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The positioning of overseas honeymoon destinations
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Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 887–904, 2005 Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain 0160-7383/$30.00
doi:10.1016/j.annals.2004.12.004
THE POSITIONING OF OVERSEAS HONEYMOON DESTINATIONS Samuel Seongseop Kim Sejong University, South Korea Jerome Agrusa Hawaii Pacific University, USA Abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the competitiveness of seven overseas honeymoon destinations among potential Korean tourists, and the positioning among them. The main analytical techniques used were multidimensional scaling and correspondence analyses. Results included a variety of information on image similarity, strengths, and ideals of destinations among seven sites, as well as the relationships of major sociodemographic and tourism variables to the sites. The results provide significant insights for a more effective approach to the market positioning of competing places for a honeymoon trip. Keywords: positioning, honeymoon, multidimensional scaling. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Re´sume´: Le positionnement des destinations d’outre-mer de voyage de noces. Le propos de cette e´tude e´tait d’e´tudier la compe´titivite´ de sept destinations d’outre-mer aupre`s des touristes core´ens potentiels et le positionnement entre elles. Les principaux techniques analytiques utilise´es e´taient l’e´chelonnement multidimensionnel et les analyses des correspondances. Les re´sultats comprennent des renseignements varie´s sur la similarite´ d’image, les forces et les ide´aux des destinations d’entre sept sites, ainsi que les relations aux sites des principaux variables sociode´mographiques et touristiques. Les re´sultats ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives significatives pour une approche plus efficace au positionnement de marche´ des lieux en compe´tition pour un voyage de noces. Mots-cle´s: positionnement, voyage de noces, e´chelonnement multidimensionnel. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION A destination’s attributes can be classified into two major categories (Law 1995). The primary category includes innate characteristics such as climate, ecology, natural resources, cuisine, culture, and historical architecture. The secondary characteristics are built or introduced by the public or private sectors, such as hotels, resorts, catering outlets, transportation, and entertainment. According to Goeldner, Ritchie and McIntosh (2000), a destination’s features can also be categorized by the characteristics of the resources such as cultural/historical, natural, events, recreation/sports, and entertainment. In image and Samuel Seongseop Kim is Associate Professor at the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University (Gunja-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 143–747. Email). His current tourism research interests include destination marketing, event/convention, and impacts. Jerome Agrusa is Professor at the Department of Travel Industry Management. His current research interests address perceptions of destinations, sports tourism, and hospitality management. 887
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competitiveness studies of a destination, the traits that were identified included climate, atmosphere, comfort, safety and security, sports, recreation, sightseeing, food, beaches, culture, shopping, infrastructure, ease of communication, service quality, friendliness of residents, cost, and entertainment (Chen 2001; Echtner and Ritchie 1993; Fakeye and Crompton 1991; Hu and Ritchie 1993; Kim, Crompton and Botha 2000; Pearce 1982; Um and Crompton 1990). The overall attractiveness of a location is determined by its unique features. In choosing a destination, people are likely to evaluate a list of features for all selections under consideration when searching through information sources. From a set of potential locations, people will then choose a final destination with features that optimize the benefits within their tourism constraints. The competitiveness of similar sites is a significant issue for marketers and researchers. One area of research on competitiveness that has been conducted is related to the positioning of competitive destinations. DESTINATION POSITIONING A number of studies that have been published in major tourism journals have explored positioning by comparing competitive destinations (Andre, Bigne` and Cooper 2000; Botha, Crompton and Kim 1999; Calantone, Bendetto, Hakam and Bojanic 1989; Chen and Uysal 2002; Crompton, Fakeye and Lue 1992; Gartner 1989; Goodrich 1978; Haahti 1986; Kim 1998; Kozak and Rimmington 1999; Uysal, Chen and Williams 2000). Haahti (1986) explored the relative status of Finland as a summer holiday site vis-a`-vis 10 other European countries using multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique. He conducted a positioning analysis using four different national groups, which included Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. The perceptual configurations of destinations and their perceived attributes were shown on two axes: ease and economy (x-axis) and different experience (y-axis). The study found that the Dutch respondents tended to perceive Germany and Holland to be similar and believed that these two countries had a higher level of cultural experience and accessible attributes. Haahti concluded that Finland scored higher on the different experience dimension compared to its nine competitors, but had a lower score for the ease and economy dimension. A study by Gartner (1989) investigated the competitiveness of four US states: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah for their tourism and recreation attributes (activities) using MDS. The analysis produced two dimensions that demonstrated the features linking groups of people together after clustering the four states with similar inherent attributes. The first dimension was called in-group social/out-group social, because nightlife was located close to the first dimension line and it appeared to represent social interaction. Colorado was viewed as having more nightlife activities and opportunities than the other states. The second dimension was named the cultural resource-based/natural resource-based dimension. Montana and Wyoming were perceived as
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having outdoor recreation areas with characteristics related to natural resources, while Utah and Colorado were perceived more towards the cultural end of the second dimension. In the context of Korean domestic destinations, Kim (1998) analyzed people’s psychological or perceptual assessments of the attributes for five Korean locations: Cheju Island, Gyeongju, Sulak Mountain, Haeundae Beach, and the Yusung area. The attributes considered were seasonal and cultural attractiveness, clean and peaceful environment, quality of accommodations and relaxing facilities, family-oriented amenities and safety, accessibility and reputation, and entertainment and recreational opportunities. The results of a MDS analysis were portrayed on the spatial configuration of six attribute vectors and five locations. For example, Sulak Mountain resort was perceived to have a low level of entertainment and recreational opportunities, but was highly rated on the other five attributes. The study by Uysal et al. (2000) evaluated the competitiveness of Virginia as a popular tourism state by creating a perceptual map revealing similarities and differences in how 10 states were rated on 48 geographical and cultural characteristics. Virginia was found to be most competitive with Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and West Virginia in natural features, and with Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia in historic and cultural heritage. The researchers suggested that destination promotional activities could be established based on the results of their positioning analysis. In a similar study, Chen and Uysal (2002) used correspondence analysis to identify the competitive market position of Virginia compared to eight other US states and Washington DC. Pennsylvania and Virginia were perceived to be the best states for mountains, quaint towns, and beautiful countryside. In a logit analysis to identify cognitive differences in images of 14 activities within Virginia and Pennsylvania, Virginia had stronger images for 12 activities while Pennsylvania scored higher on the other two activities. In summary, a locale has multiple characteristics that may be similar to or different from those of other locations. A variety of tangible and intangible features contribute to determining potential and actual demand, levels of satisfaction and intentions to revisit, and positive wordof-mouth advertising. The preceding research studies strongly support the conclusion that in a competitive market environment, it is important to understand the perceived strengths and weaknesses of a destination compared to its competitors. Furthermore, the concept of positioning has a potential connection with destination branding in that a location is considered to be a product with brand image, loyalty, or equity (Cai 2002; Gnoth 1998; Williams and Palmer 1999). Therefore, assessing the competitive status of destinations helps marketers in creating effective strategies and plans.
