Exploring the Destination Image of Tuscany through the Eyes of Chinese Tourists: A Content Analysis of Mafengwo Travel Blogs

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of Chinese tourists' perceptions of Tuscany as a destination and to identify the key factors influencing their travel experience. This thesis will investigate the various tourism attributes mentioned by Chinese tourists in their Mafengwo travel blogs in order to gain a better understanding of Tuscany's perceived destination image. The three research questions are: 1. What attributes of Tuscany are featured within blogs written by Chinese travellers? 2. How do Chinese perceptions of these different attributes contribute to their overall combined perception of Tuscany? 3. What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of different tourism products and services in Tuscany according to Chinese travellers online? The concept of destination image was first proposed by Crompton (1979), which has at present become one of the most discussed topics in the field of tourism and marketing. Destination image refers to the sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has of a destination. Mafengwo is a popular Chinese travel app that allows users to share their travel experiences, reviews, and recommendations of places they visit. Mafengwo was chosen because it has a large Chinese user base, with over 150 million monthly active users. The content analysis method was chosen for this study. Because it allows the contents of the data collected to be quantified and categorised in order to identify the trends and frequencies of the topics covered, content analysis is an appropriate method for analysing the travel blogs of Chinese tourists in the Tuscany destination.