Matching projected image with perceived image for geotourism development: a qualitative-quantitative integration

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the destination image of Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark by comparing the projected image held by the park authority and the perceived image by Mainland Chinese park visitors. Through a qualitative categorization of the elements in official park promotional materials, this study identifies categories of image projection, which concentrate on key characteristics of geological features, interpretations and education, as well as accessibility and proximity to urban areas. The survey-based approach reveals that the Mainland Chinese visitors consider geological and marine scenery, ecological and natural environments to be the most important factor representing the perceived image of the Geopark. In this paper, components of the perceived image are discovered, showing that geological features and education, as well as ecological and natural beauty are the consistent aspects of projected-perceived image. The most apparent image gap lies in the discrepancy between the authority-projected high accessibility and visitor-perceived low park-city proximity.