Honeymoon Tourism in Korea The most significant reason for the growing popularity of overseas honeymoon destinations in Korea is an increase in disposable
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household income due to its economic growth. The second reason is that domestic travel agencies have consistently developed attractive overseas packages for Koreans. The third reason is that foreign national tourism organizations and airline companies have increased promotions to Koreans regarding the attractiveness of honeymoon destinations in their countries. Thus, even though such overseas trips were limited to people with high incomes until the early 90s, it is increasingly becoming a must for making a memorable start to a successful marriage and enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The popularity of overseas honeymoon tours by Korean honeymooners is quite evident. Thai Airways offered a chartered airplane every Tuesday during the 2002 fall season to transport passengers to Phuket or Pattaya, two internationally famous beach resorts in Thailand (Travel Times 2002). The Australian Tourists Commission reported that approximately one-third (63,300) of the 190,000 Korean tourists who visited Australia in 2002 were honeymooners and that number more than doubled in the preceeding three years from 30,000 in 1999 (Travel Times 2003a). A survey of recent trends in the Korean wedding market, using potential honeymooners, reported that potential tourists want to extend the number of days of stay in overseas honeymoon destinations and increase their trip budgets (Chosun Daily Newspaper 2003). The respondents indicated that they were willing to spend approximately US$800 to $1,699 (61% of the respondents) and $1,700 to $2,699 (20% of the respondents) on their overseas honeymoon experience (Chosun Daily Newspaper 2003). Results of another survey, conducted in 2002 by the Korea National Tourism Organization, indicated that the most important reason as to why potential Koreans prefer an overseas to a domestic experience was satisfaction from previous overseas tourism, followed by not much difference in tourism cost between domestic and overseas destinations, desire to visit a special destination, and curiosity about foreign countries and their cultures. Results of surveys about preferable overseas honeymoon countries indicate that the respondents’ tourism patterns are not necessarily consistent with which location they desire. According to the results of a survey on trends of such overseas destinations during a recent five year period (1998 to 2002) from a sample of travel agents working for major tour agencies specializing in Korean romance tourism, Korean honeymooners showed a tendency to prefer beach resorts such as Phuket and Pattaya in Thailand, Borakai, Isabella, and Elido in the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii (Travel Times 2003b). Further, with the popularity of beach resorts as honeymoon destinations, the report indicated that interest in Australia, Europe, Japan, and China has been slowly increasing (Travel Times 2003b). In a survey of potential Koreans, Thailand, Guam, and Hawaii were found as appropriate foreign locations (Chosun Daily Newspaper 2003). However, a report by the Korean National Tourism Organization (2002) indicated the countries that Korean newly-wed couples most preferred as overseas destinations were Thailand, Japan, the United States, and France, in that order. Together these studies suggest the importance of the Korean romance tourism market
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and the increasing greater competitiveness among honeymoon destinations. The goal of this study is to analyze the competitiveness of overseas honeymoon destinations among potential Korean tourists. Five major research questions were asked: One, what are the salient attributes of destinations that are likely to affect the choice of an overseas honeymoon location? Two, how do these destinations compare with their competitors in terms of the image of their attributes as perceived by potential tourists? Three, what relationships are there between overseas honeymoon destinations and perceptions of their attributes? Four, is there a significant relationship between the perceptions of overseas honeymoon destinations and the ideal location of potential tourists? Five, what relationships are there between such overseas destinations and potential honeymooners’ sociodemographic and tourism-related variables? The second, third, and fourth research questions were visually analyzed using the MDS method, which produced perceptual maps indicating the locations of overseas honeymoon destinations and tourists’ perceptions of their attributes. To answer research question five, a series of correspondence analyses were employed to graphically show the relationships among the destinations and the related sociodemographic and tourism-related variables.
Study Methods Since there are no authorized reports on the numbers of Korean honeymooners for specific locations, the criteria for selecting such competitive overseas destinations were based on a review of tourism-related magazines and reports of surveys and newspaper articles, combined with interviews with tour guides working for travel agencies specializing in honeymoon tours. As a result, the most popular locations for Koreans were found to be Guam, Thailand, Australia, Hawaii, Europe, Japan, and China, even though their popularity varies according to the season or on a year-to-year basis. Thus, these locations are considered to be potential competitors for this market. While previous studies identifying features of honeymoon destinations are limited, a set of attributes of the locations attractive to Korean honeymooners was developed. Two processes were used to define an initial pool of attributes. First, a series of structured interviews was conducted with eight travel agents specializing in overseas honeymoon tours as well as 20 people with experience in honeymoon trips abroad. Second, a review of tourism literature was conducted (Chen 2001; Echtner and Ritchie 1993; Fakeye and Crompton 1991; Hu and Ritchie 1993; Kim et al. 2000; Pearce 1982; Um and Crompton 1990). As a result of these two processes, an initial pool of 11 destination attributes was developed. A pilot study was then undertaken using the pool of 11 items. Thirty people with experience in overseas honeymoon trips were selected for interviews in the pilot study. Finally, three items were deleted because they were so unique that they were seldom found in the sites selected for this study.
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Three analytical programs were used for this study’s MDS. The first one was the Kruskal, Young, Shepard, and Torgerson (KYST) method using a flexible PC-based program for multidimensional mapping (Kruskal and Wish 1986). KYST uses an algorithm consisting of ratings or rankings to produce a set of metric distances between objects so that the distances most closely represent the original ranks between pairs. Distance between any two points plotted can be interpreted as an indicator of similarity or dissimilarity. To develop questions for the KYST analysis, respondents were told that there are seven popular overseas honeymoon destinations. For each statement, they were asked to circle the number that best describes the level of agreement of similarity or dissimilarity on the perceived image of each pair of seven destinations. For example, one pair of destinations presented in the study was Hawaii and Thailand. The respondents were then presented with a 7-point Likert-type scale where 1 was strongly dissimilar, 4 neutral, and 7 strongly similar and asked to circle the number that best described the level of agreement between the pair. The second analytical program utilized in this study was the property fitting (PROFIT), which by optimizing nonlinear or linear correlation relates a stimulus space to several sets of independently determined attributes called properties. In the first stage, the algorithm for PROFIT uses a coordinate input of the configuration matrix produced as an output of KYST, which indicates n stimuli in a prespecified K number of dimensions. The input is the set of independently determined physical measures called properties on which each stimulus is ranked. PROFIT computes a vector for each property, a direction in the Kdimensional space such that the projections of the n stimulus points on that vector correspond optimally to the values input for the property vectors (Green, Carmone and Smith 1989). The procedure uses each property as the dependent variable in a general nonlinear multiple regression, whereas the stimulus coordinates of the multidimensional space are used as independent variables. Finally, the output of the PROFIT is a plot of the stimulus in K-dimensions along property vectors. In the section of the study requesting information to be used in the PROFIT technique, respondents were told that ‘‘we are interested in your views about your perceived agreement level on attributes of overseas honeymoon tourism destinations. For each statement, circle the number that best describes how you feel about seven destinations on the following eight attributes’’. An example of an attribute item was adequate tourism cost. The responses to the attributes of the locations were measured using a 7-point Likert-type scale where 1 was strongly disagree, 4 neutral, and 7 strongly agree. A program that related preference data to multidimensional scaling solutions (PREFMAP) was also used to investigate ideal points in the obtained perceptual map. This analysis includes a procedure that transforms the coefficients of nonlinear regressions into coordinates of the respondents’ ideal locations and then each ideal location is put into the two-dimensional perceptual space (Chang and Carroll 1972).
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The input data source for the PREFMAP is a set of preference rankings in which each subject ranks the stimuli. In this study, the data set for preference ranking on the eight attributes of seven overseas honeymoon sites, to which potential tourists responded, were analyzed. To use the PREFMAP technique, respondents were told that ‘‘we are interested in the level of agreement on the attributes of overseas honeymoon destinations. For each statement, please rank the destinations from one (the lowest) to seven (the highest) on how you feel about each of the eight attributes of the seven sites.’’ To identify ideal locations, respondents were informed that ‘‘we are interested in your overall views about the level of your perceived preference on the seven overseas honeymoon tour destinations. For each statement, please check the number that best indicates how you feel about the following seven places.’’ The responses to the question were measured on the above 7-point Likert-type scale. A series of correspondence analyses were used to explore the relationship between the honeymoon destinations and sociodemographic and tourism-related variables. Correspondence analysis is an MDS technique for scaling qualitative data that scales the rows and columns of the input contingency table in corresponding units, so that each can be displayed in a two-dimensional plot (Malhotra 1996). The correspondence method is appropriate for an exploratory data analysis technique rather than hypothesis testing (Malhotra 1996). To ask questions for correspondence analyses, sociodemographic and tourism-related variables were operationalized as nominal scales. Additionally, respondents were asked to check on the most preferable of seven overseas areas. A probability sample could not be used because a known sampling frame was not available. Thus, data were collected through personal interviews using a standardized instrument with a convenience sample of potential overseas honeymooners who were attending well-known wedding exhibitions. To investigate the positioning of competing areas, data were collected through personal interviews with 400 people attending two wedding exhibitions at the Korea Trade Center and the Convention and Exhibition Center in Seoul from June 1 to September 30, 2004. Potential respondents were limited to those who were planning a honeymoon trip in the fall of 2004. Excluding seven incomplete questionnaires, 393 cases were used for further analysis.
