Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
Destination marketing practitioners usually analyze the destination’s image to position the destination in target markets. However, cultural factors could impact on various tourists’ image of destinations. This paper used cultural distance to evaluate the impact on destination image. We have utilized Kogut and Singh's (1998) quantitative measurement to measure the cultural distance between three ethnic Chinese nations/regions (Taiwan, Mainland China,
Hong Kong) and Japan. In addition, we have used content analysis to analyze the travel blogs posted by Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and Hong Kong tourists to Tokyo, Japan, to identify the various destination image and emotional perceptions of the Tokyo travel market by three ethnic Chinese nations/regions. The comparison of the two results indicates the relationship between cultural distance and destination image in the context of understanding the influence of marketing a destination in culturally diverse target markets.
JEL Codes: M31
Tourism studies have investigated destination image from the supplier’s side in order to use the projected image to promote, construct, and express a destination’s image to attract tourists, and from the consumers’ side to use perceived images in tourists’ decision-making processes regarding choice of destination(Baloglu & McCleary, 1999; Castro, Armario, &
Ruiz, 2007; Goodrich, 1978; Hunt, 1975; Pike & Ryan, 2004). Marketing studies also have investigated destination image by exploring its connation with product selection decisions
*Mr. Yung-Chung Kuo, Student, Department of Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management, National Chi
Nan University, Taiwan, Republic of China
Email : chris781229@gmail.com
**Dr. Ming-Liang Yeh, Associate Professor, Department of Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management,
National Chi Nan University, Taiwan, Republic of China
Email : mlyeh@ncnu.edu.tw
***Dr. Ping-Ho Ting, Professor, Department of Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management, National Chi
Nan University, Taiwan, Republic of China
Email : phting@ncnu.edu.tw

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0 and the country-image-effects as a indirect impact of decisions in international organizational buying (Heslop, Papadopoulos, Dowdles, Wall, & Compeau, 2004). According to
Choi, Lehto, and Morrison (2007), images are highly influential marketing tools, allowing the destination to spread a variety of images in a compressed format. Thus, to the tourism enterprise and DMO, destination image is one of the most effective marketing tools to communicate information about the destination, and it is also influential to tourists. Destination image is also related to aspects of culture. Berry (1979) proposes that images are not only individual but are socially shaped and compose mental constructs. To be affiliated with a specific cultural or national group is to be able to correspondingly form culturally different perceptions of reality. Pike (2002) also considered that different cultures or cultural backgrounds are the cause of the diversity of image perceptions. Thus, differences in tourists’ cultural background could shape their different destination image. Pike (2002) also indicated that past destination image research has notably neglected the issue of differences of image caused by the cultural differences.
In this research, attempt to integrating the culture element to analyze the difference of destination image, Using the “Cultural distance”, which referred to the existing differences in certain values, norms and behavioral rules between two countries (Shenkar, 2001), to understanding whether the culture from tourists countries/region is far or close to the destination would be formed with different destination image during the travel, finding the relationship between cultural distance and destination image, in order to resolve the destination image research lack of culture aspect examined and the none of cultural distance issued to discuss with image in the past.
In the past, Japan was highly influential in East Asia; it also had different historical connections with neighboring countries and regions. Japan had a particularly strong historical connection with Chinese nations or region; Japan had absorbed a great deal of Chinese culture from Mainland China hundreds of years ago. During the 20 th
century, Japan colonized Taiwan for about 50 years; it subsequently invaded Mainland China during World War
Two. As a result of these actions, present day Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese people have different opinions about Japan.
Nowadays, Japan is an important tourism market in Asia. The majority of tourists visiting
Japan are from Chinese nations or regions; Chinese tourists accounted for 38.8% of all foreign visitors to Japan in the 4th quarter of 2011 (Japan Tourism Agency), including visitors from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Considering the entire 2013 calendar year, surveying foreign visitors to Japan by nationality, rankings 2 and 4 were Mainland
China and Hong Kong (Japan National Tourism Organization, 2013). These statistics reveal the importance of Chinese tourism to the Japanese tourism market.

