Browsing by Author "Hwang, Yeong H."

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    Analyzing International Tourists' Functional Information Needs: A Comparative Analysis of Inquiries in an On-Line Travel Forum
    (2013) Jani, Dev; Jeong, Ho K.; Hwang, Yeong H.
    On-line travel forums inform tourists' trip decisions; however, little is known about their information needs. Using international tourists' inquiries from an on-line travel forum, this study examines tourists' functional information needs, their relationship with prospective destinations, and the timing of posting. This study examines samples of Lonely Planet inquiries made about Japan (n=123) and South Korea (n=97). Using content analysis, three judges rate postings by the messages' functional information needs. Statistical tests of aggregate ratings find international tourists tend to use on-line travel forums to gain product knowledge rather than to reduce risks or to make travel plans more efficient. Tourists' functional information needs also vary significantly by travel destination. The association between the postings' timing and functional information needs appears to be marginal.
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    Big Five Factors of Personality and Tourists' Internet Search Behavior
    (Taylor and Francis, 2014) Jani, Dev; Jang, Jun H.; Hwang, Yeong H.
    This study aimed at relating tourists' Internet search behaviors and the Big Five Factors (BFF) of personality to identify personality items that better predict tourists' Internet search behaviors. Survey data from domestic tourists to a metropolitan city in South Korea was used to empirically examine the relationships. Results indicate that travel information sought through the Internet vary with the BFF with the exception of extraversion, and the Internet channels used for travel information search also varied with the BFF with the exception of conscientiousness. The Internet is more widely used as a source of travel information but less for travel purchases. The results also suggest that the responses to some BFF items can substantially improve the predictability of tourists' Internet search behaviors. Implications for the use of the BFF in designing travel information systems are addressed.
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    Differential Effects of Tourism Resources on the Attractiveness of Destination Bundles
    (Taylor and Francis, 2009) Jani, Dev; Jang, Chang I.; Hwang, Yeong H.
    This research aimed at examining the influence of destination resource characteristics of a destination bundle on the attractiveness of the bundle. Data for this study were obtained through a survey of conveniently selected students from the Seoul Institute of the Arts (n=286). Busan was selected as a main destination and five nearby cities (i.e., Geoje, Gyeongju, Daegu, Ulsan, and Jinju) within one hour driving or ferry riding distance range were selected as a secondary destination. Respondents were asked to indicate the attractiveness of 5 destination bundles (i.e., combinations of 5 additional destinations and Busan) on a 10-point Liker type scale. Respondents were also asked to evaluate eight different aspects of tourism resource (i.e., natural resource, cultural heritage, festivals, leisure and sports activity, recreation facility, accommodation facility, shopping facility, and food) of each destination on a 5-point Likert type scale ranges from 1 ‘very limited’ to 5 ‘very rich.’ The results indicate that tourists tend to prefer a destination bundle which provides a better potential opportunity of tourism experience. However, the influence of resources appears not to be consistent across different bundles Some aspects of resource do not have significant impacts; furthermore, some aspects (i.e., shopping facility) appear to have a significant negative impact. Implications and suggestions for future research are addressed.
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    Query Titles in Travel Forums: Nature and Impacts on Responses
    (Taylor and Francis, 2014) Jani, Dev; Kim, Dae-Y.; Hwang, Yeong H.
    Despite travel forums being an influential source of electronic word of mouth in the tourism context, the nature of interaction between information inquirers and contributors is yet to be appraised. This study attempts to fill the knowledge gap by exploring the inquiry titles in a travel forum in terms of its nature and influence on viewers’ responses. For empirical examination, thread titles for queries on South Korea and Japan that were posted in the Lonely Planet Thorn tree forum between March 2009 and February 2010 were collected (n = 220) and analyzed. The results reveal that search by location is prevalent when potential tourists post a query in a travel forum. Search by interest is more likely at the city or regional level, while search by general (SBG) topic is prevalent in national-level search. The nature of inquiry title also reflects the intended length of stay at a destination. SBG in title significantly outweighs other categories in terms of the number of views and replies. Implication of findings and directions for future study are discussed.
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    User-generated Destination Image through Weblogs: A Comparison of Pre- and Post-visit Images
    (Taylor and Francis, 2011) Jani, Dev; Hwang, Yeong H.
    Despite the increase in use of user-generated electronic content as an information source by tourists, its influence in destination image formation is not yet fully understood. This research aimed to explore the communicated destination image held by tourists to Zanzibar Island (Tanzania) by utilizing communications in Lonely Planet. Content analysis of 214 posts using TextSTAT yielded 13 destination attributes. Comparatively, functional attributes were dominant in potential tourists whereas post-travel image perception was dominated by psychological attributes. Those who have visited tended to have a positive image of the island compared with those who are planning to visit the island. The results necessitate the differential use of the functional- and psychological-based information in communicating with tourists at different information-search stages. Studies to capture communications in another language are recommended as well as the employment of methodologies that might reveal hidden images held by tourists.