Study Findings Among the respondents, 50.7% were female, 60.1% were in the 26– 30 year old group, 78.3% had at least a university degree, and 56.9% had annual incomes of $12,500 or more. They also preferred partial package tours (65.0%), with an estimated cost of $2,000 or more (51.1%) for overseas honeymoon tourism, a length of stay of five to seven nights (71.6%), joint payment of the cost of the trip (78.1%), and with overseas experience of one trip or more (57.4%). Potential respondents placed importance on comfortable place (mean = 6.25), good scenery (mean = 6.20), safety (mean = 6.02),
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romantic place (mean = 6.01), appropriate tourism cost (mean = 5.93), good weather (mean = 5.87), historical and cultural resources (mean = 5.19), and good place for shopping (mean = 4.67). The responses to the question were measured on the above 7-point Likerttype scales. Results of KYST Technique. The first step in the KYST analysis was to calculate the mean similarity rating for each of the 21 pairs (all combinations of the seven destinations). According to an investigation of the matrices of similarity ratings for each of these 21 pairs for fall honeymoon trips, Guam and Hawaii were perceived to be the most similar (mean = 4.38), while Thailand and Europe were the most dissimilar (mean = 5.17). Final results of the KYST analysis considering dimensionality of the mean similarity rating are shown in Figure 1. Goodness of fit is a very important consideration in deciding how many dimensions are appropriate. A measure of fit widely used in MDS is stress, which is the square root of a normalized residual sum of squares (Kruskal and Wish 1986). A stress value of zero or near zero indicates that the goodness of fit is acceptable. In the KYST analysis for this study, the final stress value was 0.106 for fall honeymoon location. According to Kruskal’s (1964) criterion, a stress value of 0.10 shows a fair goodness of fit. The initial interpretive process of the KYST analysis is to look for lines in the space, possibly at right angles to each other, such that the stimuli projecting at opposite extremes of a line differ from each other (Kruskal and Wish 1986). Figure 1 shows two dashed lines of the dimension one (Asian-style versus Western-style destinations) and
Figure 1. Two-dimensional Configuration for Competitive Destinations
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dimension two (active versus passive tourism activity destinations). Thailand and China, Asian-style countries, are at one end of dimension one, whereas Europe is at the opposite end. The results indicate that Thailand and China are the most similar pair but, Thailand and Europe, and China and Europe reveal the most dissimilar pairs. Guam and Hawaii were perceived as being the most similar pair in terms of active tourism activity-oriented location where water-based or outdoor participation activities are offered. Compared to resources of Hawaii or Guam, Japan and China were perceived as having the similar image of experiencing passive tourism activities, such as visiting cultural or historical sites. The greatest dissimilarities in images of pairs of sites in dimension two were found for Hawaii and Japan and Guam and Japan. Results of PROFIT and PREFMAP Techniques. The PROFIT analyses produced the final plots of the stimulus points (destinations) and the property vectors (attributes). The property vectors help in interpreting the perceptual maps by showing how the seven sites are located on each attribute vector. At the first stage of interpretation, the vector of each destination attribute should be drawn from the origin (like a line with an arrow shown in Figure 2) and the line should also be
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2 -- ---------------0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------. . Japan -.500 . . Europe 6
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-2.00 -1.67 -1.33 -1.00 -.67 -.33 .00 .33 .67 1.00 1.33 1.67 2.00 1=appropriate tourism cost, 2=comfortable place, 3=good scenery, 4=safety, 5=romantic place, 6=good place for shopping, 7=good weather, 8=historical and cultural resources
Figure 2. Final Plots of the Stimulus Points and the Property Vectors
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drawn toward the vector’s opposite direction through the origin. Next, each destination drops perpendicularly on each attribute’s vector and its opposite line. When the point of a destination is dropped perpendicularly on the vector of an attribute, the farther the distance from the origin along the attribute vector, the better the site depicts the attribute. In contrast, the farther the distance from the origin along the attribute vector’s opposite line, the worse the site depicts the attribute. Figure 2 shows the final plots of the stimulus points and the property vectors. Thailand had the most positive perceptions in terms of appropriate tourism cost, followed by China, Guam, and Hawaii with Europe as the least. Hawaii and Guam were considered the most desirable honeymoon areas with respect to good weather. Respondents perceived that Europe and Japan were the strongest for good place for shopping, safety, and historical and cultural resources, whereas Japan had weaknesses in the other five features. Australia was seen as the most or somewhat most popular honeymoon location with regards to good scenery, comfortable place, romantic place, and good weather. China showed relative strengths in only appropriate tourism cost as well as historical and cultural resources. Figure 3 shows stimuli (in this study, seven destinations) and an ideal point. According to results of the PREFMAP technique, the ideal point is located close to Australia and Hawaii. This means that potential
Figure 3. Perceptual Map of Destinations and an Ideal Point
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honeymooners consider these destinations to be the most preferable places to take a honeymoon trip. In contrast, Japan, Europe, and China were considered to be the relatively least preferable places to take a honeymoon trip. Results of the Correspondence Analyses. Results of the correspondence analyses offer graphical information on the relationship of honeymoon destinations (column variable) to age, education level, experience of overseas tourism, type of tour, estimated cost, and duration (row variables) in a two-dimensional solution. The proximity between a destination and a row variable’s labels is used to interpret the strength of the underlying relationship between them (Malhotra 1996). That is, the closer together the points are, the stronger their relationship. In a series of correspondence analyses, Mainland China was ruled out from the honeymoon destination group that was originally considered because only two of 393 respondents considered this to be the most preferable place. In correspondence analysis between honeymoon locations and age groups, two principal components collectively explained 100% of the variance, with 67.9% of the variance (singular value = .311) for the first dimension and 32.1% of the variance (singular value = .214) for the second dimension. For interpretation of results of the correspondence analysis, the proximity between each location and three age groups in the joint space was considered. In Figure 4, the location of Hawaii, which is close to 31–35 age group, indicates that Koreans aged 31–35 prefer Hawaii for their honeymoon. Likewise, Australia is likely to be considered a more preferable place by respondents in the 21–25 year old age group, because the graphical distance between Australia and the 21 to 25 year old age group was closely located. Dimension 2
0.8 31-35 Hawaii
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Figure 4. Correspondence Analysis between Age and Destinations
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With regard to the explained proportion of inertia of correspondence analysis between education levels and destinations, the first two principal components accounted for 94.8% of the variance, with 77.5% (singular value = .234) for the first dimension and 17.3% (singular value = .111) for the second. On the basis of the proximity of location between a honeymoon site and education levels, results of correspondence analyses indicated that respondents who were university students preferred Australia, whereas those who were university graduates showed a preference for Japan (Figure 5). According to the results of correspondence analysis between overseas experience and the locations, two principal components accounted for 100% of the variance, with 84.8% (singular value = .234) for the first dimension and 15.2% (singular value = .100) for the second. Australia is closely adjacent to no experience of overseas tours, whereas Europe is located closely to one-two times overseas tourism. Thus, respondents with no overseas experience are likely to prefer Australia as a honeymoon location. On the other hand, those with experience of one or two overseas locations are likely to prefer Europe. According to results of correspondence analysis between types of preferred overseas honeymoon tourism and the destinations, a two dimensional solution collectively explained 100% of the variance, with 88.5% (singular value = .287) for the first dimension and 11.5% (singular value = .104) for the second. Regarding the closeness of distance between a place and types of preferred overseas destinations in the twodimensional joint display, a type of a partial package tourism is located close to Hawaii, indicating that respondents preferring a partial package demonstrated a preference for Hawaii as their honeymoon site.
Dimension 2
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0 Australia Japan 0 -0.5 -0.2
Hawaii Thailand Dimension 1
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Figure 5. Correspondence Analysis: Educational Level and Destinations
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In correspondence analysis between estimated tourism costs and honeymoons, two principal components totally explained 100% of the variance, with 75.4% (singular value = .159) for the first dimension and 24.6% (singular value = .101) for the second. Examining the proximity between a destination and the estimated costs groups, respondents who estimated $2,000–$2,999 preferred Hawaii and those estimating $3,000 or more preferred Europe, respectively. According to the results of correspondence analysis between the duration of the stay and the site, a two dimensional solution explained 100% of the variance, with 61.2% (singular value = .197) for the first dimension and 38.8% (singular value = .157) for the second. According to a consideration of the proximity of a location and duration, respondents who were planning to stay five to seven nights preferred Australia or Hawaii, while those who were planning to stay less than five nights preferred Japan. The results are logical because the duration of their honeymoon is closely related to the location’s distance from Korea.
CONCLUSION As a honeymoon destination, Guam showed a similarity with Thailand as an outdoor tourism activity-oriented site in its perceived image to potential Koreans. This means that Guam is placed in a competitive market setting with Thailand. Thus, authorities of this island destination should try to make an effort to differentiate its image from its competitor, which will place it in a superior market position over Thailand. Guam was also revealed to have relative strengths on the following attributes: good weather, appropriate tourism cost, good scenery, and romantic place. However, this destination was perceived to have weaknesses in such features as safety, good place for shopping, and historical and cultural resources in comparison to other honeymoon destinations. According to KYST analysis, Australia was perceived to have a different image when compared to those of other locations. Respondents perceived it as an ideal place for their honeymoon. This indicates that the Korean market share for Australia can be increased. The latter was found to have relative competitiveness regarding good scenery, romantic place, comfortable place, and good weather. Potential honeymooners to Australia were in the 21–25 age group, had no overseas tour experience, and wanted to stay five to seven nights. Specifically, it is interesting that this country was preferred by younger people. Thus, the Australian government may need to provide information via the Internet, which is very popular with young college students, or promote the country by providing sponsorships to various events in which university students can participate. Additionally, an effective method of promotion would be to advertise it as a honeymoon spot in university newspapers or job recruiting magazines. A significant finding of this study is that those who did not have any overseas tourism experience favorably reported Australia. This means that the younger market has a positive image of Australia as a preferable honeymoon location.