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
However, tourists from Chinese nations/regions have different opinions and feelings regarding Japan; their opinions are based on their diverse historical connections with Japan.
In this research, we have examined the Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong tourists’ different destination image of Japan by analyzing the travel blogs posted by three
Ethnic Chinese nations or regions which mention travel to the Japanese capital city, Tokyo.
Moreover, we have analyzed the cultural distance of these three Chinese nations or regions with Japan. The results are discussed with the three different destination images of Japan to realize the relationship between cultural distance and destination image. This research will have implications for the tourism industry; it will increase our understanding about the importance of planning to conform destination marketing and branding to target different nations or cultures, in order to attract various cross-culture tourists to visits the destination.
The objectives of this research are: (1) to identify the diversity of images of Japan revealed in travel blogs posted by people in Taiwan, Mainland China, and Hong Kong using content analysis; (2) present the image and emotional perceptions (positive, neutral, and negative) of destination image dimensions; (3) estimate the cultural distance between the three ethnic Chinese nations/regions and Japan; and (4) examine how the results of destination image and emotional perceptions results compare with the cultural distance results and discuss the relationship to realize the influence of cross-cultural destination marketing.
Destination Image
In this work, “image is defined as a sum of beliefs and impressions according to information processing from a diversity of sources over time, resulting in an internal accredited mental concept representing attributes and benefits sought of a product/destination (Crompton,
1979; Gartner, 1993; Gallarza et al., 2002; Mackay & Fesenmaier, 2000). Image also represents a simplification of a great number of associations and pieces of information connected with a destination or place (Day, Skidmore, & Koller, 2002).
Destination images are simplifications of the complex beliefs, attitudes, impressions, and ideas that tourists hold toward a destination. All of these impressions could be correct or incorrect, authentic or imagined; however, the images lead and mold a person’s behavior
(Barich & Kotler, 1991). Thus, destination image is about the individual’s subjective perception of the destination. Gunn (1972) referred to the inputs of destination image constitution including organic and induced. Organic inputs relate to communications achieved through daily exposure to the outside environment and not directly from the marketing
(Wong, 2004), whereas induced inputs include targeted marketing efforts related to the destination, such as destination commercials (Mackay & Couldwell, 2004). To the re-

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0 searchers and destination marketing practitioners, analysis of destination image on the internet is currently receiving greater attention (Choi, Lehto, & Morrison, 2007).
Cultural Distance
Cultural distance refers to “the degree to which the shared norms and values in one nation differ from those in another nation” (Drogendijk and Slangen, 2006; see also Hofstede,
2001; Kogut and Singh, 1988). Cultural distance refers to the existing differences in certain values, norms, and behavioral rules between two countries (Shenkar, 2001). Like the distinction of language, religion, and political systems, cultural distance is a core element of psychic distance (Håkanson and Ambos, 2010). Cultural distance is also considered to assist with the selection between joint ventures (JVs) and wholly owned subsidiaries (WOSs) between the home and host countries of a foreign investment (Gatignon & Anderson, 1988 and Kogut & Singh, 1988). In management literature, the cultural distance measure is also used to evaluate group performance (Gibson, 1999), effectiveness of training (Tung, 1982), and to manage conflict in groups (Von Glinow et al., 2004). Studies of international business have generally used the cultural distance concept from Hofstede (1980, 2001) and the index developed by Kogut & Singh (1988) to measure the degree to which distinct cultures are similar or dissimilar. The studies by Hofstede (1980, 2001) identify and estimate four cultural dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity.
Two other new dimensions also have been identified and estimated in succeeding studies: long-term orientation and indulgence versus restraint (Hofstede & Bond, 1988; Hofstede,
Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010).
The Culture and Destination Image
Culture can be defined as ‘‘the clustered programming of the mind that discriminates the people of one group from others’’ (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005). McCartney (2008) refers to cultural background and travel motives having influence on the constitution of images.
Therefore, he argues, these factors should be included in the overall evaluation of tourism destination image. The cultural value orientation (CVO) could inform the relationship between destination image and value orientation among diverse groups of tourists (Reisinger
& Turner, 2002) which may decide the similarities and differences in cultural backgrounds
(Kluckhohn, 1951; Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961). Tourists from different cultural backgrounds may have different value structures that cause them to perceive travel destinations differently, meaning that the assessment of a destination may differ from one social group to another due to diversity in cultural backgrounds (Lee & Lee, 2008). Culture also determines the perception of a destination service experience and thus a tourist’s satisfaction with social interaction in service delivery. It is helpful to evaluate the effectiveness of the tourism or hospitality providers’ performance from the different cultural backgrounds of customers (Turner, Reisinger & McQuilken, 2008). Research on the relationship between

