Travelers’ viewpoints on machine translation using Q methodology: a perspective of consumption value theory

With the advancement of AI-powered technologies, machine translation (MT) has had a notable influence on tourists’ travel experiences by altering the way they use or understand language in destinations. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe travelers’ viewpoints of MT derived from their experience based on consumption value theory (CVT). This paper also utilized Q methodology to gain insights into travelers’ perspectives on MT by performing Q-sorting on 32 South Koreans who used MT while traveling abroad. The analysis of using Ken-Q revealed three major perspectives: a linguistic shortcut, the compass of comprehensibility, and the pocket assistant of linguistic abundance, in which conditional, functional, epistemic, and social values are reflected. The findings generate both theoretical and practical implications for enhancing the utilization of MT and its significance in tourism-related activities.