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China showed a similarity with Thailand as an Asian-style country, whereas it demonstrated the least similarity with Europe. The country was perceived to be a suitable destination in terms of appropriate tourism cost and historical and cultural resources. Conversely, respondents indicated that it has weaknesses in its other characteristics. Consequently, potential honeymooners may not consider China to be an ideal choice. Unfortunately, because only two respondents indicated it as a preferred site, a series of correspondence analyses could not be conducted. Thus, this indicates that China lags behind the other locations in competitiveness. Respondents reported that Japan is dissimilar to other destinations. Specifically, this country was the most dissimilar to Guam and Hawaii, because Japan was perceived to be the most appropriate site for historic and cultural tourism. This neighboring country was considered to have strengths in such attributes as safety, a good place for shopping, and historical and cultural resources. However, in terms of weather, comfortable place, good scenery, romantic place, and appropriate tourism cost, Japan was not perceived to be a better destination than the other locations. With regards to the good weather attribute, the Korean market may not favor Japan in the fall season when it is relatively colder than the warmer beach-type resort destinations. Results of this study indicated that respondents who wanted to stay less than five nights preferred Japan. This implies that those with time constraints may select this country for their honeymoon vacations. Therefore, this information is likely to be useful for travel agencies or tour guides in setting up a stay schedule. Hawaii was perceived as having a similar image to Guam in terms of offering outdoor tourism activities and was the least similar to Japan in offering outdoor activities. This US state was also perceived to be the most or more appropriate place to take a honeymoon trip for good weather, romantic place, good scenery, and comfortable place compared to others. In the PREFMAP analysis, respondents reported that Hawaii is an ideal destination. According to the results of the correspondence analyses, those who were in the 31–35 age group, desired partial package tours, planned a honeymoon stay of five to seven nights, and expected tourism costs of $2,000–$2,999 preferred Hawaii. These findings indicate that older, wealthier honeymooners are more likely to prefer Hawaii. More specifically, respondents showed a preference for partial package to Hawaii. Thus, development of tours to Hawaii offering options in this area would be helpful for those who want to participate in partial package tours. This information would be very useful to travel agencies that organize honeymoon package tours as well as land travel operators in developing tour products in Hawaii. Thailand was found to share a similar image with China as an Asianstyle site. This country was perceived to have strength in the appropriate tourism cost attribute but showed weaknesses in the other attributes. Thus, destination marketers there need to make the market aware that beach resorts in Thailand have other strengths beyond
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appropriate tourism cost. For example, it might be helpful to develop new souvenir items that promote the historical and cultural programs of the country, such as a traditional Thai wedding ceremony, or introduce the honeymooners to the local traditional culture. Providing these programs can meet the market need to experience the novelty of an exotic culture instead of the inevitable feeling of boredom that comes with a beautiful beach or tropical scenery with nothing else to do except sit in the sun. Europe did not show any image similarity to the other locations in the study. However, it was perceived to be the most Western-style region and showed the most dissimilar image with Thailand and China. Respondents reported that the continent has relative strengths in comparison to the other destinations’ attributes with the exception of both good weather and appropriate cost. In contrast, it was perceived to have low competitiveness regarding both good weather and appropriate tourism cost. This reflects the fact that European countries are located a far distance from Korea and the fall season there is relatively colder. Thus, in terms of weather, the Korean market may prefer Europe for their honeymoon in the spring or summer seasons. Those who had overseas experience of one or two trips, estimated the cost to be $3,000 or more, and wanted to have an overseas stay of eight nights or more, preferred Europe. In conclusion, this study, which used a mix of various methods, provides useful information of target markets for seven honeymoon locations and their competitiveness. Even though results of this study are based on the Korean experience, the findings may be applied to researching or marketing other destinations. First, honeymooners who have more experience with overseas tourism are willing to spend more money, consider a longer overseas stay, and are likely to prefer longhaul places with different cultures. Second, those who hold civil servant positions and perceive time as a constraint are likely to travel to neighboring areas, which provide passive tourism activities. Third, the Korean market prefers Hawaii and Australia as ideal destinations. This implies that honeymooners are likely to prefer ideal destinations even though they are far away from their homeland. Fourth, in a similar context to the third implication, they may not highly regard tourism costs, including transportation or higher consumer price, in choosing a location. One reason for the last two implications appears to be that they want to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience regardless of incurring costs. Fifth, these reflect that this is likely to be a higher spending target. Thus, destination marketers need to develop a more quality-based than a price-leadership product. Sixth, the findings of this study indicate that it is perceived that destinations have many different characteristics. The honeymooners’ perceptions were different across sociodemographic characteristics and previous tourism experience. This indicates that marketers should develop products that meet the different honeymoon segments’ motivation. Seventh, on the basis of this study, areas with natural resources rather than with cultural or historic resources are preferred. Eighth, there
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has been an absence of any market positioning studies that incorporate KYST, PROFIT, PREFMAP, and correspondence analyses. Thus, combination of various methods for honeymoon destination positioning will indicate the possibility of application to other countries’ data setting. The study results would be of great use to foreign honeymoon marketers or tourism officials involving the industry in identifying characteristics and their target markets. Similarly, this study is expected to be of great help to Korean travel agencies specializing in honeymoon tours by helping to develop appealing programs. Furthermore, until now, there have been few studies on honeymoon market in tourism. Thus, it is expected that this study will contribute a stimulating interest in this subject among academics and practitioners. In analytical approaches, an application of various MDS methods, which visually show competitiveness of destinations, can be extended to other marketing research agendas such as product or brand positioning, and advertising effectiveness. A limitation of this study is that it included only selected samples from potential honeymooners who were planning trips in the fall season. As Korean wedding ceremonies are usually held in both the fall and spring seasons, a future study is needed to apply this positioning approach to spring honeymooners in order to identify whether the new results differ from those of this study due to seasonality. The other limitation of the present investigation is that Europe seems too vague due to the fact that attributes differ among its countries. Therefore, a future study should consider a more accurate depiction of the region or list its countries in order to develop a clearer image of what Europe is to Korean honeymooners.
REFERENCES Andreu, L., J. Bigne, and C. Cooper 2000 Projected and Perceived Image of Spain as a Tourist Destination for British Travelers. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing 9(4):47–67. Botha, C., J. Crompton, and S. Kim 1999 Developing a Revised Competitive Position for Sun/Lost City, South Africa. Journal of Travel Research 37(4):341–352. Cai, L. 2002 Cooperative Branding for Rural Destinations. Annals of Tourism Research 29:720–742. Calantone, R., C. di Bendetto, A. Hakam, and D. Bojanic 1989 Multiple Multinational Tourism Positioning using Correspondence Analysis. Journal of Travel Research 28(2):25–32. Chang, J., and J. Carroll 1972 How to use PREFMAP and PREFMAP2-Programs which Relate Preference Data to Multidimensional Scaling Solution. Murray Hill: Bell Laboratories. Chen, J. 2001 A Case Study of Korean Outbound Travelers’ Destination Images by using Correspondence Analysis. Tourism Management 22(4):345–350. Chen, J., and M. Uysal 2002 Market Positioning Analysis: A Hybrid Approach. Annals of Tourism Research 29:987–1003.
