Confucian-heritage travel bloggers: Chinese Singaporean and South Korean perspectives

Abstract

This article investigates the use of travel weblogs within Asian markets, in particular those with a Confucian cultural heritage, in an attempt to understand the knowledge-sharing practices of Confucian-heritage travel bloggers. Two significant Confucian markets in Asia, Chinese Singaporeans and South Koreans, are studied in this article. Results of content and semiotics analyses of 17 weblog sites from the Singaporean market and 20 from the South Korean market suggest that cultural aspects can characterise users' behaviour in virtual environments. In the studied Asian blog user communities, the Confucian value of respect for authority appears to be embedded, affecting the types of knowledge sharing as well as technology-enhanced sharing. The article suggests that tourism marketing researchers and practitioners should recognise that the Asian market's use of blog sites is influenced by the Confucian value of respect for authority and that practitioners are recommended to consider partnering with authority figures to deliver more 'credible' information to the wider community.