The overall purpose of this study is to examine the moderating roles of gender and generation in the effects of perceived destination image on tourist attitude and visit intention among Chinese potential tourists to Australia. Australia is one of the preferred destinations to Chinese tourists and the China market emerges to be increasingly important to destination marketing organisations in Australia. Echoing the call for more gender studies in the tourism literature and also based on the generation theory, this study employed a cross-sectional questionnaire survey design and used structural equation modelling in its analysis. Survey data were collected through convenience sampling in the Chinese city Harbin at various public venues where urban residents can be found. The study identified Services and Tourism Provisions, Natural Environment, and Quality of Life as three destination image dimensions perceived by Chinese urban residents toward Australia. Services and Tourism Provisions, Natural Environment both positively affected tourist attitude, which in turn levered up visit intention. The study found that the effect of Services and Tourism Provisions on attitude was stronger for men than for women, while the effect of Natural Environment on attitude was stronger for women than for men; for the Post-80s/90s generation, the effect of Natural Environment on attitude was significantly stronger than that for the Post-60s/70s generation. Implications for tourism marketers and managers are discussed.
Huang, Samvan der Veen, Robert
Oxford Brookes Business School\Oxford School of Hospitality Management
Year of publication: 2018Date of RADAR deposit: 2018-10-11