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0 destination perception and tourists’ cultural backgrounds has been identified as an important point of focus for destination image studies, that aids destination marketing organizations (DMOs) to more effectively promote and position a destination in culturally diverse target markets (Kastenholz 2010; Reisinger and Turner 2002a, 2002b; Stepchenkova and
Zhan, 2013).
Travel Blogs
Travel blogs are a type of online diary. Travel blogs are used to describes tourist travel experiences. They include tourists’ opinions and comments regarding their travel experiences. In other words, travel blogs are a form of consumer-to-consumer communication.
They are unsolicited, somewhat authentic, strongly individual, uncensored, and hence more reliable (Mack, Blose & Pan, 2008; Pan, MacLaurin & Crotts, 2007; Sharda & Ponnada, 2008). Travel blogs—generally posted on websites containing travel commentaries, often with pictures and videos of the trips documented—are a notable source of tourists’ opinions and could provide valuable insight on the issue (Pan, MacLaurin, & Crotts, 2007).
Travel blogs also constitute an increasingly influential channel for exchanging information among tourists, and for destinations and the tourism industry to learn about consumers’ attitudes toward their markets (Wenger, 2007). Blogs can be considered to represent a novel and simple means of experience sharing, where the exchange of both positive and negative perceptions occurs via electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). The sharing of information has certainly had direct influence on destination perceptions by bloggers (Law &
Cheung, 2010). Performing analysis of travel blogs is a useful method by which to assess the image of a tourism destination and identify the positive and negative perceptions that tourists have toward a destination (Choi, Lehto, & Morrison, 2007; Foo, 2009; Law &
Cheung, 2010). In Law and Cheung’s (2010) research, they analyze the travel blogs of
Chinese visitors’ perceptions of Hong Kong, using five categories to perform content analysis of the travel blogs including meals, transportation, hotels, shopping, and attractions.
Tokyo is the capital city of Japan. Tokyo attracted the most foreign visitors of all Japanese cities in the 4th quarter of 2011 with 11.43 million visitors (Japan Tourism Agency). In this research, we selected the travel blogs about the tourists from the three ethnic Chinese nations/regions (Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong) regarding travel to Tokyo, to identify the diverse image of Japan from different Chinese nations/regions. In addition, we estimated the cultural distance between each of Taiwan, Mainland China, and Hong Kong with
Japan, to identify from closet to farthest from Japan in terms of cultural distance. The results are subsequently discussed along with the destination image results. Figure 1 presents the research procedures used.

