TITLE:
Changes in Tourism Destination Image of Guangzhou
AUTHORS:
Siying Yang, Mu Zhang
KEYWORDS:
UGC, Image Perception, Image Changes, Tourist Gaze Theory, Symbolic Interaction Theory
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Service Science and Management,
Vol.13 No.3,
June
29,
2020
ABSTRACT: This study explored the changes in tourism destination image of Guangzhou through the most popular travel notes collected from Mangfengwo between 2010 and 2019. Tourist Gaze Theory and Symbolic Interaction Theory were applied to the article in order to construct a model of Organic Image and Compound Image, explaining that compound image of previous tourists will make an influence on organic image of potential tourists. We combined content analysis method and cluster analysis method, using NVivo to identify the characters of spaces, emotions and experiences shown in the titles of travel notes. It is found that 1) Attractions in Guangzhou are abundant but the distribution is scattered, and the homogeneity of similar category is high, which can easily lead to the outflow of tourists to the surrounding cities; 2) Tourists have strong perception of the history and local characteristics of Guangzhou, but lack of the perception of modernization; 3) The culture of food has a great importance in shaping and promoting city image of Guangzhou; 4) Parent-child travel can be used as the focus of propaganda. The titles of travel notes are the first factor when attracting readers, which can well reflect their interests and expected impression. Therefore, we suggest that destination marketing organizations should: 1) strengthen the construction of its own tourism resources, differentiate the creation of similar tourism spots and introduce modern technology to enrich the experience of tourists; 2) pay attention to guiding the creation of UGC as the title of travel notes is the first element that comes into tourists’ sight and can reflect their interest as well as expected impressions in Guangzhou.