Different cultures, different images: a comparison between historic conservation area destination image choices of Chinese and Western tourists

ABSTRACT

Using three Hangzhou Grand Canal historic conservation areas as the gaze fields, this study delineates differences in the image choices of visitors from cross-cultural backgrounds. Analysis of tourist-generated content, including destination image (DI) dimensions and frequency, suggests that Chinese tourists prefer human attractions and experiencing neighborhood life, while Western tourists prefer natural scenery and participating in tourist activities. The research also spotlights the phenomenon of the ‘tourist gaze circulatory.’ Tourists’ differentiated pursuits and on-site tourism experiences can influence the projection of DI, and the altered DI will in turn affect subsequent tourists. Based on this notion, suggestions are made for the in-depth development of the Canal’s historic conservation areas, differentiated for the different gazes of Chinese and Western tourists; and for a guide to help Western tourists experience Chinese urban life and enrich their gaze objects, with a view to protecting and enhancing world cultural heritage.

KEYWORDS:

• Destination image
• cross-cultural
• tourist gaze
• grounded theory
• content analysis
• tourist-generated content

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province [Grant/Award Number: KYCX20_2408]. National Social Science Foundation [Grant/Award Number: 14BGL085]. A Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

Notes on contributors

Ting Sun

Ting Sun, PhD candidate in Soochow University. Her research work includes cultural heritage protection and tourism development, destination image, and the Grand Canal.

Yongle Li

Yongle Li, Ph.D., professor of Jiangsu Normal University, and concurrently deputy dean of the Xuzhou Branch of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt Construction Research Institute. The main research fields are cultural heritage protection and tourism development, and research on the Grand Canal. He has published more than 20 related academic papers.

Huang Tai

Huang Tai, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor and the Head of the Department of Tourism and the Academy of Culture and Tourism Research at Soochow University. His research undertaking encompasses tourism geography, tourism sustainability, tourism development and rural change.