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Chosun Daily Newspaper 2003 Types of Overseas Honeymoon Tours. Chosun Daily Newspaper (March 9). Crompton, J., P. Fakeye, and C.-C. Lue 1992 Positioning: The Example of the Lower Rio Grande Valley in the Winter Long Stay Destination Market. Journal of Travel Research 31(2):20–26. Echtner, C., and J. Ritchie 1993 The Measurement of Destination Image: An Empirical Assessment. Journal of Travel Research 31(4):3–13. Fakeye, P., and J. Crompton 1991 Image Differences between Prospective, First Time, and Repeat Visitors to the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Journal of Travel Research 30(2):10–16. Gartner, W. 1989 Tourism Image: Attribute Measurement of State Tourism Products using Multidimensional Scaling Techniques. Journal of Travel Research 28(2):16–20. Gnoth, J. 1998 Conference Reports: Branding Tourism Destinations. Annals of Tourism Research 25:758–760. Goeldner, C., J. Ritchie, and R. McIntosh 2000 Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies (eighth ed.). New York: Wiley. Goodrich, J. 1978 A New Approach to Image Analysis through Multidimensional Scaling. Journal of Travel Research 16(3):3–7. Green, P., F. Carmone, and S. Smith 1989 Multidimensional Scaling: Concepts and Applications. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Haahti, A. 1986 Finland’s Competitive Position as a Destination. Annals of Tourism Research 13:11–35. Hu, Y., and J. Ritchie 1993 Measuring Destination Attractiveness: A Contextual Approach. Journal of Travel Research 32(2):25–34. Kim, H. 1998 Perceived Attractiveness of Korean destinations. Annals of Tourism Research 25:340–361. Kim, S.-S., J. Crompton, and C. Botha 2000 Responding to Competition: A Strategy for Sun/Lost City, South Africa. Tourism Management 21:33–41. KNTO 2002 A Survey of Korean Travel Trends. Seoul: Korea National Tourism Organization. Kozak, M., and M. Rimmington 1999 Measuring Destination Competitiveness: Conceptual Considerations and Empirical Findings. International Journal of Hospitality Management 18:273–283. Kruskal, J. 1964 Multidimensional Scaling by Optimizing Goodness of Fit to a Nonmetric Hypothesis. Psychometrika 29:1–27. Kruskal, J., and M. Wish 1986 Multidimensional Scaling. Beverly Hills: Sage. Law, E. 1995 Tourist Resort Management, Issues, Analysis and Policies. London: Routledge. Malhotra, N. 1996 Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation (second ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Pearce, P. 1982 Perceived Changes in Holiday Destinations. Annals of Tourism Research 9:145–164.
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Travel Times 2002 Catch up Honeymooners. Travel Times (August 19). 2003a Australia, gradually Rising to a Main Overseas Honeymoon Destination. Travel Times (June 19). 2003b Trends of Overseas Honeymoon Destinations (1998–2002). Travel Times (February 6). Um, S., and J. Crompton 1990 Attitude Determinants in Tourism Destination Choice. Annals of Tourism Research 17:432–448. Uysal, M., J. Chen, and D. Williams 2000 Increasing State Market Share through a Regional Positioning. Tourism Management 21:89–96. Williams, A., and A. Palmer 1999 Tourism Destination Brands and Electronic Commerce: Towards Synergy. Journal of Vacation Marketing 5:263–275.
Submitted 26 May 2004. Resubmitted 18 August 2004. Resubmitted 1 October 2005. Accepted 16 October 2004. Final version 17 December 2004. Refereed anonymously. Coordinating Editor: Rex S. Toh
Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 887–904, 2005 Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain 0160-7383/$30.00
doi:10.1016/j.annals.2004.12.004
THE POSITIONING OF OVERSEAS HONEYMOON DESTINATIONS Samuel Seongseop Kim Sejong University, South Korea Jerome Agrusa Hawaii Pacific University, USA Abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the competitiveness of seven overseas honeymoon destinations among potential Korean tourists, and the positioning among them. The main analytical techniques used were multidimensional scaling and correspondence analyses. Results included a variety of information on image similarity, strengths, and ideals of destinations among seven sites, as well as the relationships of major sociodemographic and tourism variables to the sites. The results provide significant insights for a more effective approach to the market positioning of competing places for a honeymoon trip. Keywords: positioning, honeymoon, multidimensional scaling. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Re´sume´: Le positionnement des destinations d’outre-mer de voyage de noces. Le propos de cette e´tude e´tait d’e´tudier la compe´titivite´ de sept destinations d’outre-mer aupre`s des touristes core´ens potentiels et le positionnement entre elles. Les principaux techniques analytiques utilise´es e´taient l’e´chelonnement multidimensionnel et les analyses des correspondances. Les re´sultats comprennent des renseignements varie´s sur la similarite´ d’image, les forces et les ide´aux des destinations d’entre sept sites, ainsi que les relations aux sites des principaux variables sociode´mographiques et touristiques. Les re´sultats ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives significatives pour une approche plus efficace au positionnement de marche´ des lieux en compe´tition pour un voyage de noces. Mots-cle´s: positionnement, voyage de noces, e´chelonnement multidimensionnel. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION A destination’s attributes can be classified into two major categories (Law 1995). The primary category includes innate characteristics such as climate, ecology, natural resources, cuisine, culture, and historical architecture. The secondary characteristics are built or introduced by the public or private sectors, such as hotels, resorts, catering outlets, transportation, and entertainment. According to Goeldner, Ritchie and McIntosh (2000), a destination’s features can also be categorized by the characteristics of the resources such as cultural/historical, natural, events, recreation/sports, and entertainment. In image and Samuel Seongseop Kim is Associate Professor at the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University (Gunja-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 143–747. Email
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competitiveness studies of a destination, the traits that were identified included climate, atmosphere, comfort, safety and security, sports, recreation, sightseeing, food, beaches, culture, shopping, infrastructure, ease of communication, service quality, friendliness of residents, cost, and entertainment (Chen 2001; Echtner and Ritchie 1993; Fakeye and Crompton 1991; Hu and Ritchie 1993; Kim, Crompton and Botha 2000; Pearce 1982; Um and Crompton 1990). The overall attractiveness of a location is determined by its unique features. In choosing a destination, people are likely to evaluate a list of features for all selections under consideration when searching through information sources. From a set of potential locations, people will then choose a final destination with features that optimize the benefits within their tourism constraints. The competitiveness of similar sites is a significant issue for marketers and researchers. One area of research on competitiveness that has been conducted is related to the positioning of competitive destinations. DESTINATION POSITIONING A number of studies that have been published in major tourism journals have explored positioning by comparing competitive destinations (Andre, Bigne` and Cooper 2000; Botha, Crompton and Kim 1999; Calantone, Bendetto, Hakam and Bojanic 1989; Chen and Uysal 2002; Crompton, Fakeye and Lue 1992; Gartner 1989; Goodrich 1978; Haahti 1986; Kim 1998; Kozak and Rimmington 1999; Uysal, Chen and Williams 2000). Haahti (1986) explored the relative status of Finland as a summer holiday site vis-a`-vis 10 other European countries using multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique. He conducted a positioning analysis using four different national groups, which included Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. The perceptual configurations of destinations and their perceived attributes were shown on two axes: ease and economy (x-axis) and different experience (y-axis). The study found that the Dutch respondents tended to perceive Germany and Holland to be similar and believed that these two countries had a higher level of cultural experience and accessible attributes. Haahti concluded that Finland scored higher on the different experience dimension compared to its nine competitors, but had a lower score for the ease and economy dimension. A study by Gartner (1989) investigated the competitiveness of four US states: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah for their tourism and recreation attributes (activities) using MDS. The analysis produced two dimensions that demonstrated the features linking groups of people together after clustering the four states with similar inherent attributes. The first dimension was called in-group social/out-group social, because nightlife was located close to the first dimension line and it appeared to represent social interaction. Colorado was viewed as having more nightlife activities and opportunities than the other states. The second dimension was named the cultural resource-based/natural resource-based dimension. Montana and Wyoming were perceived as
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having outdoor recreation areas with characteristics related to natural resources, while Utah and Colorado were perceived more towards the cultural end of the second dimension. In the context of Korean domestic destinations, Kim (1998) analyzed people’s psychological or perceptual assessments of the attributes for five Korean locations: Cheju Island, Gyeongju, Sulak Mountain, Haeundae Beach, and the Yusung area. The attributes considered were seasonal and cultural attractiveness, clean and peaceful environment, quality of accommodations and relaxing facilities, family-oriented amenities and safety, accessibility and reputation, and entertainment and recreational opportunities. The results of a MDS analysis were portrayed on the spatial configuration of six attribute vectors and five locations. For example, Sulak Mountain resort was perceived to have a low level of entertainment and recreational opportunities, but was highly rated on the other five attributes. The study by Uysal et al. (2000) evaluated the competitiveness of Virginia as a popular tourism state by creating a perceptual map revealing similarities and differences in how 10 states were rated on 48 geographical and cultural characteristics. Virginia was found to be most competitive with Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and West Virginia in natural features, and with Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia in historic and cultural heritage. The researchers suggested that destination promotional activities could be established based on the results of their positioning analysis. In a similar study, Chen and Uysal (2002) used correspondence analysis to identify the competitive market position of Virginia compared to eight other US states and Washington DC. Pennsylvania and Virginia were perceived to be the best states for mountains, quaint towns, and beautiful countryside. In a logit analysis to identify cognitive differences in images of 14 activities within Virginia and Pennsylvania, Virginia had stronger images for 12 activities while Pennsylvania scored higher on the other two activities. In summary, a locale has multiple characteristics that may be similar to or different from those of other locations. A variety of tangible and intangible features contribute to determining potential and actual demand, levels of satisfaction and intentions to revisit, and positive wordof-mouth advertising. The preceding research studies strongly support the conclusion that in a competitive market environment, it is important to understand the perceived strengths and weaknesses of a destination compared to its competitors. Furthermore, the concept of positioning has a potential connection with destination branding in that a location is considered to be a product with brand image, loyalty, or equity (Cai 2002; Gnoth 1998; Williams and Palmer 1999). Therefore, assessing the competitive status of destinations helps marketers in creating effective strategies and plans.
