KOREAN STUDENTS ASSESSMENT OF AUSTRALIA AS A HOLIDAY DESTINATION

Tourism is the fastest growing portion of the Australian economy. Incr easing the number of overseas visitors to Australia, particularly from new markets in Asia, is essential to maintain this growth. Within the Asian market, the Republic of Korea, since the liberation of outbound travel in 1989, has recorded one of the world's highest levels of inc rease in outbound tourism. Although from 1988 to 1991 departures by Ko reans for sightseeing travel increased from 134 000 to 651 000, Austra lia remained a marginal travel destination; actual travel patterns fav oured Japan, North America and Europe. By occupation, university stude nts comprised one of the largest socio-economic market segments of the se travellers. A structured questionnaire was distributed in four univ ersity campuses in Seoul to assess Korean students' preferred vacation motivations, destinations, activities, descriptive word-images of Aus tralia and their gendered differentiation. Results suggest that struct ural constraints of the tourist industry, rather than socio-demographi c or psychographic barriers for the Korean students, are preventing th em from travelling to Australia.