Understanding young Chinese customers’ perceptions of unsafe city image restoration after Covid-19 outbreak

IF 3 Q2 HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM

International Journal of Tourism Cities Pub Date : 2023-09-26 DOI:10.1108/ijtc-12-2022-0265

Chang (Cherise) Li, Elizabeth Agyeiwaah, Alain Imboden, Younghee Maria Lee

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to uncover marketing strategies to restore a positive image in times of pandemic crisis to bring tourists back to a popularly affected tourism city in China, Wuhan in Hubei Province. The paper argues that the process of restoring city image requires understanding the perceptions of Generation Z, a segment of the population who have a high propensity to travel after COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a constructivist grounded theory approach to explore the perspectives of China’s Generation Z consumers of Wuhan’s future image to restart tourism. The data is collected through semi-structured interview of 29 respondents and analyzed with the initial, focused and theoretical coding process. Findings Start by narrowing the gap between projected and perceived image, the findings suggest that Generation Z could be pulled to visit Wuhan city through four core products such as dark tourism activities, special-interest leisure, heroism and storytelling. Originality/value The destination image restoration framework after health-related crisis is creatively proposed. It combines the analysis of crisis and urban characteristics from the perspective of the target audience (Generation Z) and provides specific strategies to restore the tourism city image from cognitive, affective and conative dimensions. Significantly, two novel characteristics of Generation Z (i.e. lighthearted and patriotic) emerge in addition to the typical features of this generational cohort. This study also found a high preference for a technologically oriented type of attraction that reverses the morbid COVID-19 memories into an entertainment tool.

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了解新冠疫情后中国年轻消费者对不安全城市形象修复的看法

本研究旨在揭示在疫情危机时期恢复积极形象的营销策略，以吸引游客回到中国受疫情影响严重的旅游城市——湖北省武汉。文章认为，在恢复城市形象的过程中，需要了解Z世代的看法，Z世代是新冠肺炎疫情后出行倾向较高的人群。本研究采用建构主义扎根理论的方法，探讨中国Z世代消费者对武汉未来形象重启旅游的看法。通过对29名受访者的半结构化访谈收集数据，并通过初始化、聚焦化和理论编码过程进行分析。研究结果表明，通过“黑色旅游”、“特殊兴趣休闲”、“英雄主义”和“讲故事”四个核心产品，可以吸引Z世代来武汉旅游。创造性地提出了健康危机后目的地形象恢复框架。结合目标受众(Z世代)视角对危机和城市特征的分析，从认知、情感和内涵三个维度提出具体的旅游城市形象重塑策略。值得注意的是，除了Z世代的典型特征外，还出现了Z世代的两个新特征(即轻松和爱国)。这项研究还发现，人们非常喜欢一种以技术为导向的吸引力，这种吸引力将病态的COVID-19记忆转变为娱乐工具。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Tourism Cities HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM-

CiteScore

5.90

自引率

11.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： A peer-reviewed journal, the International Journal of Tourism Cities provides an international forum for the critical study of urban tourism and tourism cities. The journal aims to be inter-disciplinary in its appreciation of tourism cities and tourism in urban areas, and welcomes original, theoretically-informed articles from those involved in the planning, management or marketing of tourism in city destination or places adjoining urban areas. Urban tourism and travel cover many disciplines and impinge on numerous aspects of daily life within cities. Moreover, they play a key role in domestic and international tourism in most countries, and cities often function as key travel gateways and tourism destinations. The International Journal of Tourism Cities contents include primary research articles, expert discussions on current urban tourism issues, and tourism city case studies. Articles are selected that are relevant to both academics and practitioners. The journal particularly encourages contributions on contemporary topics and issues in urban tourism including smart cities and tourism, environmental impact and sustainable tourism development in cities, citizen and stakeholder involvement in tourism, city destination governance, and the development of policies and standards for city tourism development. The International Journal of Tourism Cities has four distinct purposes: To encourage greater research and scholarship related to tourism in urban settings. To stimulate more interdisciplinary research on tourism in cities, particularly the integration of tourism and urban studies theories and principles. To generate more research studies on tourism at the edge of cities, where urban and rural areas converge. To create more literature on best practices in city tourism worldwide through in-depth analyses and the production of exemplary case studies.