Examining Rapport with Local People, International Students’ Roles through Travel Experience and Sustainable Tourism

Abstract

As the educational travel market is growing rapidly, it is fundamental to explore the role of international students in sustainable tourism. By improving the relationship between international students as tourists and local people, travel destinations can be easily recognized globally through promotion by international students. The aims of the current study were to identify important attributes of local people in developing rapport with international students during their travel experience and investigate the structural relationships among international students’ rapport with the local people, satisfaction with travel experiences and willingness to share their travel experiences online and offline. Data were collected from 220 international students currently studying in South Korea who have traveled to South Korea for the purpose of being international students. As a result of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, among the sub-dimensions of the attributes of local people that international students met, physical attractiveness and displaying positive emotions positively influenced the rapport between international students and local people. On the other hand, helpfulness did not affect the rapport between local residents and international students. In addition, the rapport between local people and international students has positive effects on travel satisfaction and willingness to share travel experiences online and offline. Study findings also found that travel satisfaction has a significant positive impact on the willingness to share travel experiences online and offline. Therefore, theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.