1) (1997) 19), it may also have a darker side and inadvertently become a vehicle for inhibiting peace. Further the paper suggests that in the case of Mt. Gumgang, tourism is the consequence of a political process aimed at rapprochement, not the genesis of the process.

The Collective Effect of National Culture and Tourist Culture on Tourist Behavior

Abstract Cross-cultural understanding in tourism is a well-researched area, but in spite of great amount of time and money spent on cross-cultural training programs, this study suggests miscommunication continues to exist, caused by differences between expected and actual host or guest behavior. A gap, therefore, appears to exist between theory and practice. This article argues that much of this gap can be attributed to international tourists behaving in a manner that diverges from their expected cultural norms when they travel. They join a temporary “tourist culture” that sanctions, and indeed, encourages alternate behavior. Tourist behavior, therefore, represents a combination of national and “tourist” cultures. This proposition is tested by comparing the expected and actual behavior of Korean tourists visiting Australia. The study found that both tourists and frontline hotel staff noted that tourists behaved in a less restrained manner than expected. These findings have significant implications for cross-cultural training.

The effects of SARS on the Korean hotel industry and measures to overcome the crisis: a case study of six Korean five-star hotels.

The major objectives of this study were: (1) to discuss the impact of the SARS outbreak on the Korean hotel industry; (2) to explore how the crisis management contingency concept was implemented by the Korean hotel industry during this crisis; (3) to examine what the implications are for managers in the hotel industry. Results of this study indicate that the SARS outbreak had an adverse impact on the Korean hotel industry. During the six months affected by the SARS outbreak, the Korean hotel industry tried to minimize operating costs and offered employees education programs concerning health awareness, training and operating new hygiene equipment. This study is expected to provide lessons from the experience of the Korean hotel industry during the SARS-affected period.