Cultural proximity and intention to visit: Destination image of Taiwan as perceived by Mainland Chinese visitors

The geographical and cultural distance between two places may influence the manner in which tourists from one country view the other country as a destination. The purpose of this study was to examine the imagery of Taiwan as perceived by Mainland Chinese visitors within the context of the unique historic and geopolitical relations between the two nations. The destination image and travel intentions of both actual and potential visitors to Taiwan were measured. Findings revealed four factors in both actual and potential Chinese visitors' destination image of Taiwan: destination quality, cultural proximity, destination uniqueness, and negative image. Specifically, cultural proximity was found to be the most significant and effective predictor of travel intention in the overall model as well as the actual and potential visitor models. Closer examination showed that visitors from Mainland China perceived the image of Taiwan as being home-like yet a place of mystery and adventure. The contradictory nature of this factor suggested that the cultural proximity and political tension between China and Taiwan created an ambivalent sense of mystery and familiarity towards Taiwan in the minds of Chinese visitors, which has a positive influence on their intention to visit Taiwan.