The Tourism Destination Image Formation Process

This study investigated tourism destination images by Korean tourists who visited Australia using package tours provided by Korean outbound travel agencies. The purpose of present study is to examine the aspects of the travel motivations, past experiences, socio-demographic variables and Internet sources that contribute to overall destination image of Australia by Korean package tourists. A path model was developed using important determinants of the Australian destination image formation process. The initial findings were that destination images towards Australia by Korean tourists were significantly influenced by push and pull motivations, past experiences, and Internet Sources. Most Korean package tourists across all age ranges were strongly influenced by Internet sources. The results can provide important implications to explain the influence of the variables in the destination image formation process, especially Internet sources.