Food

Images Impacts on Destination

Images and Tourist’s Visit Intention

in South Korea

Bill Pham

Certificate International Hospitality and Tourism Operations

HTMI Switzerland

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Introduction

Nowadays, people noticed that Asian cuisine is famous all over the world because

of its healthful and individual flavors [Barney, 2012]. For that reason, food often

is one of the main motivation factors for plenty of tourists through different types

of tourism (food tourism, tasting tourism, or culinary tourism). In addition,

Korea’s cuisine is directly leading more and more arrivals to Korea. In 2014,

There are total of 14,201,516 foreigners arriving to South Korea (Korea Tourism

Organisation, 2014 ). Comparing with 2013, there were just over 12 million

foreigners .Year after year, Korea’s government recognized that their culture and

people here are mirroring through their regional food. Seeing the huge outcome

of food images through communications (social network and reality show) to

tourism, the government start concentrating on branding destinations through

creating positive images. Consequently, the essential objective of this research is

determined the achievements and the importance of Korean food images on

branding destination, and how it affects to travelers’ behaviors and their

intentions when they visit, showing strong links between food image, destination

image and visit intentions. Therefore, the author expects to point how the food

image influence destination image and visit intension.

Destination Image

Hunt (1975) is known to be the first determine the importance of destination

image in raising amount of travelers traveling to destination. There are several

researches analysed that destination image (DI) connected to the quantity and

need sides of marketing. Destination image can be illustrated as “the sum of

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beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has of a destination” (Crompton,

1979). There are multiple researches about DI that it impacts on the

arrangement building of potential tourists (Byon and Zhang, 2010). Lawson and

Baud Bovy (1977) determined the truth model of destination images revealing

expertises, knowledges and emotional thoughts of particular or a group of

tourists about specific location. Multiple researches has pointed that destination

image building through straight information and experiences [Baloglu &

McCeary, 1999].. Through tourism research, images is considering to be more

extensive in motivating consumers’ action (Gallarza, Gil and Calderon, 2002).

Milman and Pizam (1995) proposed that tourist’s thoughts about the particular

location may change from awareness to similarity through positive images,

increasing their interesting in that place and also their visit intent. The

familiarity towards destination guide potential tourists to figure the destination

image and impulse visit intention. Therefore, destination familiarity is told to

have an effect on destination image and decision-making process. Baloglu (1999)

figured out between destination image and visit intention has a strong link and it

connects together. Destination image has been grouped into 3 elements: First is

cognitive as planning-process for destination choice, second is affective showing

the interests of tourists and how they feel about the destination, finally is

conative element pointing out the final selection of tourists for their destination

(Baloglu, 1999). In Gartner (1993) point of view, the cognitive element revealed

traveler’s expectation and how they react while seeing images of destination. In

contrast, the affective element is a little bit different from cognitive which

showing what travelers feeling about the specific destination through images.

After all, Russel (1980) concluded that the affective element is influential to both

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positive and negative thoughts of travelers during deciding where to travel.

There is a strong link between cognitive and affective element. Baloglu (1999)

demonstrated both cognitive and affective images has a influence on visit

intention.

Visit Intention

It is very important to understand the motivation of tourist “Motivation is the

need that drives an individual to act in a certain way to achieved the desired

satisfaction” (Beerli et al, 2004).Understanding traveler’s motivation is seem to

be the most complex affair in researching tourists’ behaviors (Crompton, 1979).

Crompton (1979) trusted that travelers’ motivation to be an origin of controlling

behaviors of travelers beside where, when, what they plan to travel. Moreover,

understanding the motivation and knowing the feelings of tourists about

destination is very necessary. Sharma (1995) claimed that understanding

tourists’ motivation will have a huge impact on the way we increase their visit

intention. . Brezovec (2004) pointed out that tourist’s decision making and

attitudes have been affected by individual destination’s positive and negative

images. The interests and choices of tourists to one destinations can be linked by

recognized image of destinations in selection process (O’Leary and Deegan,

2003). Moreover, Woodside and Lysonski (1989) claimed that destination

images takes a major role in chosing place to travel of tourists. Attractive factors

of destination images is generally affected to visit intention. The necessary of

individual destination is owning a substantial image that sticked in tourist’s head

for their visit or revisit intentions (Echtner and Ritchie, 2003). This factor

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becomes more important that impacted on people feelings during chosing a

travel destination (Russel, 1980). Court and Lupton (1997) analyzed that the link

between destination images and visit intention has a huge impact on tourist’s

minds on planning process. In addition, travelers grow more trust through the

image of involve destination so that they will choose that destination. So that

Destination images shows two essential in visit intention. First is influence to

destination planning-process and second is to destination after planning-process

(Crompton, 1979; Beerli & Martin, 2004; Hunt, 1975). The connection of

expectation and definitely going to destination can provide on-site experience

through images of destination. Lee et al. (2005) believed that experiences in

specific destination can be positively through encouraging destination image, so

that raising the enjoyment to that destination and intent to visit of travelers.

Food Images

Eating is the most common needs of human in daily life. Nowsaday, food has

turned into the most key aspect in branding destinations. Richards (2015)

pointed out that eating is one of the main reason to visit destination (tasting

experiences) so that food plays impotant roles in this field. Food images also has

impact on destination, culture and economy of one country. Food images provide

an impression to the travelers that they will plan to go to that destination to taste

and precisely lead travelers contact with local culture. In addition, the link

between food images and destination must be analysed more for better

understanding of how food images affected to destination marketing.

Figure 1 shows that food image directly linked with destination image. When

travelers see images of local food, they will find information about that

destination have that food and research about it. After researching about

destination images, more images travelers see, more intention to visit. After all,

Food images have a huge impacts on both destination image and tourists’ visit

intention. Several researches has shown how important of food toward the

destination and justified that in somehow food is related to destination image

(Quang and Wang, 2004). Considering food as the key significant in travelers’

recognition of destination engaging after conditions, accomodations, and sight-

seeing [Hu & Ritchie 1986]. In addition, travel decisions can have great

motivatings through food, it arranges enjoyable sensory experience and helps

understanding local culture also [Sharim, 2006]. The role of food in branding

destinations is becoming more and more important. Therefore, regional food has

huge potential in enhancing developments of tourism, achieve to the truthfulness

of the destination and also strengthen the local economy. Moreover, one of the

main reason for traveler come back to one location is food in order to taste it one

more time. For this reason, food becomes major element in branding destination

images and more marketing campaigns are focusing on it [Manolis, 2010].

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Conclusion and Reccomendation

The world more and more developed nowadays so that tourism is much

competitive and in order to attract more potential tourists or maintain the revisit

ones need an sufficient marketing strategy. Korean food image bring a positive

expression to tourist about destination and that also affected to their intention

to visit or return. There are a lot of TV shows or festivals in South-Korea that

created the positive food images that can motivate tourists. Besides, the reality

show Running Man become the destination brand of South Korea after it start

broadcasting on television in 2010. After 6 year broadcasting, Running Man has a

huge amount of fans over the world (Asia, Middle East and also another

continent) so they will know about Korean culture, food, local people and raising

their satisfaction about destination and increasing their intention to visit.

Therefore, the main point of this study is to understand how important of food

images to destination and the way tourist behave. It also developing Korea food

tourism and pointing out the contribution of regional food to tourism.

Despite of the limitation of datas, the author still trying to express his knowledge

for better understanding about food image . For further study, researchers can

find more informations, datas in different ways to get better knowledge how

food images affected to destination image and visit intention of travelers.

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