On the Perception of Ethnic Image in the Context of Tourism

Massive pictures about ethnic travels were acquired from the website Flickr，which has been a leading and popular source for huge amounts of original and quality pictures worldwide. Meta-data thereof was collected for the following analysis：Latitude and longitude parameters help map the geographic positions involved therein applying software ArcGIS；descriptions，titles and tags contribute to categorize pictures objects and look into photographers' perceptions，evaluations and attitudes. The user generated content analysis shows that，unlike images depicted in literary or artistic works，（1） in the context of tourism it is travelers who build up ethnic image bonded with their own travel experiences；（2） regarding the representations of ethnic image，ethnic people together with their apparel， totemic aesthetics and symbols， and decorative accessories are likely to feature prominently；（3） ethnic images may differ from each other due to diversified and distinctive soil they are born in；（4） ethnic images may originate from the pursuit of so-called cultural novelty，and mirror mankind ' s exploration for what life and nature are all about.