Sunsets, seafood and sea gypsies: A qualitative content analysis on the alternative destination image of Malaysian Borneo among Chinese outbound tourists

The purpose of this work is to explore the online destination image perceived by Chinese tourists visiting Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Employing Leiper’s tourism system as a guiding framework, the research utilized qualitative content analysis (QCA) to scrutinize a purposefully selected sample of thirt...

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Main Authors: Ke Zhang, Balvinder Kaur Kler, Siao Fui Wong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Lodz University Press 2024-11-01
Series:Tourism
Subjects:
Online Access:https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/tourism/article/view/21938
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author Ke Zhang
Balvinder Kaur Kler
Siao Fui Wong
author_facet Ke Zhang
Balvinder Kaur Kler
Siao Fui Wong
author_sort Ke Zhang
collection DOAJ
description The purpose of this work is to explore the online destination image perceived by Chinese tourists visiting Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Employing Leiper’s tourism system as a guiding framework, the research utilized qualitative content analysis (QCA) to scrutinize a purposefully selected sample of thirty-seven Douyin contents, which is known outside China as TikTok. Findings indicate an alternative destination image, with Chinese tourists highlighting sunsets, seafood and sea gypsies as prominent attributes, deviating from the conventional association of sun, sea and sand. This distinctive perception contrasts with the perceptions held by Western tourists of Sabah. Informed by Leiper’s tourism system, this study emphasizes the importance for coastal destination marketing organizations to convey a destination image that extends beyond the conventional sun-sea-sand concept. Effective communication requires a nuanced understanding of unique destination images tailored to specific market segments based on their respective tourist generating regions. This approach aligns with Leiper’s emphasis on the interconnected relationships between the tourist generating region and the tourist destination region, providing insights for strategic destination marketing that cater to diverse tourist perspectives. The findings interpret user-generated content (UGC) within Leiper’s tourism system, consolidating the importance of projected online destination images.
format Article
id doaj-art-1da1382147b44b8e87b11d1c0bf985ed
institution Kabale University
issn 0867-5856
2080-6922
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Lodz University Press
record_format Article
series Tourism
spelling doaj-art-1da1382147b44b8e87b11d1c0bf985ed2025-01-17T07:06:02ZengLodz University PressTourism0867-58562080-69222024-11-0134218119210.18778/0867-5856.34.2.1322037Sunsets, seafood and sea gypsies: A qualitative content analysis on the alternative destination image of Malaysian Borneo among Chinese outbound touristsKe Zhang0https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8364-857XBalvinder Kaur Kler1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8219-1549Siao Fui Wong2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3375-826XUniversiti Malaysia Sabah (Malaysia), Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy; Neijiang Normal University (China), College of Economics and ManagementUniversiti Malaysia Sabah (Malaysia); Borneo Tourism Research Centre, Faculty of Business, Economics and AccountancyNanjing Tech University Pujiang Institute (China); MODUL School of Tourism and Hospitality ManagementThe purpose of this work is to explore the online destination image perceived by Chinese tourists visiting Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Employing Leiper’s tourism system as a guiding framework, the research utilized qualitative content analysis (QCA) to scrutinize a purposefully selected sample of thirty-seven Douyin contents, which is known outside China as TikTok. Findings indicate an alternative destination image, with Chinese tourists highlighting sunsets, seafood and sea gypsies as prominent attributes, deviating from the conventional association of sun, sea and sand. This distinctive perception contrasts with the perceptions held by Western tourists of Sabah. Informed by Leiper’s tourism system, this study emphasizes the importance for coastal destination marketing organizations to convey a destination image that extends beyond the conventional sun-sea-sand concept. Effective communication requires a nuanced understanding of unique destination images tailored to specific market segments based on their respective tourist generating regions. This approach aligns with Leiper’s emphasis on the interconnected relationships between the tourist generating region and the tourist destination region, providing insights for strategic destination marketing that cater to diverse tourist perspectives. The findings interpret user-generated content (UGC) within Leiper’s tourism system, consolidating the importance of projected online destination images.https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/tourism/article/view/21938leiper’s tourism systemonline destination imagequalitative content analysisqcachinadouyin
spellingShingle Ke Zhang
Balvinder Kaur Kler
Siao Fui Wong
Sunsets, seafood and sea gypsies: A qualitative content analysis on the alternative destination image of Malaysian Borneo among Chinese outbound tourists
Tourism
leiper’s tourism system
online destination image
qualitative content analysis
qca
china
douyin
title Sunsets, seafood and sea gypsies: A qualitative content analysis on the alternative destination image of Malaysian Borneo among Chinese outbound tourists
title_full Sunsets, seafood and sea gypsies: A qualitative content analysis on the alternative destination image of Malaysian Borneo among Chinese outbound tourists
title_fullStr Sunsets, seafood and sea gypsies: A qualitative content analysis on the alternative destination image of Malaysian Borneo among Chinese outbound tourists
title_full_unstemmed Sunsets, seafood and sea gypsies: A qualitative content analysis on the alternative destination image of Malaysian Borneo among Chinese outbound tourists
title_short Sunsets, seafood and sea gypsies: A qualitative content analysis on the alternative destination image of Malaysian Borneo among Chinese outbound tourists
title_sort sunsets seafood and sea gypsies a qualitative content analysis on the alternative destination image of malaysian borneo among chinese outbound tourists
topic leiper’s tourism system
online destination image
qualitative content analysis
qca
china
douyin
url https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/tourism/article/view/21938
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AT balvinderkaurkler sunsetsseafoodandseagypsiesaqualitativecontentanalysisonthealternativedestinationimageofmalaysianborneoamongchineseoutboundtourists
AT siaofuiwong sunsetsseafoodandseagypsiesaqualitativecontentanalysisonthealternativedestinationimageofmalaysianborneoamongchineseoutboundtourists