HA LONG BAY SEEN THROUGH THE REVIEWS OF TRIPADVISOR: DESTINATION IMAGE OF A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN VIETNAM A Project Presented to the Faculty of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Hospitality Management By Nhi Hoang Yen Nguyen 2019 SIGNATURE PAGE PROJECT: HA LONG BAY SEEN THROUGH THE REVIEWS OF TRIPADVISOR: DESTINATION IMAGE OF A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN VIETNAM AUTHOR: Nhi Hoang Yen Nguyen DATE SUBMITTED: Fall 2019 The Collins College of Hospitality Management Dr. Zhenxing (Eddie) Mao Project Committee Chair Hospitality Management Dr. Neha Singh Hospitality Management ii ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine destination image of Ha Long Bay, Vietnam on the Internet by studying content of selected reviews on TripAdvisor website. UNESCO listed Ha Long Bay twice as a World Heritage Site in 1994 and 2000, respectively. Also, it is one of the most famous destinations in Vietnam. Nevertheless, there are few studies on online tourism destination image of Ha Long Bay. Consequently, this study is conducted. Reviews on TripAdvisor website are selected and their content is analyzed in order to explore Ha Long Bay’s destination image through traveler-generated content. This research may contribute the understanding of Ha Long Bay’s destination image perceived by international tourists to Vietnamese governmental tourism administrative departments as well as tourism providers. It may help them to expand the area’s advantages as well as improve the weaknesses of tourism services at Ha Long Bay. Keywords: destination image, Ha Long Bay, traveler-generated content, TripAdvisor. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS SIGNATURE PAGE .......................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Vietnam Tourism – Ha Long Bay ............................................................................. 1 1.2 Relationship of Destination Image and Traveler-Generated Content ....................... 2 1.3 Research Objective ................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Significance of Research ........................................................................................... 4 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Destination Image ..................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Projected and Perceived Destination Image ............................................................. 8 2.3 The Context of Ha Long Bay .................................................................................... 9 2.4 Traveler-Generated Content (TGC) ........................................................................ 12 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...................................................................................... 14 3.1 Content Analysis ..................................................................................................... 14 3.2. Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 14 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ...................................................................................... 16 4.1 Findings .................................................................................................................. 16 iv 4.1.1 Beautiful Scenery ............................................................................................. 19 4.1.2 Tour Services - Cruise ..................................................................................... 19 4.1.3 Formation of Ha Long Bay – A UNESCO World Heritage Site ..................... 20 4.1.4 Activities .......................................................................................................... 21 4.1.5 Environment ..................................................................................................... 21 4.2 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 23 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 25 5.1 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 25 5.2 Contributions .......................................................................................................... 26 5.3 Limitations .............................................................................................................. 27 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 28 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Nationalities of TripAdvisor Reviewers ............................................................. 17 Table 2. Keyword Frequency Through Text Analysis ...................................................... 18 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2017) ......... 11 Figure 2. Ha Long Bay, Vietnam (Taewangkorea, 2019) ................................................. 11 vii INTRODUCTION 1.1 Vietnam Tourism – Ha Long Bay In recent decades, there have been a growing number of visitors to Vietnam, particularly to Ha Long Bay (UNESCO World Heritage List) and other famous destinations. According to World Tourism Organization (2003), East Asia (Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia) welcomed 115.1 million foreign travelers, which comprised 16.1 percent of worldwide tourism in 2002. More specifically, tourism to Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, which belong to the Southeast Asia region, grew 3.9 percent (So & Morrison, 2004). Recently, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, over the past three years, the number of international visitors to Vietnam has continuously grown, from 10 million in 2016 to 15.6 million in 2018. A report by the Pacific Asia Tourism Association (PATA) states that one of the top ten tourist destinations in the Asia-Pacific region is Vietnam, which also ranks fourth in Southeast Asia. A total of 8.48 million foreign tourists arrived in Vietnam during only the second quarter of 2019. An increase of 7.5% in Vietnam’s tourism year after year results in a positive forecast from PATA, which states that from 2019-2023, international visitors will most likely be attracted by Vietnam in the Asia-Pacific region (Nguyen, 2019). According to Pedersen (2003), the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) identifies sites and monuments of worldwide significance as World Heritage Sites (WHS), in order to classify, endorse, and protect irreplaceable natural and cultural sites. Ha Long Bay was recognized as a WHS in 1994, 1 which has led to prospering growth in Vietnam’s tourism industry from both domestic and international visitors. According to the South China Morning Post, in 2018, approximately 5.2 million international travelers arrived at Ha Long Bay, which was approximately 30 percent of the total foreign tourists visiting Vietnam. The enormous 22% increase in foreign tourists traveling to Ha Long Bay compared to 2017 is predominantly credited to the enhancement in the region’s infrastructure. In September 2018, the Ha Noi - Hai Phong Expressway was opened to traffic, which decreased the distance from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay by 50 kilometers. Furthermore, Van Don International Airport, only 50 kilometers from Ha Long Bay, officially began operation in December 2018. Both improvements have offered easier access to Ha Long Bay for international visitors. (Nguyen, 2019) 1.2 Relationship of Destination Image and Traveler-Generated Content A study by Lai and Li (2016), which reviews forty-five valid tourism destination image definitions, suggests a sophisticated definition: tourism destination image is “a voluntary, multisensory, primarily picture-like, qualia-arousing, conscious, and quasi- perceptual mental (i.e., private, nonspatial, and intentional) experience held by tourists about a destination.” According to Chung and Buhalis (2008), among the most costly experience services are travel and tourism services, which may involve an immense extent of risk and vagueness in the trip arrangement process. Consequently, travelers search for different sources of information in order to decrease such vagueness. One of the important sources for travel-related information is cyberspace (Litvin, Goldsmith, & Pan, 2 2008). Destination images have been reviewed, commented on and shared by travelers on web-based resources (online social media) with the continual development of Web 2.0 applications. Tourists use an online platform, provided by a social networking website, to distribute their experiences and interact with others. That platform affects destination image (Sigala,