Huang, Yinghua, Hailin Qu, & Diane Montgomery (2017). The meanings of destination: A Q method approach. Journal of Travel Research, 56(6), 793-807. (doi: 10.1177/0047287516663652)

Abstract: While researchers increasingly address place meaning and place attachment as the cornerstones for understanding human–place relations, the factors that make a tourism destination meaningful have received less attention. Using Q method, this study investigated the dynamic nature of place meanings from the tourist perspective, and developed a theoretical framework to explain the construction of destination meanings. Data analyses identified four subjective views toward the meanings of destination and four underlying continuums that illustrate how a complex process of co-construction reveals distinct patterns of destination meanings. This study makes theoretical as well as practical contributions to the literature.

Yinghua Huang <yinghua.huang@sjsu.edu> is in the Department of Hospitality Management, San Jóse State University, San Jóse, CA, USA.