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
Data collection was performed from Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and Hong Kong travel blogs (100 from each nation/region; 300 travel blogs in total) that discuss travel to Tokyo.
The blogs were selected from Chinese blog websites such as Sina.com and Pixnet. In addition, travel blogs collection that mentioned the number of destination image dimensions which utilized to analysis the image in this study.
This paper utilized six destination image dimensions from Law and Cheung (2010) to analyze the destination image from travel blogs. These dimensions were: food, accommodation, transportation, attractions, shopping, and entertainment. To analyze emotional perceptions, we utilized the same six destination image dimensions and incorporated an extra two dimensions (Echtner & Ritchie, 1991) about social interaction: hospitality/friendliness/receptiveness from the local residents and quality of service, giving eight dimensions in total.
Measure of Cultural Distance
We have utilized Kogut and Singh’s (1998) quantitative measure of cultural distance—which uses cultural distance dimensions data based on Hofstede (1980)—to measure the cultural distance between the three ethnic Chinese nations/regions (Taiwan,
Mainland China, Hong Kong) and Japan. The quantitative measure of cultural distance is: where KS is the cultural distance index between country i and country j . When the KS index is small, then the cultural distance between country i and country j is likewise small. When the KS index is large, it means that the cultural distance between country i and country j is great. I is the index in the dimension d , V is the variance of the index for the dimension d , n is the number of dimensions. The variance of the index for the dimensions is shown in Table 1. In this study, five cultural distance dimensions were used: power distance (PDI), individualism (IDV), masculinity (MAS), uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation
(LTO). Table 2 shows the indices for the five dimensions of Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong
Kong, and Japan from Geert Hofstede’s website. These indices were used to measure the cultural distance between three ethnic Chinese nations/regions and Japan. The result was a ranking of the cultural distance from closest to farthest from Japan for the three ethnic
Chinese nations/regions.

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
Analysis of Destination Image
Clever Craft is a Taiwanese Java-based knowledge management system, which allows businesses or enterprises to manage files, perform data capture and analysis from the documents, and to display the results by the figure mode to express the meaning of data.
Through the document data exploring function to understand the implication from the documents, to aids finding the link and relationship among the words, using to induct the data. Figure 2 presents an example of Clever Craft data analysis results about Mainland
Chinese tourists’ food experiences during their travel to Tokyo drawn from travel blogs’ content.
To analyze the destination image from travel blogs, we identified the six dimensions mentioned in the blogs using the data exploring function in Clever Craft. First, we entered all
300 travel blogs’ content into the Clever Craft system. Then, we filtered the key words by
Clever Craft. Subsequently, we used the data exploration function to find the number of items of vocabulary that link to “food,” “accommodation,” “transportation,” “attractions,”
“shopping,” and “entertainment” from the travel blogs’ content. The results show the different travel experience of the six dimensions among the tourists from Taiwan, Mainland
China, and Hong Kong during their travel to Tokyo. This result is discussed along with the results of the cultural distance between three ethnic Chinese nations/regions and Japan in order to view the relationship between these two results.
Analysis of Emotional Perceptions
This paper also used content analysis to analyze the travel blogs, which was utilized to categorize or classify the content or communication to establish valid inferences to be depicted (Weber, 1990). This refers to analyzing comparatively unstructured data such as meanings, symbolic qualities, and full content (Krippendorff, 1980). Content analysis technique was used to analyze the destination emotional perceptions (positive, no mention, negative) by calculating the frequency of the perceptions and percentage of the six dimensions and two extra dimensions in the travel blogs’ content. The results show the different perceptions frequency on the eight dimensions among the tourists from Taiwan, Mainland
China, and Hong Kong during their travel to Tokyo. This result is discussed with the results of cultural distance between three ethnic Chinese nations/regions and Japan to view the relationship between these two results.

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
Figure 1: The Example of Clever Craft Data Analysis Results
Analysis of destination image by Clever Craft
Analysis of emotional perception by content analysis
Measure of cultural distance
Figure 1. Research Procedures.

