Cultural Differences in Pictorial Destination Images

Destination photography communicates images that shape and reshape destination perceptions of past and potential tourists and, consequently, influence their decision-making process. Using theoretical underpinnings provided in works on culture, this exploratory study examines whether destination photographs taken by tourists and posted on social-network websites are reflective of culture to which those tourists belong. Content analysis of American and Korean photographs of Russia posted on Flickr and in Korean travel blogs, respectively, was followed by chi-square and co-occurrence analyses of destination attributes, as well as geospatial analysis of image locations using ARC GIS software. Although the core of Russia’s destination image—urban, contemporary, architecturally interesting, and spacious—is similar for both cultural groups, the study found differences in the way that American and Korean tourists represent Russia as a destination. These differences are discussed from the perspective of tourists’ respective cultures.