Honeymoon Tourism in Korea The most significant reason for the growing popularity of overseas honeymoon destinations in Korea is an increase in disposable
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household income due to its economic growth. The second reason is that domestic travel agencies have consistently developed attractive overseas packages for Koreans. The third reason is that foreign national tourism organizations and airline companies have increased promotions to Koreans regarding the attractiveness of honeymoon destinations in their countries. Thus, even though such overseas trips were limited to people with high incomes until the early 90s, it is increasingly becoming a must for making a memorable start to a successful marriage and enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The popularity of overseas honeymoon tours by Korean honeymooners is quite evident. Thai Airways offered a chartered airplane every Tuesday during the 2002 fall season to transport passengers to Phuket or Pattaya, two internationally famous beach resorts in Thailand (Travel Times 2002). The Australian Tourists Commission reported that approximately one-third (63,300) of the 190,000 Korean tourists who visited Australia in 2002 were honeymooners and that number more than doubled in the preceeding three years from 30,000 in 1999 (Travel Times 2003a). A survey of recent trends in the Korean wedding market, using potential honeymooners, reported that potential tourists want to extend the number of days of stay in overseas honeymoon destinations and increase their trip budgets (Chosun Daily Newspaper 2003). The respondents indicated that they were willing to spend approximately US$800 to $1,699 (61% of the respondents) and $1,700 to $2,699 (20% of the respondents) on their overseas honeymoon experience (Chosun Daily Newspaper 2003). Results of another survey, conducted in 2002 by the Korea National Tourism Organization, indicated that the most important reason as to why potential Koreans prefer an overseas to a domestic experience was satisfaction from previous overseas tourism, followed by not much difference in tourism cost between domestic and overseas destinations, desire to visit a special destination, and curiosity about foreign countries and their cultures. Results of surveys about preferable overseas honeymoon countries indicate that the respondents’ tourism patterns are not necessarily consistent with which location they desire. According to the results of a survey on trends of such overseas destinations during a recent five year period (1998 to 2002) from a sample of travel agents working for major tour agencies specializing in Korean romance tourism, Korean honeymooners showed a tendency to prefer beach resorts such as Phuket and Pattaya in Thailand, Borakai, Isabella, and Elido in the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii (Travel Times 2003b). Further, with the popularity of beach resorts as honeymoon destinations, the report indicated that interest in Australia, Europe, Japan, and China has been slowly increasing (Travel Times 2003b). In a survey of potential Koreans, Thailand, Guam, and Hawaii were found as appropriate foreign locations (Chosun Daily Newspaper 2003). However, a report by the Korean National Tourism Organization (2002) indicated the countries that Korean newly-wed couples most preferred as overseas destinations were Thailand, Japan, the United States, and France, in that order. Together these studies suggest the importance of the Korean romance tourism market
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and the increasing greater competitiveness among honeymoon destinations. The goal of this study is to analyze the competitiveness of overseas honeymoon destinations among potential Korean tourists. Five major research questions were asked: One, what are the salient attributes of destinations that are likely to affect the choice of an overseas honeymoon location? Two, how do these destinations compare with their competitors in terms of the image of their attributes as perceived by potential tourists? Three, what relationships are there between overseas honeymoon destinations and perceptions of their attributes? Four, is there a significant relationship between the perceptions of overseas honeymoon destinations and the ideal location of potential tourists? Five, what relationships are there between such overseas destinations and potential honeymooners’ sociodemographic and tourism-related variables? The second, third, and fourth research questions were visually analyzed using the MDS method, which produced perceptual maps indicating the locations of overseas honeymoon destinations and tourists’ perceptions of their attributes. To answer research question five, a series of correspondence analyses were employed to graphically show the relationships among the destinations and the related sociodemographic and tourism-related variables.
Study Methods Since there are no authorized reports on the numbers of Korean honeymooners for specific locations, the criteria for selecting such competitive overseas destinations were based on a review of tourism-related magazines and reports of surveys and newspaper articles, combined with interviews with tour guides working for travel agencies specializing in honeymoon tours. As a result, the most popular locations for Koreans were found to be Guam, Thailand, Australia, Hawaii, Europe, Japan, and China, even though their popularity varies according to the season or on a year-to-year basis. Thus, these locations are considered to be potential competitors for this market. While previous studies identifying features of honeymoon destinations are limited, a set of attributes of the locations attractive to Korean honeymooners was developed. Two processes were used to define an initial pool of attributes. First, a series of structured interviews was conducted with eight travel agents specializing in overseas honeymoon tours as well as 20 people with experience in honeymoon trips abroad. Second, a review of tourism literature was conducted (Chen 2001; Echtner and Ritchie 1993; Fakeye and Crompton 1991; Hu and Ritchie 1993; Kim et al. 2000; Pearce 1982; Um and Crompton 1990). As a result of these two processes, an initial pool of 11 destination attributes was developed. A pilot study was then undertaken using the pool of 11 items. Thirty people with experience in overseas honeymoon trips were selected for interviews in the pilot study. Finally, three items were deleted because they were so unique that they were seldom found in the sites selected for this study.
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Three analytical programs were used for this study’s MDS. The first one was the Kruskal, Young, Shepard, and Torgerson (KYST) method using a flexible PC-based program for multidimensional mapping (Kruskal and Wish 1986). KYST uses an algorithm consisting of ratings or rankings to produce a set of metric distances between objects so that the distances most closely represent the original ranks between pairs. Distance between any two points plotted can be interpreted as an indicator of similarity or dissimilarity. To develop questions for the KYST analysis, respondents were told that there are seven popular overseas honeymoon destinations. For each statement, they were asked to circle the number that best describes the level of agreement of similarity or dissimilarity on the perceived image of each pair of seven destinations. For example, one pair of destinations presented in the study was Hawaii and Thailand. The respondents were then presented with a 7-point Likert-type scale where 1 was strongly dissimilar, 4 neutral, and 7 strongly similar and asked to circle the number that best described the level of agreement between the pair. The second analytical program utilized in this study was the property fitting (PROFIT), which by optimizing nonlinear or linear correlation relates a stimulus space to several sets of independently determined attributes called properties. In the first stage, the algorithm for PROFIT uses a coordinate input of the configuration matrix produced as an output of KYST, which indicates n stimuli in a prespecified K number of dimensions. The input is the set of independently determined physical measures called properties on which each stimulus is ranked. PROFIT computes a vector for each property, a direction in the Kdimensional space such that the projections of the n stimulus points on that vector correspond optimally to the values input for the property vectors (Green, Carmone and Smith 1989). The procedure uses each property as the dependent variable in a general nonlinear multiple regression, whereas the stimulus coordinates of the multidimensional space are used as independent variables. Finally, the output of the PROFIT is a plot of the stimulus in K-dimensions along property vectors. In the section of the study requesting information to be used in the PROFIT technique, respondents were told that ‘‘we are interested in your views about your perceived agreement level on attributes of overseas honeymoon tourism destinations. For each statement, circle the number that best describes how you feel about seven destinations on the following eight attributes’’. An example of an attribute item was adequate tourism cost. The responses to the attributes of the locations were measured using a 7-point Likert-type scale where 1 was strongly disagree, 4 neutral, and 7 strongly agree. A program that related preference data to multidimensional scaling solutions (PREFMAP) was also used to investigate ideal points in the obtained perceptual map. This analysis includes a procedure that transforms the coefficients of nonlinear regressions into coordinates of the respondents’ ideal locations and then each ideal location is put into the two-dimensional perceptual space (Chang and Carroll 1972).
