Soojung Kim’s research while affiliated with Pusan National University and other places

The purpose of this study was to explore, by employing the Delphi method, key indicators and factors for establishing sustainable conventions and exhibitions (C&E) events in a destination in lieu of holding one-off events. In addition, the identified factors for establishing sustainable C&E events were assessed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with a multi-group approach. First, internal and external factors that impact continuous hosting of C&E events in a destination were identified in previous research and reviewed. Second, three stages of Delphi surveys were conducted with three groups of experts in the C&E industry (academic scholars, industry experts, and government agencies in Korea). Third, data were analyzed from 35 and 29 participants in the first and second Delphi rounds, respectively, as well as from 17 panelists in the subsequent AHP analysis. A total of 33 indicators were developed and categorized into five factors for continuity of regional C&E efforts: event contents and capabilities, organizers and support/sponsorship, impacts, facilities in venues and destinations, and the local event environment. Furthermore, all three participant groups reached agreement in rating event contents and capabilities as the most important factor, with the local event environment as the second most important factor in achieving sustainable regional C&E. However, the opinion of government agencies for the third and fourth most important factors differed from that of the other two groups. The current study contributes to the understanding of the under-investigated area of sustainable C&E. Based on these findings, host destinations can establish innovative strategies for sustaining C&E as a long-lasting legacy.

In the environment in which an increasing number of older travelers are participating in online tourism platforms, for older travelers who face multiple barriers in using e-commerce, it is essential to identify factors promoting older travelers' website usage for their well-being and sustainable travel industry. This study aims to identify the key factors of website atmosphere for enhancing older travelers' familiarity, investigate the relationship between older adults' website familiarity and revisit intention, and test the moderating role of cognitive age. A web-based survey was conducted, and the sample consisted of 305 US residents 50 years of age and older who had experienced travel websites. The results indicated that three subdimensions of older travelers' website familiarity-informativeness, effectiveness, and entertainment-positively influence their website familiarity. Additionally, the impact of informativeness on website familiarity is stronger for travelers who identify as younger than their chronological age. Moreover, older travelers' familiarity with a website improves their revisit intention. The current study found not only significant travel website atmosphere factors to boost older travelers' participation in online tourism platforms but also significant older travelers' groups depending on their cognitive age perception to magnify the effect of website atmosphere.

Airline companies have implemented cause related marketing (CRM) to contribute to sustainable development and gain competitive advantage in the market providing identical services and products. This study thus aims to understand customers’ perception of airline CRM and its effect on their loyalty. Empirical research was conducted on data collected from 443 travelers on US-based full service airlines that participate in charitable donation and analyzed using the Statistical Program for the Social Sciences (SPSS)-based program, PROCESS. The results revealed brand attitude’s significant mediating role and brand consciousness’s moderating role in building customer loyalty. The identification of an important moderated mediating function by combining mediation of brand attitude with moderation of brand consciousness expands the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) research in the airline context. Moreover, this study suggests that airlines encourage passengers to being involved in CRM in order to benefit both the nonprofit organizations and the brand itself through building customer loyalty.

The purpose of this study was to identify the key success factors of medical tourism using the case of South Korea. Medical tourism refers to the phenomenon of travelling across national borders intentionally to access a variety of medical treatments, especially modern medical treatment. Through conducting semi-structure face-to-face in-depth interviews with the service suppliers of Korean medical tourism, it was discovered that Korean medical tourism has been facilitated by the effect of Hallyu and advanced Korean brand power. More importantly, tourism activities for companions and extra support for patients’ convenience are identified as important success factors of Korean medical tourism, suggesting that the medical tourism industry not only includes medical services but also involves tourism perspectives, supporting the patient and their companions to stay in a comfortable and pleasurable environment. This study generated results which are valuable for both academic and industry perspectives, as this is a field which has not been extensively researched. Medical tourism representatives in other countries can consult these findings to develop the industry.

Authentic intangible cultural heritage (ICH) provides a community with a unique selling point in the globally competitive tourism industry. The process of commodification of ICH, however, has threatened its authenticity and thus sustainable tourism approaches are required to achieve successful transmission and promotion of ICH as a sustainable tourism resource. This paper explores the priorities of ICH practitioners in relation to the development of ICH as a sustainable tourism resource, by utilising South Korea as a case study. The results revealed that from the ICH practitioners’ perspectives, authenticity is a holistic notion integrating the transmitted customs, inherited meanings and the practitioners’ identities. ICH practitioners agree with the potential positive symbiotic relationship between transmission of authentic ICH and promotion of ICH as a tourism resource. To achieve the positive symbiotic relationship, locals’ awareness of ICH, ICH practitioner empowerment and parallel development between tourism development and transmission of ICH are necessary. To date, the practitioner approach to the authenticity of ICH and ICH as a sustainable tourism resource is little explored in the literature, thus this paper makes a valuable addition to the area of sustainable heritage tourism.