Niue’s Destination Image: A Perspective From the Travel Experiences of International Visitors

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the image of Niue as a destination from the international visitors’ perspective. This current research is part of the Niue International Visitor Survey project at the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute. The data in this research were drawn from 1,446 participants between Oct 2017 and Sep 2018. The open-ended questions about international visitors’ perceptions towards Niue were analyzed thematically by coding with the facilitation of NVivo. Data analysis demonstrated that visitors perceived Niue as a destination with beautiful and clean nature environment, good water-based activities, friendly local people, and laid-back atmosphere, while poor facilities and infrastructure, food and beverage, and animal-related issues were least attractive for visitors. The paper concludes with implications for Niue destination marketing organizers.