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
Figure 2: The example of Clever Craft data analysis results
Table 1: The variance of the indices for the dimensions (quote by Kandogan (2011)
Dimensions Mean
1. Power distance (PDI) 61.2
Variance
422.0
2. Individualism (IDV)
3. Masculinity (MAS)
41.1
49.4
505.6
260.4
4. Uncertainty avoidance
(UAI)
5. Long-term orientation
(LTO)
65.9
44.3
490.2
754.8
Table 2. The indices for the five dimensions of Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and
Japan
PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO
Taiwan 58
Mainland China 80
Hong Kong 68
17
20
25
45
66
57
69
30
29
93
87
61
Japan 54 46 95 46 88
Cultural distance between three ethnic Chinese nations/regions and Japan
The result of the investigation of cultural distance between three ethnic Chinese nations/regions and Japan using Kogut and Singh’s (1998) quantitative measure is shown in

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
Table 3. The results show that Taiwan’s KS index is the smallest (2.48), meaning that Taiwan has the closest cultural distance to Japan of the three. Mainland China is the second-closest (2.86), and Hong Kong’s KS index is the largest (4.00), meaning that it has the farthest cultural distance to Japan of the three. Due to its colonization by Japan for 50 years during the 20 th
century, Taiwan has a significant amount of Japanese influence—such as administrative systems, cultural spirit, and lifestyle—thus Taiwanese culture is similar to
Japanese culture in some aspects. Despite Mainland China also having had a problematic history with Japan during the 20 th
century, the two countries have shared history over thousands of years. Throughout their shared history, Japan has tried to learn from Chinese culture, especially during the Tang Dynasty (618-907); thus, China’s cultural distance to
Japan is relatively closer than for other Asian countries. Hong Kong has little historical connection to Japan, so the cultural distance to Japan is the farthest of the three.
Table 3. The results of cultural distance to Japan using Kogut and Singh’s (1998) index
KS index
1. Taiwan 2.48
2. Mainland China 2.86
3. Hong Kong 4.00
Destination Image and Cultural Distance
In this portion, we utilized Clever Craft to analyze the number of words relative to food, accommodation, transportation, attractions, shopping, and entertainment in all the travel blogs in order to identify the different experience of these six dimensions that Taiwanese,
Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong tourists had during their travel to Tokyo. The results are discussed along with the results of cultural distance between three ethnic Chinese nations/regions and Japan.
Food:
Table 4 presents the foods that Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and Hong Kong tourists mainly experience in Tokyo. Taiwanese tourists experience the most Japanese traditional food items of the three (13), Mainland Chinese tourists are second (10), and Hong Kong tourists experience the fewest items of the three (9). This accordance with the cultural distance results could indicate that when cultural distance is close to Japan, visitors would be willing to experience Japanese traditional food. From Taiwan’s 50-year colonization by Japan, Taiwan’s food culture has already been influenced by Japan for a long period of time, thus Taiwanese tourists are familiar with Japanese traditional food and are willing to experience the most during their travel to Tokyo. Hong Kong tourists are relatively unfamiliar with

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
Japanese traditional food than Taiwanese tourists, so they experience less Japanese food than Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese tourists during their time in Tokyo.
Accommodation:
Table 5 presents the type of accommodation that Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and Hong
Kong tourists mainly select in Tokyo. The majority of Taiwanese tourists select hotels and home stays as their accommodation choices in Tokyo. In contrast, the majority of Mainland
Chinese and Hong Kong tourists select only hotels. Home stays usually offer Japanese-style rooms in Japan, while hotels such as international chain hotels are usually standardized and do not offer much local style. Taiwanese tourists, with their small cultural distance to Japan, may already be used to Japanese-style rooms, as many of Taiwan’s travel accommodation and residences adopt this style. Consequently, Taiwanese tourists are more willing to choose Japanese home stays for their travel accommodation. On the other hand, Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong tourists may be relatively unaccustomed to
Japanese-style rooms compared with Taiwanese tourists, or perhaps do not perform much research on accommodation in Tokyo, consequently choosing hotels which do not offer much local style. This demonstrates that the cultural distance to Japan of Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong tourists is farther than that of Taiwanese tourists.
Transportation:
Table 6 presents the types of transportation that Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and Hong
Kong tourists mainly use in Tokyo. Taiwanese tourists choose the most types of transportations of the three groups (7). Mainland Chinese use the second-most (4), and Hong Kong tourists use the fewest of the three (2). This is also in accordance with the cultural distance results, and could indicate that when cultural distance is close to Japan, tourists choose various types of transportation during their stay in Tokyo. Taiwanese tourists prefer traveling to Japan many times. Because of this, Taiwanese tourists have a better understanding of how to use various modes of transportation in Tokyo, and are willing to try a diverse range of transport options.
Table 4. The items of Japanese traditional food that tourists from three ethnic Chinese na-
Taiwan
Bangdon tions/regions experience in Tokyo
Mainland China Hong Kong
Japanese-style set meal
Ramen (pulled noodles)
Senbei Japanese-style set meal
Tamagoyaki
Ramen (pulled noodles)
Japanese-style pancake
Teriyaki

