Differential Effects of Tourism Resources on the Attractiveness of Destination Bundles

Abstract

This research aimed at examining the influence of destination resource characteristics of a destination bundle on the attractiveness of the bundle. Data for this study were obtained through a survey of conveniently selected students from the Seoul Institute of the Arts (n=286). Busan was selected as a main destination and five nearby cities (i.e., Geoje, Gyeongju, Daegu, Ulsan, and Jinju) within one hour driving or ferry riding distance range were selected as a secondary destination. Respondents were asked to indicate the attractiveness of 5 destination bundles (i.e., combinations of 5 additional destinations and Busan) on a 10-point Liker type scale. Respondents were also asked to evaluate eight different aspects of tourism resource (i.e., natural resource, cultural heritage, festivals, leisure and sports activity, recreation facility, accommodation facility, shopping facility, and food) of each destination on a 5-point Likert type scale ranges from 1 ‘very limited’ to 5 ‘very rich.’ The results indicate that tourists tend to prefer a destination bundle which provides a better potential opportunity of tourism experience. However, the influence of resources appears not to be consistent across different bundles Some aspects of resource do not have significant impacts; furthermore, some aspects (i.e., shopping facility) appear to have a significant negative impact. Implications and suggestions for future research are addressed.

Keywords:

• Destination bundle
• Multidestination trip
• Busan
• Resource characteristics