Examining national tourism brand image: content analysis of Lonely Planet Korea

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Korea tourism brand image in a popular tour guidebook, Lonely Planet Korea and to provide an objective insight for examining destination image.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve this goal, this study used content analysis to analyze the Korea tourism brand image.

Findings

Overall, 200,435 words were selected. The frequency of words was highly related to transportation and famous attractions. Moreover, to evaluate the value of the Korea tourism brand image, only adjectives in context were extracted. In total, 2,716 adjectives in each category were examined. The Korea tourism brand image was positive in that “good” adjectives were the most frequently selected. Furthermore, value properties based on The Lasswell Value Dictionary were examined. The value of words also supported the results of the content analysis of adjectives. The results of correspondence analysis found that the “outdoor” category was separately positioned with “old” adjectives.

Practical implications

Based on the results of content analysis by category, selected adjectives reflected current Korean tourism and hospitality problems.

Originality/value

The paper suggests implications that can be used to improve the Korea tourism brand image.

Citation

Youn Kim, H. and Yoon, J. (2013), "Examining national tourism brand image: content analysis of Lonely Planet Korea", Tourism Review, Vol. 68 No. 2, pp. 56-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-10-2012-0016