The role of tourist behaviour in the determination of tourist attractions: Emerging tourist destinations in Jeju Island, South Korea through self-wedding photography

Abstract

Recently, self-wedding photographs have become popular among soon-to-be-married couples, affecting tourism and industry in Jeju Island. From the research on three sites, St. Isidore Farm, Camellia Hill and Saryeoni Forest Trail, this article argues that photographers and self-wedding photographing tourists' role can be important in attracting new visitors by sharing photos through social networking sites. Using a mixed-methods approach - including analysing Instagram photo postings, on-site interviews with managers of the destinations and self-wedding photographers, and questionnaires with self-wedding photographing tourists - this study examines the process of discovering new sightseeing places by tourists through self-wedding photographs. The paper also identifies the characteristics of the photogenic spots and records the changes in places caused by these tourists. This paper challenges the understanding of existing tourism resources by asserting that self-wedding photographs and places in Jeju can be utilized as one of the tourism resources through discussion of wedding photographs and tourism.