Measuring the perceived destination image of Vietnam in Finland

Abstract

Vietnam tourism has been developing fast in recent decades with the considerable increase in the number of international tourists. Among Nordic countries, Finland is one of the most potential tourist markets for Vietnam as it had a noticeable growth rate in the number of tourists to Vietnam last year. Admittedly, Vietnam recently emerged as the new tourist destination for Finnish people and is gradually becoming a favorite choice of many tourists. In an attempt to boost the activities of Vietnam tourism in Finland, it is essential to identify ‘the extent of awareness of Vietnam destination image in Finland’. This study focuses on figuring out the image of Vietnam as a tourist destination in Finnish people’s perception. It also aims to explore the influential degree of these image characteristics on travelers’ decision-making and the obstacles limiting Finnish tourists from travelling to Vietnam.

Quantitative approach was employed to gather necessary information from Finnish participants. The survey questionnaire is designed in structured and unstructured format to capture all components of the destination image. Based on data from 121 survey responses, the study’s results were analyzed and presented in both forms of numeric and narration. The results provide valuable information regarding to the prominent destination image of Vietnam in Finland and the difficulties constrain Finnish tourists from visiting Vietnam. The study proposes the preliminary suggestions for effectively promoting the destination image and tourism activities of Vietnam in Finland. Moreover, several improvement recommendations for tourism activities in Vietnam were also mentioned in this paper.