Constructivism in Smart Tourism Research : Seoul Destination Image

Abstract

This paper specifically delineated the methodological application of constructivism in smart tourism studies. It explained what constructivism is and how this methodology could be applied in the study of smart tourism. In this study, residents of Seoul participated in constructivist research using the Q method to identify their subjectivities toward Seoul based on photographs most commonly found in tourism promotional material. Residents are concerned with good governance and cultural integrity, and they are aware of their role as stakeholders in tourism in their communities. However their potential contribution to destination image formation has been usually overlooked by researchers and marketers. Three clusters of subjectivities were revealed after 42 photographs of Seoul were sorted by 37 respondents. The results show how respondents perceived Seoul’s destination image. The three clusters agreed that symbolic monuments were the key representations of Seoul. The paper recommends that tourism marketers and policy makers should focus on understanding and coordinating with residents’ perceived image of Seoul as a destination when planning and decision making, especially in promoting Seoul as a destination market. This study, in conjunction with other constructivist research offers insight into how destination image is, especially with the rise of smart tourism, a complex social construction.