Intrastate travel experiences in international students and their perceptions of Western Australia (WA) as a tourist destination.

Shanka, Tekle; Ali-Knight, Jane; Pope, Jeff

Abstract

This paper presents initial findings from a study examining the impact on Western Australian (WA) tourism of the growing number of international students in the state. Focusing on one university with the largest number of international students (3946 onshore students in 2000) the study examines the intrastate travel behaviour and student perception of WA as a tourist destination. Both undergraduate and postgraduate international students were sent a self-administered questionnaire (296 usable responses were obtained) and this paper presents the findings about the travel experiences of these students while doing their studies in the state. The results indicate the importance of the international student market for regional tourism and confirm its contribution to the domestic tourism market.

Citation

Shanka, T., Ali-Knight, J., & Pope, J. (2002). Intrastate travel experiences in international students and their perceptions of Western Australia (WA) as a tourist destination. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 3, 245-256

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2002
• Deposit Date: May 26, 2008
• Print ISSN: 1467-3584
• Electronic ISSN: 1742-9692
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Pages: 245-256
• Keywords: international students; Western Australia; intrastate travel; behavior; perception; experience; regional tourism; domestic tourism
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/2073