Beach images: more than just sun, sea and sex!

Abstract

Beaches play an enormous role in the worldwide tourism phenomenon. Despite their popularity, however, there has been very little research conducted on tourists' images of beaches. In acknowledging the overall need for beach image research, and for more qualitative methods, a cognitive/mental mapping exercise was used to identify the nature and culture attributes in beach images held by international visitors from North America, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. The results showed that beach images are a synthesis of nature and culture, but attributes of nature dominated in all of beach images. Every dimension of the beach images revealed idiosyncratic characteristics, similarities and differences for each of the culture groups. Some of these beach characteristics were consistent with attributes identified in other beach studies, but the cognitive maps revealed many more attributes of nature and culture leading to the conclusion that beach images are more than just sun, sea, sand and sex!