Assessing the Impact of Movies Upon an Individual's Image Formation Concerning a Given Destination
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University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2004 Assessing The Impact Of Movies Upon An Individual's Image Formation Concerning A Given Destination Jeeyeon (Jeannie) Hahm University of Central Florida, [email protected] Part of the Hospitality Administration and Management Commons, and the Tourism and Travel Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Hahm, Jeeyeon (Jeannie), "Assessing The Impact Of Movies Upon An Individual's Image Formation Concerning A Given Destination" (2004). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 131. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/131 ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF MOVIES UPON AN INDIVIDUAL’S IMAGE FORMATION CONCERNING A GIVEN DESTINATION by JEEYEON HAHM B.A. Seoul Women’s University, 1997 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Summer Term 2004 © 2004 Jeeyeon Hahm ii ABSTRACT The process of watching a movie is a common way to be entertained in this day and age. There are multiple ways in which people can enjoy a movie ranging from the big screen at a commercial theater, on their home’s television, or even in a car while driving. One outcome associated with watching a destination movie might be that the viewer will be compelled to visit or not the location portrayed in the movie. It is a primary assumption of this thesis that movies have the ability to create or change an individual’s image of a destination by its portrayal within the motion picture. This study was conducted in an effort to examine this global phenomenon called movie tourism and contribute to the tourism literature. This study focused on determining the differences between pre and post measures resulting from watching a destination specific movie. The research method was a pretest-posttest experimental design conducted to a convenience sample of 247 hospitality management students enrolled in a major metropolitan university located in the southeastern portion of the United States. The research instrument was a pre and posttest questionnaire that included structured and unstructured questions in order to capture the complex destination image. The treatment between the pre and posttest was a destination specific movie. A 100% response rate was obtained from the pretest group and a 99.2% response rate from the posttest group. Results of the study revealed that: 1) certain perceived destination images were different before and after the movie; 2) level of interest in visiting the destination was not different before and after the movie; 3) destination image had a positive relationship with the level of interest in visiting the destination; and 4) certain audience characteristics had an impact on destination iii image and interest in visiting the location. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed in the final chapter. iv To my grandparents, parents, and husband. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to several individuals who have assisted and supported me in completing this study. I would like to thank my thesis committee chair and advisor, Dr. Randall Upchurch, who has encouraged me to take the thesis track and guided me throughout the process. You have supported me and advised me during my years at the Rosen College. I truly appreciate all the opportunities that you have given to me. I would like to thank Dr. Youcheng Wang who served on my committee for always challenging me and encouraging me. I would like to thank Dr. Ady Milman who also served on my committee for providing me with exciting ideas on the thesis topic. I would also like to thank my other thesis committee member Dr. Natalie Underberg from the Department of Film for providing a different perspective from her area of study. I would also like to express my gratitude to Ms. Mary Jo Ross, Mr. Peter Ricci, and Dr. Tammie Kaufman for supporting me and sharing their classes with me to facilitate the data collection process. I also appreciate all the students who participated and provided valuable information for this study. I would like to send special thanks to my grandparents, Dr. Yong-Ju and Kyu-Nam Hahm, who are the foundation of my success and my parents, Dr. Kyung-Soo and Young-Sook Hahm, who always encourage and support me in every way. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my lovely husband, Sae-Jong, for his love, encouragement, support and patience. Finally, I would like to thank all of my friends in Seoul, Korea and at the Rosen College for cheering me up throughout the whole process. Thank you all! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ x LIST OF HYPERLINKS ............................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 1 Need for the Study ...................................................................................................................... 7 Objectives of the Study............................................................................................................... 8 Significance of the Study............................................................................................................ 9 Definition of Terms .................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................... 11 Destination Image..................................................................................................................... 11 Conceptualization and Dimensions of Destination Image .................................................................................13 Destination Image Formation Process................................................................................................................18 Assessment and Measurement of Destination Image.........................................................................................22 Influence of Distance on Destination Image ......................................................................................................25 Destination Image Change over Time................................................................................................................27 Destination Image Management Policies...........................................................................................................31 Popular Culture......................................................................................................................... 33 Mass Media and Tourism ......................................................................................................... 36 Different Types of Mass Media in Tourism.......................................................................................................38 Movies and Tourism ................................................................................................................. 49 Movies in Destination Image Studies.................................................................................................................49 Movies in Popular Culture and Mass Media......................................................................................................50 Movie Tourism...................................................................................................................................................52 Model of the Study ................................................................................................................... 58 Components of the Model..................................................................................................................................60 Research Hypotheses ................................................................................................................ 65 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 66 Research Design ....................................................................................................................... 66 Sampling Frame .................................................................................................................................................67 Questionnaire Instrument...................................................................................................................................68 Pilot Test ............................................................................................................................................................74 Data Collection ..................................................................................................................................................75