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The input data source for the PREFMAP is a set of preference rankings in which each subject ranks the stimuli. In this study, the data set for preference ranking on the eight attributes of seven overseas honeymoon sites, to which potential tourists responded, were analyzed. To use the PREFMAP technique, respondents were told that ‘‘we are interested in the level of agreement on the attributes of overseas honeymoon destinations. For each statement, please rank the destinations from one (the lowest) to seven (the highest) on how you feel about each of the eight attributes of the seven sites.’’ To identify ideal locations, respondents were informed that ‘‘we are interested in your overall views about the level of your perceived preference on the seven overseas honeymoon tour destinations. For each statement, please check the number that best indicates how you feel about the following seven places.’’ The responses to the question were measured on the above 7-point Likert-type scale. A series of correspondence analyses were used to explore the relationship between the honeymoon destinations and sociodemographic and tourism-related variables. Correspondence analysis is an MDS technique for scaling qualitative data that scales the rows and columns of the input contingency table in corresponding units, so that each can be displayed in a two-dimensional plot (Malhotra 1996). The correspondence method is appropriate for an exploratory data analysis technique rather than hypothesis testing (Malhotra 1996). To ask questions for correspondence analyses, sociodemographic and tourism-related variables were operationalized as nominal scales. Additionally, respondents were asked to check on the most preferable of seven overseas areas. A probability sample could not be used because a known sampling frame was not available. Thus, data were collected through personal interviews using a standardized instrument with a convenience sample of potential overseas honeymooners who were attending well-known wedding exhibitions. To investigate the positioning of competing areas, data were collected through personal interviews with 400 people attending two wedding exhibitions at the Korea Trade Center and the Convention and Exhibition Center in Seoul from June 1 to September 30, 2004. Potential respondents were limited to those who were planning a honeymoon trip in the fall of 2004. Excluding seven incomplete questionnaires, 393 cases were used for further analysis.
Study Findings Among the respondents, 50.7% were female, 60.1% were in the 26– 30 year old group, 78.3% had at least a university degree, and 56.9% had annual incomes of $12,500 or more. They also preferred partial package tours (65.0%), with an estimated cost of $2,000 or more (51.1%) for overseas honeymoon tourism, a length of stay of five to seven nights (71.6%), joint payment of the cost of the trip (78.1%), and with overseas experience of one trip or more (57.4%). Potential respondents placed importance on comfortable place (mean = 6.25), good scenery (mean = 6.20), safety (mean = 6.02),
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romantic place (mean = 6.01), appropriate tourism cost (mean = 5.93), good weather (mean = 5.87), historical and cultural resources (mean = 5.19), and good place for shopping (mean = 4.67). The responses to the question were measured on the above 7-point Likerttype scales. Results of KYST Technique. The first step in the KYST analysis was to calculate the mean similarity rating for each of the 21 pairs (all combinations of the seven destinations). According to an investigation of the matrices of similarity ratings for each of these 21 pairs for fall honeymoon trips, Guam and Hawaii were perceived to be the most similar (mean = 4.38), while Thailand and Europe were the most dissimilar (mean = 5.17). Final results of the KYST analysis considering dimensionality of the mean similarity rating are shown in Figure 1. Goodness of fit is a very important consideration in deciding how many dimensions are appropriate. A measure of fit widely used in MDS is stress, which is the square root of a normalized residual sum of squares (Kruskal and Wish 1986). A stress value of zero or near zero indicates that the goodness of fit is acceptable. In the KYST analysis for this study, the final stress value was 0.106 for fall honeymoon location. According to Kruskal’s (1964) criterion, a stress value of 0.10 shows a fair goodness of fit. The initial interpretive process of the KYST analysis is to look for lines in the space, possibly at right angles to each other, such that the stimuli projecting at opposite extremes of a line differ from each other (Kruskal and Wish 1986). Figure 1 shows two dashed lines of the dimension one (Asian-style versus Western-style destinations) and
Figure 1. Two-dimensional Configuration for Competitive Destinations
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dimension two (active versus passive tourism activity destinations). Thailand and China, Asian-style countries, are at one end of dimension one, whereas Europe is at the opposite end. The results indicate that Thailand and China are the most similar pair but, Thailand and Europe, and China and Europe reveal the most dissimilar pairs. Guam and Hawaii were perceived as being the most similar pair in terms of active tourism activity-oriented location where water-based or outdoor participation activities are offered. Compared to resources of Hawaii or Guam, Japan and China were perceived as having the similar image of experiencing passive tourism activities, such as visiting cultural or historical sites. The greatest dissimilarities in images of pairs of sites in dimension two were found for Hawaii and Japan and Guam and Japan. Results of PROFIT and PREFMAP Techniques. The PROFIT analyses produced the final plots of the stimulus points (destinations) and the property vectors (attributes). The property vectors help in interpreting the perceptual maps by showing how the seven sites are located on each attribute vector. At the first stage of interpretation, the vector of each destination attribute should be drawn from the origin (like a line with an arrow shown in Figure 2) and the line should also be
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2 -- ---------------0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------. . Japan -.500 . . Europe 6
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-2.00 -1.67 -1.33 -1.00 -.67 -.33 .00 .33 .67 1.00 1.33 1.67 2.00 1=appropriate tourism cost, 2=comfortable place, 3=good scenery, 4=safety, 5=romantic place, 6=good place for shopping, 7=good weather, 8=historical and cultural resources
Figure 2. Final Plots of the Stimulus Points and the Property Vectors
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drawn toward the vector’s opposite direction through the origin. Next, each destination drops perpendicularly on each attribute’s vector and its opposite line. When the point of a destination is dropped perpendicularly on the vector of an attribute, the farther the distance from the origin along the attribute vector, the better the site depicts the attribute. In contrast, the farther the distance from the origin along the attribute vector’s opposite line, the worse the site depicts the attribute. Figure 2 shows the final plots of the stimulus points and the property vectors. Thailand had the most positive perceptions in terms of appropriate tourism cost, followed by China, Guam, and Hawaii with Europe as the least. Hawaii and Guam were considered the most desirable honeymoon areas with respect to good weather. Respondents perceived that Europe and Japan were the strongest for good place for shopping, safety, and historical and cultural resources, whereas Japan had weaknesses in the other five features. Australia was seen as the most or somewhat most popular honeymoon location with regards to good scenery, comfortable place, romantic place, and good weather. China showed relative strengths in only appropriate tourism cost as well as historical and cultural resources. Figure 3 shows stimuli (in this study, seven destinations) and an ideal point. According to results of the PREFMAP technique, the ideal point is located close to Australia and Hawaii. This means that potential
Figure 3. Perceptual Map of Destinations and an Ideal Point
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honeymooners consider these destinations to be the most preferable places to take a honeymoon trip. In contrast, Japan, Europe, and China were considered to be the relatively least preferable places to take a honeymoon trip. Results of the Correspondence Analyses. Results of the correspondence analyses offer graphical information on the relationship of honeymoon destinations (column variable) to age, education level, experience of overseas tourism, type of tour, estimated cost, and duration (row variables) in a two-dimensional solution. The proximity between a destination and a row variable’s labels is used to interpret the strength of the underlying relationship between them (Malhotra 1996). That is, the closer together the points are, the stronger their relationship. In a series of correspondence analyses, Mainland China was ruled out from the honeymoon destination group that was originally considered because only two of 393 respondents considered this to be the most preferable place. In correspondence analysis between honeymoon locations and age groups, two principal components collectively explained 100% of the variance, with 67.9% of the variance (singular value = .311) for the first dimension and 32.1% of the variance (singular value = .214) for the second dimension. For interpretation of results of the correspondence analysis, the proximity between each location and three age groups in the joint space was considered. In Figure 4, the location of Hawaii, which is close to 31–35 age group, indicates that Koreans aged 31–35 prefer Hawaii for their honeymoon. Likewise, Australia is likely to be considered a more preferable place by respondents in the 21–25 year old age group, because the graphical distance between Australia and the 21 to 25 year old age group was closely located. Dimension 2
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Figure 4. Correspondence Analysis between Age and Destinations
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With regard to the explained proportion of inertia of correspondence analysis between education levels and destinations, the first two principal components accounted for 94.8% of the variance, with 77.5% (singular value = .234) for the first dimension and 17.3% (singular value = .111) for the second. On the basis of the proximity of location between a honeymoon site and education levels, results of correspondence analyses indicated that respondents who were university students preferred Australia, whereas those who were university graduates showed a preference for Japan (Figure 5). According to the results of correspondence analysis between overseas experience and the locations, two principal components accounted for 100% of the variance, with 84.8% (singular value = .234) for the first dimension and 15.2% (singular value = .100) for the second. Australia is closely adjacent to no experience of overseas tours, whereas Europe is located closely to one-two times overseas tourism. Thus, respondents with no overseas experience are likely to prefer Australia as a honeymoon location. On the other hand, those with experience of one or two overseas locations are likely to prefer Europe. According to results of correspondence analysis between types of preferred overseas honeymoon tourism and the destinations, a two dimensional solution collectively explained 100% of the variance, with 88.5% (singular value = .287) for the first dimension and 11.5% (singular value = .104) for the second. Regarding the closeness of distance between a place and types of preferred overseas destinations in the twodimensional joint display, a type of a partial package tourism is located close to Hawaii, indicating that respondents preferring a partial package demonstrated a preference for Hawaii as their honeymoon site.
