The Korea Tourism Destination Brand Equity Index, developed by Yanolja Research, is a measurement tool that objectively evaluates the brand equity of Korean tourism based on foreigners' cognitive and emotional perceptions, as analyzed through social data.
Brand equity refers to the intangible value derived from how consumers perceive, recognize, and experience a brand. It goes beyond logos or names, encompassing emotional impressions, credibility, loyalty, and perceived quality built over time through consumer interactions.
In the tourism sector, this concept expands into Destination Brand Equity, which measures how favorably a specific country or region is perceived as a travel destination. It reflects the full journey of the traveler-from initial awareness and expectations to post-visit satisfaction and memory-offering a holistic view of a destination's brand strength.
While Korea has seen rapid growth in inbound tourism, simply counting visitor numbers is not enough to assess the country's competitiveness as a destination. Sustainable tourism requires a shift toward qualitative measures-especially how international tourists perceive and emotionally respond to their experiences in Korea.
The Korea Destination Brand Equity Model, developed by Yanolja Research, evaluates foreign visitors' perceptions across five core dimensions:
• Brand Awareness: How well is Korea known as a travel destination?
• Brand Image: What emotional impressions or sentiments do visitors hold?
• Brand Association: What comes to mind when thinking of Korea (e.g., K-pop, Han River, heritage)?
• Brand Quality: How satisfied are tourists with their actual experience?
• Brand Loyalty: Are visitors likely to recommend or revisit Korea?
Unlike traditional surveys, this model leverages global user-generated content(UGC) from social media platforms to capture real-time,
authentic evaluations of Korea as a destination offering a data driven and scientific approach to brand analysis.