Fourteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

This study explores Swedish tourists’ perceptions of Thailand. It considers the importance of primary and secondary images on Swedish tourists’ decisions to visit Thailand, which would make Thailand’s tourism industry more competitive since Thailand is considered a destination for Swedish tourists. It draws on 128 surveys of Swedish tourists who have been to Thailand. Based on these surveys, the highest scoring positive perception of Thailand is “relaxation,” followed by “beautiful beaches,” with “getting away from Sweden” coming third. The negative perception with the highest rank is “traffic,” and “political issues” is number two. Furthermore, the model of the primary and secondary images’ impacts on traveling to Thailand show that the external influence of the secondary image has a statistically significant effect on Swedish tourists’ decisions to visit Thailand, and the before-trip rating, based on their own knowledge, which is a primary image, is an important factor for their decision to visit Thailand. Moreover, based on external influences, this study found that the main source of external influence came from friends, and secondarily from family. In order to increase visits, the government or ministry of tourism might consider improving the negative image of “traffic” and “political issues” and sustaining the positive images of Thailand’s characteristic “beautiful nature” and “relaxation” through programs that directly impress Swedish tourists.