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
Tempura
Udon
Tsukemen
Seaweed
Teriyaki
Sushi
Fried shrimp
Sashimi
Ramen (pulled noodles)
Soba
Sushi
Miso
Shaboo shaboo
Teriyaki
Eel rice
Natto
Tempura
Tempura
Udon
GyuuTan
Sushi
Sashimi rice
Table 5. The categories of accommodation that tourists from three ethnic Chinese nations/regions experience in Tokyo
Taiwan
Hotel
Minshuku (home stay)
Mainland China
Hotel
Hong Kong
Hotel
Table 6. The categories of transportation that tourists from three ethnic Chinese nations/regions experience in Tokyo
Taiwan
Subway
Mainland China
Subway
Hong Kong
Subway
Train
Taxi
Bus
Boat
Train
Bus
Gondola
Bus
Gondola
Rental car
Attractions:
Table 7 presents the Japanese historic attractions that Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and
Hong Kong tourists mainly visit (temple and historic architectures) in Tokyo. Taiwanese tourists visit the most Japanese historic attractions of the three (6), Mainland Chinese tourists visit the second-most (5), and Hong Kong tourists visit the fewest of the three (3).
These results were also in accordance with the cultural distance results. Due to the cultural similarity to Japan, Taiwanese tourists are familiar with and interested in Japanese traditional culture, and are willing visit to more Japanese historic attractions. Despite Mainland
Chinese having had a problematic history with Japan, according to travel blogs’ content, tourists from China are also quite understanding about Japanese culture and are curious to

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0 visit Japanese historic attractions. Hong Kong does not have much historical connection to
Japan, so tourists have relatively little interest in Japanese historic attractions compared with tourists from the other two nations/regions. Instead, Hong Kong tourists mainly visit shopping places in Tokyo, as mentioned by the travel blogs.
Shopping:
Table 8 presents the souvenirs and Japanese-made products that Taiwanese, Mainland
Chinese, and Hong Kong tourists purchase in Tokyo. Taiwanese tourists buy the most
Japanese souvenirs and Japanese famous products of the three (10), Mainland Chinese buy the second-most (7), and Hong Kong tourists buy the fewest of the three (6). These results were also in accordance with the cultural distance results. Taiwanese tourists generally prefer Japanese products and consider Japan’s manufacturing and design to be of great quality, especially the older generation that was influenced by the colonization of
Taiwan by Japan. While Mainland Chinese tourists also consider Japanese products to be of good quality, they are not as enthusiastic as the Taiwanese.
Entertainment:
Table 9 presents the types of entertainment that Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and Hong
Kong tourists mainly experience in Tokyo. It can be found that both Taiwanese and Mainland China tourists experience traditional Japanese activities, such as praying in temples, due to their familiarity with the Japanese culture. Hong Kong tourists, on the other hand, do not engage in Japanese traditional activities. The entertainment results could indicate that
Taiwan and Mainland China’s cultural distance to Japan is closer than that of Hong Kong.
Otherwise, tourists from Mainland China experience the most activities in Tokyo of the three and possibly mention more about entertainment in travel blogs than others.
Table 7. The Japanese historic attractions that tourists from three ethnic Chinese nations/regions experience in Tokyo
Taiwan
Meiji-Jingu (temple)
Five Storied Pagoda (temple)
Sensō-ji (temple)
Mainland China
Meiji-Jingu (temple)
Five Storied Pagoda (temple)
Sensō-ji (temple)
Hong Kong
Meiji-Jingu (temple)
Sensō-ji (temple)
Kaminarimon (temple) Kaminarimon (temple)
Kaminarimon (temple)
Tokyo Imperial Palace
(historic architecture)
Tokyo Station
(historic architecture)
Tokyo Imperial Palace
(historic architecture)

