The doctoral dissertation in the field of Tourism Marketing and Management will be examined at the faculty of Business and Social Sciences at Joensuu.
What is the topic of your doctoral research? Why is it important to study the topic?
My doctoral research topic is taking Finland as a case study, the nature of the destination image concept is explored by analyzing a large number of Chinese online travel reviews and Chinese tourists' online behaviour. This study is important due to four reasons: First, from a theoretical point of view, with the development of information technology, tourists pay more and more attention to online destination image. The traditional concept of destination image needs to be further updated according to the background of the times. However, there are still many deficiencies in the research of destination image in the current age. Second, from the aspect of managerial implements, online social media plays an important role in tourists' destination image formation process, especially online travel reviews. Exploring the characteristics of destination image through online travel reviews can help destination marketers to better develop a digital marketing strategy to promote the destination effectively. Third, from the Finland destination point of view, before the epidemic, Chinese tourists had been the fastest growing country in Finland for several consecutive years. Analysis of Chinese online travel reviews can better understand Chinese tourists' perceptions of Finland destinations, tap the needs of potential tourists and find new growth breakthroughs. Fourth, from the perspective of Chinese tourists, in the post-epidemic era, Chinese outbound tourists will once again become the main force leading the world tourism consumption market. Delivering the correct, effective and positive destination information to Chinese tourists will undoubtedly improve Chinese tourists' perception of Finland's destination and enhance the competitive advantage of Finland’s destinations in the Chinese market.
What are the key findings or observations of your doctoral research?
In my research, by analyzing the online travel review content and online tourists behaviour, I found that the concept of the destination image is relative, dynamic at macro and micro levels. The relativity of destination images is mainly reflected in the significant differences in destination images presented by different online review platforms. The macro-dynamics of the destination image shows the Finnish destination image can change significantly over time. The micro-dynamics is reflected in the evolution of individual tourists' perception of the destination, which is influenced by different types of review content. In terms of implementation, understanding the relativity of destination image can help destination marketers develop different tourism products for different online travel platforms. Understanding the macro characteristics of destination image helps destination marketers monitor the real-time evolution of destination image and improve destination competitiveness. The understanding of micro-dynamics can help destination marketers formulate better promotional content for tourists and improve destination perception and willingness to visit.
What are the key research methods and materials used in your doctoral research?
My doctoral research adopted a mixed research method, including qualitative content analysis, quantitative content analysis, sentiment analysis and some statistical analysis methods. The research data mainly includes two types: textual data of online travel reviews, and questionnaire data collected through surveys. Online travel reviews were collected from five major Chinese travel review websites, including Ctrip, Qyer, Mafengwo, Tuniu, and Qunar. From the textual data, qualitative content analysis was used to extract the Finnish destination image of Chinese tourists. Then based on the qualitative content analysis results, I used quantitative content analysis and sentiment analysis to intuitively explain Chinese tourists’ perception of Finland. The questionnaire data was collected through the online panel service. By comparing tourists' perception of Finland before and after reading travel reviews, I explained how different types of travel review content affect Chinese tourists' perception of Finnish destination.
The doctoral dissertation of Xinxin Guo, M.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm.), entitled The Nature of Destination Image Concept in Online Travel Reviews, will be examined at the faculty of Business and Social Sciences on 4.3..2022 at 12 noon online. The Opponent will be Professor Heikki Karjaluoto, University of Jyväskylä, and the Custos will be Professor Juho Pesonen, University of Eastern Finland. Language of the dissertation event is English. Public examination will be streamed live.
Dissertation (pdf)
For further information, please contact:
Xinxin Guo, xinxing(at)student.uef.fi