Dimension 2
0.8
Post graduate school
0.6 Senior high school
-1.5
-1
University students
0.4 Guam 0.2
0 Australia Japan 0 -0.5 -0.2
Hawaii Thailand Dimension 1
University graduate
0.5
1
-0.4 -0.6
Europe
-0.8 indicates destinations, whereas
shows educational levels
Figure 5. Correspondence Analysis: Educational Level and Destinations
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In correspondence analysis between estimated tourism costs and honeymoons, two principal components totally explained 100% of the variance, with 75.4% (singular value = .159) for the first dimension and 24.6% (singular value = .101) for the second. Examining the proximity between a destination and the estimated costs groups, respondents who estimated $2,000–$2,999 preferred Hawaii and those estimating $3,000 or more preferred Europe, respectively. According to the results of correspondence analysis between the duration of the stay and the site, a two dimensional solution explained 100% of the variance, with 61.2% (singular value = .197) for the first dimension and 38.8% (singular value = .157) for the second. According to a consideration of the proximity of a location and duration, respondents who were planning to stay five to seven nights preferred Australia or Hawaii, while those who were planning to stay less than five nights preferred Japan. The results are logical because the duration of their honeymoon is closely related to the location’s distance from Korea.
CONCLUSION As a honeymoon destination, Guam showed a similarity with Thailand as an outdoor tourism activity-oriented site in its perceived image to potential Koreans. This means that Guam is placed in a competitive market setting with Thailand. Thus, authorities of this island destination should try to make an effort to differentiate its image from its competitor, which will place it in a superior market position over Thailand. Guam was also revealed to have relative strengths on the following attributes: good weather, appropriate tourism cost, good scenery, and romantic place. However, this destination was perceived to have weaknesses in such features as safety, good place for shopping, and historical and cultural resources in comparison to other honeymoon destinations. According to KYST analysis, Australia was perceived to have a different image when compared to those of other locations. Respondents perceived it as an ideal place for their honeymoon. This indicates that the Korean market share for Australia can be increased. The latter was found to have relative competitiveness regarding good scenery, romantic place, comfortable place, and good weather. Potential honeymooners to Australia were in the 21–25 age group, had no overseas tour experience, and wanted to stay five to seven nights. Specifically, it is interesting that this country was preferred by younger people. Thus, the Australian government may need to provide information via the Internet, which is very popular with young college students, or promote the country by providing sponsorships to various events in which university students can participate. Additionally, an effective method of promotion would be to advertise it as a honeymoon spot in university newspapers or job recruiting magazines. A significant finding of this study is that those who did not have any overseas tourism experience favorably reported Australia. This means that the younger market has a positive image of Australia as a preferable honeymoon location.
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China showed a similarity with Thailand as an Asian-style country, whereas it demonstrated the least similarity with Europe. The country was perceived to be a suitable destination in terms of appropriate tourism cost and historical and cultural resources. Conversely, respondents indicated that it has weaknesses in its other characteristics. Consequently, potential honeymooners may not consider China to be an ideal choice. Unfortunately, because only two respondents indicated it as a preferred site, a series of correspondence analyses could not be conducted. Thus, this indicates that China lags behind the other locations in competitiveness. Respondents reported that Japan is dissimilar to other destinations. Specifically, this country was the most dissimilar to Guam and Hawaii, because Japan was perceived to be the most appropriate site for historic and cultural tourism. This neighboring country was considered to have strengths in such attributes as safety, a good place for shopping, and historical and cultural resources. However, in terms of weather, comfortable place, good scenery, romantic place, and appropriate tourism cost, Japan was not perceived to be a better destination than the other locations. With regards to the good weather attribute, the Korean market may not favor Japan in the fall season when it is relatively colder than the warmer beach-type resort destinations. Results of this study indicated that respondents who wanted to stay less than five nights preferred Japan. This implies that those with time constraints may select this country for their honeymoon vacations. Therefore, this information is likely to be useful for travel agencies or tour guides in setting up a stay schedule. Hawaii was perceived as having a similar image to Guam in terms of offering outdoor tourism activities and was the least similar to Japan in offering outdoor activities. This US state was also perceived to be the most or more appropriate place to take a honeymoon trip for good weather, romantic place, good scenery, and comfortable place compared to others. In the PREFMAP analysis, respondents reported that Hawaii is an ideal destination. According to the results of the correspondence analyses, those who were in the 31–35 age group, desired partial package tours, planned a honeymoon stay of five to seven nights, and expected tourism costs of $2,000–$2,999 preferred Hawaii. These findings indicate that older, wealthier honeymooners are more likely to prefer Hawaii. More specifically, respondents showed a preference for partial package to Hawaii. Thus, development of tours to Hawaii offering options in this area would be helpful for those who want to participate in partial package tours. This information would be very useful to travel agencies that organize honeymoon package tours as well as land travel operators in developing tour products in Hawaii. Thailand was found to share a similar image with China as an Asianstyle site. This country was perceived to have strength in the appropriate tourism cost attribute but showed weaknesses in the other attributes. Thus, destination marketers there need to make the market aware that beach resorts in Thailand have other strengths beyond
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appropriate tourism cost. For example, it might be helpful to develop new souvenir items that promote the historical and cultural programs of the country, such as a traditional Thai wedding ceremony, or introduce the honeymooners to the local traditional culture. Providing these programs can meet the market need to experience the novelty of an exotic culture instead of the inevitable feeling of boredom that comes with a beautiful beach or tropical scenery with nothing else to do except sit in the sun. Europe did not show any image similarity to the other locations in the study. However, it was perceived to be the most Western-style region and showed the most dissimilar image with Thailand and China. Respondents reported that the continent has relative strengths in comparison to the other destinations’ attributes with the exception of both good weather and appropriate cost. In contrast, it was perceived to have low competitiveness regarding both good weather and appropriate tourism cost. This reflects the fact that European countries are located a far distance from Korea and the fall season there is relatively colder. Thus, in terms of weather, the Korean market may prefer Europe for their honeymoon in the spring or summer seasons. Those who had overseas experience of one or two trips, estimated the cost to be $3,000 or more, and wanted to have an overseas stay of eight nights or more, preferred Europe. In conclusion, this study, which used a mix of various methods, provides useful information of target markets for seven honeymoon locations and their competitiveness. Even though results of this study are based on the Korean experience, the findings may be applied to researching or marketing other destinations. First, honeymooners who have more experience with overseas tourism are willing to spend more money, consider a longer overseas stay, and are likely to prefer longhaul places with different cultures. Second, those who hold civil servant positions and perceive time as a constraint are likely to travel to neighboring areas, which provide passive tourism activities. Third, the Korean market prefers Hawaii and Australia as ideal destinations. This implies that honeymooners are likely to prefer ideal destinations even though they are far away from their homeland. Fourth, in a similar context to the third implication, they may not highly regard tourism costs, including transportation or higher consumer price, in choosing a location. One reason for the last two implications appears to be that they want to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience regardless of incurring costs. Fifth, these reflect that this is likely to be a higher spending target. Thus, destination marketers need to develop a more quality-based than a price-leadership product. Sixth, the findings of this study indicate that it is perceived that destinations have many different characteristics. The honeymooners’ perceptions were different across sociodemographic characteristics and previous tourism experience. This indicates that marketers should develop products that meet the different honeymoon segments’ motivation. Seventh, on the basis of this study, areas with natural resources rather than with cultural or historic resources are preferred. Eighth, there
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has been an absence of any market positioning studies that incorporate KYST, PROFIT, PREFMAP, and correspondence analyses. Thus, combination of various methods for honeymoon destination positioning will indicate the possibility of application to other countries’ data setting. The study results would be of great use to foreign honeymoon marketers or tourism officials involving the industry in identifying characteristics and their target markets. Similarly, this study is expected to be of great help to Korean travel agencies specializing in honeymoon tours by helping to develop appealing programs. Furthermore, until now, there have been few studies on honeymoon market in tourism. Thus, it is expected that this study will contribute a stimulating interest in this subject among academics and practitioners. In analytical approaches, an application of various MDS methods, which visually show competitiveness of destinations, can be extended to other marketing research agendas such as product or brand positioning, and advertising effectiveness. A limitation of this study is that it included only selected samples from potential honeymooners who were planning trips in the fall season. As Korean wedding ceremonies are usually held in both the fall and spring seasons, a future study is needed to apply this positioning approach to spring honeymooners in order to identify whether the new results differ from those of this study due to seasonality. The other limitation of the present investigation is that Europe seems too vague due to the fact that attributes differ among its countries. Therefore, a future study should consider a more accurate depiction of the region or list its countries in order to develop a clearer image of what Europe is to Korean honeymooners.
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Submitted 26 May 2004. Resubmitted 18 August 2004. Resubmitted 1 October 2005. Accepted 16 October 2004. Final version 17 December 2004. Refereed anonymously. Coordinating Editor: Rex S. Toh