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
Table 8. Japanese souvenirs and products that tourists from three ethnic Chinese nations/regions buy in Tokyo
Taiwan
Postcard (souvenirs)
Mainland China
Postcard (souvenirs)
Souvenir (souvenirs) Souvenir (souvenirs)
Handicraft (souvenirs) Japanese fan (souve-
Animation (products)
Medicine (products)
Cosmetic (products)
Facial cleanser (prodnirs)
Animation (products)
Medicine (products)
Cosmetic (products)
Camera (products)
Hong Kong
Souvenir (souvenirs)
Capsule Toy (products)
Japanese magazine
(products)
Animation (products)
Cosmetic (products)
Camera (products) ucts)
Facial mask (products)
Household electric
(products)
Camera (products)
Table 9. The entertainment that tourists from three ethnic Chinese nations/regions experience in Tokyo
Taiwan
To view the cherry blossoms
Pray in temples
Mainland China
To view the cherry blossoms
Pray in temples
Hong Kong
To view the cherry blossoms
Visit hot springs
Watch the night view
Emotional Perceptions and Cultural Distance
In this portion, we used the content analysis to analyze the frequency of perceptions of six dimensions and two extra dimensions about destination social interaction in travel blogs in order to identify the different perceptions toward Tokyo by Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and Hong Kong tourists. The results are discussed along with the results for cultural distance.
Table 10 presents the perceptions toward Tokyo in six dimensions from three ethnic Chinese nations/regions. It can be found that Taiwan has the highest positive ratio in four dimensions: food (69%), accommodation (71%), attractions (62%), and entertainment (78%).
These results indicate that the social perceptions between cultures, and the cultural similarities in perceptions will be positive (Turner, Reisinger & McQuilken, 2008). Hong Kong has the least positive ratio in five dimensions: food (58%), transportation (30%), attractions

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
(35%), shopping (31%) and entertainment (63%). These results indicate that Taiwan’s cultural distance to Japan is the closest and Hong Kong’s is the farthest. Due to the period of colonization, the Taiwanese had a positive attitude toward Japan, causing the highly positive perceptions during their visits to Japan. Moreover, Hong Kong has the highest ratio of the “no mention” in food (29%), transportation (52%), attractions (53%), shopping (65%), and entertainment (24%) among the three Chinese nations/regions, indicating that Hong
Kong tourists formed no perceptions with regard to these five dimensions. Due to the cultural dissimilarities with Japan, Hong Kong tourists are relatively unfamiliar with the country compared with the Taiwanese, thus they have less basis on which to make judgments on their perception toward their visits to Tokyo. Table 11 presents the perceptions toward
Tokyo in two extra dimensions from three ethnic Chinese nations/regions. It can also be found that Taiwan has the highest positive and negative frequency in friendliness/receptiveness and quality of service regarding these two dimensions, while Hong
Kong has the least positive frequency of both. This is also in accordance with the principle that “cultural similarities in perceptions will be positive.” The majority of both positive and negative perceptions can be explained by the fact that Taiwanese tourists have paid more attention to the interaction between residents and tourists in Japan, and also have a good attitude toward the Japanese people.
Table 10. The emotional perceptions toward Tokyo in six dimensions
Taiwan (%)
Food
Positive
69
No mention Negative
22 9
Accommodation 71 8 21
Transportation
Attractions
39
62
46
32
15
6
Shopping 48 47 5
Entertainment 76
Mainland China (%) Positive
14 10
No mention Negative
Food
Accommodation
60
43
27
25
13
32
Transportation
Attractions
43
55
39
30
18
16
6
Accommodation 54 23 23

