What motivates people to visit an unknown tourist destination? Applying an extended model of goal-directed behavior

This study aims to identify the motivations of people travelling to North Korea, and to determine the effects these have on the travel decision-making process. An on-site survey was conducted with Chinese tourists in Dandong, China. The results of an exploratory factor analysis identified four motivation factors: red (communist identity), uniqueness, convenience, and escape. The results suggest that motivations for tourism to North Korea have at least a partial influence on attitudes. Uniqueness has the greatest impact on tourist attitudes, implying that the most powerful motive stimulating Chinese tourists to North Korea is their curiosity about that isolated society.

Automated summary

The study aimed to identify motivations of people traveling to North Korea and their effects on travel decision-making. An on-site survey with Chinese tourists in Dandong, China identified four motivation factors: red (communist identity), uniqueness, convenience, and escape. The results suggested that motivations had at least a partial influence on attitudes, with uniqueness having the greatest impact on tourist attitudes, indicating curiosity about the isolated society as the strongest motive for Chinese tourists traveling to North Korea.