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An Investigation on the Motivations of South Korean Visitors to China: A Case of Jiuhua Mountain

Market segmentation on visitors’motivations has been shown to be a valuable marketing tool when attempting to develop a guide program aiming at providing a satisfactory tourist experience and increasing visitation to specific locations.Based on 173 questionnaires obtained from South Korean tourists visiting Jiuhua Mountain,Anhui Province,China,the authors performed a study on South Korean visitors’motivations to China by making use of a set of statistical techniques such as factor analysis,cluster analysis and chi-square test in the present work.First,a principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to extract underlying dimensions of South Korean visitors’motivations.Results showed that there were essentially five motivation factors,i.e.,Buddhism worship,seeking natural beauties,relaxation, experiencing culture,and convenience and shopping,with eigenvalues larger than one.Second,the authors conducted a K-means cluster analysis which identified three clustered segments for five motivation factors,i.e.,multi-purpose seekers for cluster 1,relaxation seekers for cluster 2 and experience seekers for cluster 3.Among these three clusters,the cluster relaxation seekers was found to be the most important segment,which roughly accounted for 43.9 percent of all South Korean tourists visiting Jiuhua Mountain investigated,followed by 32.4%for the group of multi-purpose seekers and 23.7%for the group of experience seekers.Further,a series of chi-square tests were used to examine the relationships between demographic and travel related characteristics of South Korean visitors and these three clusters.Results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences among the three clusters as to variables such as gender,age, occupation,monthly income and duration at destination.Concerning other variables such as education level,first-time/repeat visitors,faith,travel modes,souvenir purchase,and satisfaction level,the results of the chi-square tests showed that there existed statistically significant differences among three clusters.The profiles of the three market segments of South Korean tourists visiting Jiuhua Mountain identified from the cluster analysis were delineated in detail on the basis of above analysis.Three managerial suggestions were given,i.e.,promoting diversification of activities and products provided by Jiuhua Mountain,differentiation of marketing strategies as well as improving tourism facilities in destination.