Focus-group results
| Factor/Focus group | Description | Example of interviewees’ statements |
|---|---|---|
| Safety F1, F2 and F3 | Tourism safety refers to protecting the lives, health, physical, psychological and economic integrity of tourists, service providers and residents (Grünewald, 2007) | “… the safety, the aesthetics of the place, the enchantment, the art, the dance, the dream, the fantasy … in 6 months, the parks will not return to normal.” (Interviewee F1.1) “Safe places, mainly in terms of hygiene, without crowds. The future is uncertain, unfortunately.” (Interviewee F2.6) |
| Culture F1 and F2 | Culture is related to people’s previous and current way of life in a region, i.e. the history of a place and its people in their contemporary life (Smith, 2009) | “Turkey, the London Underground, … fascination from a place like Peru’s cotton culture and clothing, … the fascination of Paris.” (Interviewee F1.2) “Undoubtedly, the culture of a place is fascinating and extraordinary … how much you get involved in receiving the environment … it is the immersion, how much you get into that culture.” (Interviewee F2.1) |
| Memorable experience F1, F2 and F3 | Experiences are memorable when regarded as economic goods that can provide unforgettable memories by supporting the services and scenarios provided during the consumption process (Pine II and Gilmore, 1999) | “Experience and … impressions of the place … the fascination for a place that has never been visited ….” (Interviewee F1.3) “Everything is magical and kept as a memory … the characters, environment, technology, food, and other factors ….” (Interviewee F2.2) “… Making the expectation a fascinating, remarkable experience.” (Interviewee F2.1) |
| Friendliness (people/hospitality) F1, F2 and F3 | Friendliness is a function of how friendly, kind and receptive the hosts are to visitors (Vg et al., 2021) | “The people I love to be with me on the trip … a good company changes everything. Cordiality and hospitality are also important.” (Interviewee F1.10) “Experience, joy, magic, hospitality ….” (Interviewee F3.5) |
| Attractiveness (differentiated services) F1, F2 and F3 | This study defines attractiveness in destination fascination as the extent to which a destination motivates tourists to take the time to enjoy a pleasant experience (Liu et al., 2017) | “An element in the location that makes up the attractiveness of the destination propels me to visit the place” (Interviewee F1.9) “Satisfying consumers with different attractions.” (Interviewee F3.4) |
| Information search F1 and F3 | Information search is characterized as a scan of information and implies a conscious recognition of the need for more decision-relevant information (Tavitiyaman et al., 2021) | “What is fascinating is getting to know the place through available information. Exploring the place and its main sights, getting to know villages, less frequently visited places ….” (Interviewee F1.4) |
| Fitness F2 | Fitness in destination fascination is the subjective perceptions of tourists regarding the fit between their self-image and a destination (Liu et al., 2017) | “The child’s dream that persists even as an adult would be a motivating factor. Discovering Disney is a childhood fantasy that remains in adult life.” (Interviewee F2.4) |
| Richness F2 | Richness in destination fascination represents the diversity of tourism resources in a destination (Liu et al., 2017) | “The richness of content offered by its heritage is a key factor.” (Interviewee F2.2) |
| Expectation F2 and F3 | The expectation is a belief concerning a product’s attributes or performance sometime in the future (Wang et al., 2021) | “What fascinates the customer is what generates expectations.” (Interviewee F2.7) |
| Mystique (magic) F1, F2 and F3 | Mystique in destination fascination is defined as the extent to which a destination arouses the motivation of tourists to explore and discover stories regarding the destination (Liu et al., 2017) | “An exotic country like Singapore, India … I do spiritual study, and I like to travel to mysterious places too, which brings mystery, magic.” (Interviewee F1.8) “Exploring the mystical culture and attractions. Mapping tourist attractions.” (Interviewee F2.4) “An under-explored place, unlike anything people have ever visited or seen.” (Interviewee F3.5) |
| Uniqueness F2 | Uniqueness refers to a “positive striving for differentness relative to others” (Tian et al., 2001) | “… for example, the uniqueness of a tourist destination may influence me to choose it.” (Interviewee F2.5) |
| Electronic word of mouth F3 | Electronic word of mouth refers to “any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company which is made available to multitudes of people and institutes via the Internet” (Kankhuni and Ngwira, 2021) | “Websites, photos, Instagram, getting information, pieces of advice, and opinions from other people (electronic word of mouth).” (Interviewee F3.1) |
| Factor/Focus group | Description | Example of interviewees’ statements |
|---|---|---|
| Tourism safety refers to protecting the lives, health, physical, psychological and economic integrity of tourists, service providers and residents ( | “… the safety, the aesthetics of the place, the enchantment, the art, the dance, the dream, the fantasy … in 6 months, the parks will not return to normal.” (Interviewee F1.1) | |
| Culture is related to people’s previous and current way of life in a region, i.e. the history of a place and its people in their contemporary life ( | “Turkey, the London Underground, … fascination from a place like Peru’s cotton culture and clothing, … the fascination of Paris.” (Interviewee F1.2) | |
| Experiences are memorable when regarded as economic goods that can provide unforgettable memories by supporting the services and scenarios provided during the consumption process ( | “Experience and … impressions of the place … the fascination for a place that has never been visited ….” (Interviewee F1.3) | |
| Friendliness is a function of how friendly, kind and receptive the hosts are to visitors ( | “The people I love to be with me on the trip … a good company changes everything. Cordiality and hospitality are also important.” (Interviewee F1.10) | |
| This study defines attractiveness in destination fascination as the extent to which a destination motivates tourists to take the time to enjoy a pleasant experience ( | “An element in the location that makes up the attractiveness of the destination propels me to visit the place” (Interviewee F1.9) | |
| Information search is characterized as a scan of information and implies a conscious recognition of the need for more decision-relevant information ( | “What is fascinating is getting to know the place through available information. Exploring the place and its main sights, getting to know villages, less frequently visited places ….” (Interviewee F1.4) | |
| Fitness in destination fascination is the subjective perceptions of tourists regarding the fit between their self-image and a destination ( | “The child’s dream that persists even as an adult would be a motivating factor. Discovering Disney is a childhood fantasy that remains in adult life.” (Interviewee F2.4) | |
| Richness in destination fascination represents the diversity of tourism resources in a destination ( | “The richness of content offered by its heritage is a key factor.” (Interviewee F2.2) | |
| The expectation is a belief concerning a product’s attributes or performance sometime in the future ( | “What fascinates the customer is what generates expectations.” (Interviewee F2.7) | |
| Mystique in destination fascination is defined as the extent to which a destination arouses the motivation of tourists to explore and discover stories regarding the destination ( | “An exotic country like Singapore, India … I do spiritual study, and I like to travel to mysterious places too, which brings mystery, magic.” (Interviewee F1.8) | |
| Uniqueness refers to a “positive striving for differentness relative to others” ( | “… for example, the uniqueness of a tourist destination may influence me to choose it.” (Interviewee F2.5) | |
| Electronic word of mouth refers to “any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company which is made available to multitudes of people and institutes via the Internet” ( | “Websites, photos, Instagram, getting information, pieces of advice, and opinions from other people (electronic word of mouth).” (Interviewee F3.1) |
Notes:
F1 = Focus group 1; F2 = Focus group 2; F3 = Focus group 3
Sharing content requires targeting cookies to be enabled. Please update your cookie preferences to use this feature.