Russian long-stay sojourners’ travel experiences in South Korea

Abstract

Russian tourists’ inbound to South Korea could contribute significantly to the country’s tourism economy. However, there hasn’t been much research on the Russian long-stay tourism market. This study aims to explore the experiences of and satisfaction with the tourism industry in Korea by Russian long-stay tourists. Recommendations obtained from the participants will be helpful when working on developing the tourism sector for the Russian market in Korea. Based on a qualitative approach, this study highlights new findings of the issues that Russians face during their travels. A naturalistic approach using semi-structured in-depth interviews was applied in this research. Study participants were Russian long-stay tourists in Korea. Understanding their destination experiences and the process in which those experiences affected their perceptions can help the tourism industry improve services to attract more Russian tourists, build positive word-of-mouth, and improve tourists’ overall satisfaction by providing memorable experiences. The merits of adopting in-depth interviews are discussed and some suggestions for DMOs are presented.