Youngjoon Choi

Examining the Role of Emotional and Functional Values in Festival Evaluation

This study aimed to identify the antecedents of emotional and functional values of festival participation. At the same time, it investigated the relative contribution of emotional and functional values to satisfaction levels and behavioral intentions. Structural equation modeling suggested that festival programs and convenient facilities positively influenced both functional and emotional values, whereas a natural environment positively affected only emotional value. The festival program contributed more to emotional value than to functional value, whereas a convenient facility was more associated with functional value. Emotional value contributed more strongly to both festival satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The findings are expected to aid in our understanding of visitors’ perceptions of festivals, so that they can be better managed and designed in the future.

Understanding the Sources of Online Travel Information

Given that online travel media enable multilateral communication patterns in destination marketing, this study investigates technical attributes presenting the number and type of source-related visual cues. From a technological perspective, the sources of online travel information can be conceptualized in terms of specialization, endorsement, and other users’ star rating to reflect technological functions and psychological effects. An experiment with a 2 (specialization: a generalist website vs. a specialist website) × 2 (endorsement: absence vs. presence) × 3 (star rating: low vs. medium vs. high) factorial between-subjects design was conducted to test the relationships between source-related visual cues, cue-induced perceptions, information credibility, and destination images. This study found that each source-related visual cue produced distinctive psychological effects on a tourist’s perceptions. Furthermore, these cue-induced perceptions were influential to tourists’ judgment of information credibility, which was positively related to destination images and behavioral intention.

The constraints of Chinese tourists to visit Korea caused by THAAD using Q-methodology

ABSTRACT The recent deployment of the THAAD system to South Korea has resulted in complex and controversial issues, particularly in the political, diplomatic, and economic relations between Korea and China [Perlez, J. (2017, May 31). China woos South Korea’s new leader, but the U.S. left behind a spoiler. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/world/asia/china-south-korea-xi-jinping-moon-jaein-thaad.html?_r=0]. To minimize its negative impact on international tourism, the underlying psychological mechanisms of Chinese tourists associated with this complex political issue should be determined. As an attempt to resolve the current crisis, this study identified the subjective characteristics of Chinese tourists who cancelled visits to Korea using Q-methodology and classified Chinese tourists’ attitude towards the THAAD issue. Based on respondent’s evaluations on Q-sample statements, four types of Chinese tourists were articulated, namely, patriotism, risk awareness, external dependency, and Lotte sanctions. By delving into tourists’ subjectivity, Q-methodology seems powerful to elicit intrapersonal constraints, which are deeply embedded in an individual’s psychological state. The results showed that the THAAD issue greatly influenced Chinese tourists’ personal values, beliefs, and identities.

Connections between media technology and leisure: insights from Aristotle and Heidegger

ABSTRACT Philosophical inquiry that delves into the intriguing connections between media technology and leisure may assist us in understanding how we might consider the goodness (leading to happiness) of using media technology for leisure. Specifically, philosophical discourses of Aristotle and Heidegger can be used to help identify and clarify the roles of media technology and leisure. Therefore, in this paper, we provide a philosophical examination of connections between media technology and leisure by exploring perspectives and linkages of writings by Aristotle [2004. The Nicomachean ethics. Translated and edited by J. A. K. Thompson. New York: Penguin Group] and Heidegger [1977. The Question Concerning Technology. Translated and edited by W. Lovitt. New York: Harper & Row]. We use the writings of these philosophers to organize and describe recent research focusing on media technology and leisure experiences. The relationship between media technology and leisure is complex and multifaceted and it seems that this relationship is reciprocal, in that media technology influences leisure expression and, simultaneously, leisure experiences shape the use of media technology.

Investigation of the technology effects of online travel media on virtual travel experience and behavioral intention

ABSTRACT This study investigates technology affordances of online travel media determining ways of presenting pictorial information and creating the spatial structure of a destination: modality and navigability. To examine the impacts of technology affordances on virtual travel experience, a 2 (modality: still pictures versus panoramic pictures) × 2 (navigability: absence versus presence) between-subjects experiment was conducted with 213 participants. This study found significant effects of modality and navigability on affective and cognitive dimensions of virtual travel experience. Scrutinizing the mediating role of virtual travel experience, the findings explain the psychological mechanism of how modality and navigability influence tourists’ behavioral intention.

Comparing willingness-to-pay between residents and non-residents using a contingent valuation method: case of the Grand Canal in China

ABSTRACT Cultural heritage is important in sustaining community identity and boosting local economies via tourism. Stakeholder theories suggest that residents and non-residents may have different perspectives on the values and meanings attached to cultural heritage. Focusing on the Grand Canal in China, designated as World Heritage Site in 2014, this study aims to estimate and compare residents and non-residents’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the preservation of the Canal. A field survey of tourists visiting the Grand Canal was conducted between 12 April and 2 May 2015. Logit models were estimated to compare factors influencing WTP between residents and non-residents. Similarities and differences between residents and non-residents were found. Main differences were the effect of place identity and revisit intention differed between residents and non-residents. WTPs for the preservation of the Canal were larger for residents than that for non-residents.