동해권 고래관광개발모형 정립을 위한 타당성 평가

The Feasibility for a Whalewatching Tourism Development in the East Sea of Korea: An Application of the Fuzzy Theory

This paper is to evaluate the feasibility of whalewatching tourism development in the East Sea of Korea. both from the supply and demand side. Data were collected from visitors and local specialists of Jansaengpo, Ulsan, which has the greatest potential for whalewatching tourism in Korea. A total of 438 sample were analysed using the Fuzzy method. Results indicate that culture experience, regional tourism information factor, and tourism infrastructure were the important factors in the feasible whalewatching tourism development in the Ulsan Metropolitan City area. Based on the findings of this study, several points were made from the whalewatching tourism strategy and policy. Future research need to investigate the feasibility of the whalewatching tourism in other important areas of the East Sea.