Values to Visit a Culturally Significant But Forbidden Land: A Case of North Korea

Abstract

This study aims to identify tourists’ values, develop a tool that measures tourist values with regard to visiting culturally significant, but forbidden, destinations, such as North Korea, and segment the relevant market. A composite method of qualitative and quantitative approaches constituted the procedure for the value measurement scale development. Using this scale, market segments were constructed based on the value profile in order to test the differences among the segments with respect to key factors. Application of a mixed method approach indicates four values relevant to visiting North Korea: curiosity/novelty; historical nostalgia/wish for reunification; natural landscape appreciation; and ease of travel. Three value profiles emerged: nostalgia and reunification advocate, middle of the roader, and nature espouser. The findings of this study indicate unique values for tourists to want to visit North Korea and add to existing evidence on alternative motives, addressing the absence of a customized tourists’ value scale, in that it extracted authentic values to visit North Korea by focusing on cultural and historical context. The findings will provide DMOs, developers, and policy-makers with practical guidelines to create useful marketing tools and design targeted promotions and tourism products.