Evaluation of Interest Regarding South East Asia's Attracting Attributes Perceived by Korean Travelers

The number of Koreans visiting South East Asia showed a high growth rate of the total departures, making it the fourth most popular destination. Although South East Asia is becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations, the implications of studies have not yet been fully recognized. This study examines the strengths and weaknesses in the perception of attractiveness as a tourist destination. According to the findings of this study, South East Asia is perceived by Korean overseas travelers as a country which offers reasonable price, event/festivals and natural beauty/ attractions. On the other hand, friendly/hospitable people, shopping facilities, entertainment/ enjoyment and security/safety were regarded as weaknesses. Although some of the attributes were found to be considerable strengths as tourist attractions, some of them were observed to have highly significant differences between different socio-demographic and travel characteristics. Thus it is suggested that South East Asia reinforce its position in terms of where it is already positive, and any negative drawbacks which inhibit tourism development should be corrected and newly developed, and the difference of segment profiles should be considered in development strategies and marketing implications.