Perceiving tourist destination landscapes through Chinese eyes: The case of South Island, New Zealand

This paper reports findings derived from a study of 235 Chinese tourists interviewed in Queenstown, New Zealand. The data were elicited by responses made to a process of showing photographs of South Island, New Zealand to informants, and then secondly by posing a series of options drawn at random and asking which were preferred and why. Among the images that drew strong favourable responses were those that showed snow covered mountains reflected in lake waters – an appeal partly explained by classical Chinese cultural associations of ying and yang through shan (mountain) and shuĭ (water) and notions of harmonious balance in nature. However, the paper suggests that while perceptions of place are filtered through cultural understandings, of equal importance is the nature of comparison between the realities of dwelling in congested and polluted urban centres and the appearance of fresh, green open spaces. The paper confirms the usefulness of the research technique, the significance of culture in understanding tourist evaluations of holiday experiences and the importance of ‘difference’ in vacation destination choice.