Where Do You Want to Go Today? A Media Analysis of Global Tourism Destinations

Abstract

Destinations are at the heart of travel decisions, and destination image has a significant influence on tourists’ decision-making. Many travelers acquire information via
the Internet, which offers abundant information and an increasing number of tourism-related services.
The impact of media coverage on destination image has attracted research attention and became
particularly evident during the 2003 outbreak of SARS, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
Building upon previous research, this paper analyzes the prevalence of tourism destinations among 162 international media sites. Measuring term frequency investigates the attention
a destination receives – from a general and, after contextual filtering, from a tourism perspective. Calculating the semantic orientation estimates positive or negative media influences on
destination image at a given point in time. By detecting associations with country names, keyword analysis reveals the countries' public profile, and the impact of events on media coverage.