Trade in Tourism Service on the Basis of Tourism System: A Mixed-methods Study of South Koreans to the United States

Trade in Tourism Service on the Basis of Tourism System: A Mixed-methods Study of South Koreans to the United States

Purpose - Acknowledging the limitations of the widely-used concept of destination image, this study proposes the concept of tourism image using trade in tourism service on the basis of Leiper’s (1990) tourism system. This new concept incorporates an image formed from South Koreans focusing on the tourist holistic experience relevant to the United States based on the tourist rather than the tourism destination. Design/methodology - A convergent parallel mixed-methods study design constituted the concept, which emerges from the analysis of narratives and quantitative examinations of South Koreans focusing on tourism experience to the United States. Findings - The study considers the following aspects in addition to destination image: first, images formed outside the destination, e.g., in the tourist generating region and the transit region; second, non-hedonic images, which are a part of the tourist experience despite not directly involving a visit to the tourist attractions; and third, non-service-driven elements, such as co-created destination images formed from interaction with residents and fellow tourists. Originality/value - The tourism image concept allows consideration of aspects that have been overlooked in destination image studies yet may affect the image of the tourism experience.