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0
.
Transportation
Attractions
Shopping
Entertainment
30
35
31
63
52
53
65
24
18
12
4
13
Table 11. The emotional perceptions toward Tokyo in two extra dimensions
Taiwan (frequency) Positive Negative
Friendliness/Receptiveness 36 4
Quality of Service 27 3
Mainland China (frequency) Positive Negative
Friendliness/Receptiveness 34 1
Quality of Service
Hong Kong (frequency)
Friendliness/Receptiveness
16 1
Positive Negative
16 3
Quality of Service 13 1
This paper analyzed the destination image dimensions and perceptions toward the destination image dimensions, to find out whether tourists’ cultural background relationship to the destination may cause variation in destination image and perceptions. Through the analysis of travel blogs posted by Taiwan, Mainland Chinese, and Hong Kong bloggers about their trips to Tokyo, findings indicate that these three ethnic Chinese nations/regions clearly have different attitudes, impressions, and perceptions toward Tokyo.
In the six destination image dimensions, it was found that selection of the travel experience was truly influenced by the cultural distance between tourists and destination. In the destination image dimensions of food, transportation, attractions, and shopping, the results gave insight into the cultural distance between the ethnic Chinese nation/regions of Taiwan,
Mainland China, Hong Kong and the destination - Japan. In the case of the food dimension, the number of Japanese foods experienced correlated with cultural closeness. However, the dimension of accommodation only demonstrated that Taiwan’s cultural distance toward
Japan is closer than that of Mainland China and Hong Kong, and the dimension of entertainment only demonstrated that Taiwan and Mainland China’s cultural distance toward
Japan is closer than that of Hong Kong. Also in the perceptions (positive, no mention, negative) of eight dimensions, we could find the indication of cultural distance effect, meaning the cultural distance influenced the tourists’ emotion toward their destination. Taiwan,
Mainland China, and Hong Kong have different historical connections to Japan, which have resulted in the formation of different attitudes toward and image of Japan that predominate

Proceedings of 9th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
5 - 6 November 2015, Bayview Hotel, Singapore , ISBN: 978-1-922069-87-0 nowadays. When travel to Japan experience differently naturally, so does the perceptions toward Japan.
The destination marketing practitioners in the tourism industry usually evaluate the destination image from the consumer, to plan the destination marketing or branding project to attract tourists to the destination. The findings of this research suggest that one should take the consideration of tourist cultural background factor into account in the destination marketing planning, especially the cultural distance from the destination. In the case of the research, despite Taiwan, Mainland China, and Hong Kong all comprising the same ethnic group, all of these nations/regions belong to Chinese culture but still have slight variations due to the geographical location; also, they have different cultural distance from other countries, even between neighbor countries, and this causes citizens to form a different image of the destination. Thus, this factor needs to be considered in the destination marketing project, in order to promote and position a destination in culturally diverse target markets (Choi, Lehto & Morrison, 2007) so as to attract culturally diverse tourists.
Limitations of this research include the language problem of travel blogs to the cross-cultural research. For example, Hong Kong is one of the ethnic Chinese regions but uses the Cantonese dialect to write travel blogs; it is difficult for Mandarin Chinese speakers to analyze the travel blogs’ content written in Cantonese. Another limitation is the lack of information that bloggers’ profile, such as age and gender, which is also crucial information for promotion targeting to market segments. Moreover, this study did not consider the different periods of traveling and writing blogs, which may affect the variation of image in different periods.
In the future of destination image research, regarding the content analysis of travel blogs, the texts as well as the photographs should be analyzed, because photos also present the image of a destination. Moreover, future research could analyze the deeper issue of the cultural distance effect to the destination image regarding the influence factor, to understand how the cultural distance effect relates to the destination image.
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