Jerome Kuperman and Ruth Lumb Have Paper Accepted For Publication In The Academy of Marketing Studies Journal
The paper is titled “A Comparison of Perceptual Differences between First-Time and Repeat Visitors Traveling in China.”
Paper Abstract: Repeat visitors are different from first-time visitors because they are able to form a relational connection with a destination. Empirical research has largely focused on perception of destination attributes and not on whether a true relational connection has been formed between the repeat visitor and the destination. Visitors from both the United States and Europe were asked to complete a questionnaire while visiting China where they indicated their perception of similarity between their home country and China across a variety of variables consistent with those found in the psychic distance literature. This study found that there was no significant difference between repeat and first-time visitors raising questions as to the actual level of perceptual change and relational belongingness experienced by repeat visitors.