An investigation of how specific social backgrounds shape the characteristics of young Chinese travel bloggers within the mobilities paradigm

Using the mobilities paradigm, this thesis aims to try to explain the uniqueness of a certain group of young Chinese travel bloggers, who were also tourists. It considered that the characteristics of young Chinese travel bloggers, both in their motivations and behaviours, do not appear in the realm of tourism only. This thesis explores where their characteristics come from and how to interpret them in contemporary China

The motivations, constraints and decision-making of Beijing outbound tourists

The number of international tourists from China has increased remarkably in the past two decades, and it is expected to continue growing with an increase of household income and discretionary time. This thesis aims to understand Chinese outbound pleasure travellers by identifying their travel motivations, constraints and decision making in the pre-trip stage. Beijing was selected in the research because it is one of the three largest outbound tourist generating cities in China. Hence, the characteristics of travellers from Beijing are representative of a significant part in China's outbound travel market. This thesis addresses the following issues. The study of motivation answers quotwhyquot Chinese tourists go overseas for holiday. The literature suggests motivation can be understood from push and pull perspectives. In this framework, push factors refer to the tourist as a subject and deal with those factors driving him or her to travel. On the other hand, pull factors are those which attract the tourist to a given resort or destination. This study attempts to identify the push and pull factors associated with Chinese outbound tourists. Furthermore, market segmentation was achieved based on this framework by clustering the respondents into four groups. The decision-making process is complex and involves several stages and influencing factors. The first decision is usually whether to travel or stay at home. The preposition is that motivation and constraints have certain impacts on participation. The next decision is related to where to travel. The preposition here is that the destination choice is influenced by motivation, constraints and socio-demographic characteristics as well as the attractiveness of place attributes. Moreover, these factors are expected to also influence the travel frequency. After selecting the destination, a number of subordinate decisions, such as accommodation, travel mode, length of stay and activities have to be made. The preposition is that decisions on these issues are greatly influenced by socio-demographic characteristics. A theoretical model of decision-making was presented on the basis of these propositions. It should be mentioned that this model focuses on the relationship of these factors instead of the sequence of decision-making. There are indeed cases in which, for example, people decide on activities before destination choice. A mixed method was adopted when the merits and deficiencies of both qualitative and quantitative approaches were taken into consideration. Qualitative data from interviews with 20 Beijing residents were collected with two purposes: first, to help identify the variables selected in the survey; second, to supplement interpretation of the results from the survey. Next a survey was used to gather quantitative data. T-test, ANOVA, factor and cluster analysis, as well as regression were used to analyse the data in SPSS. The combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches was utilized to enhance the trustworthiness of the findings. The study identifies the most important push and pull motivations as well as the main constraints for Beijing outbound tourists. The results of the study also include an assessment of the influences of motivation, constraints and the role of socio-demographic variables on destination choice and travel frequency. Other useful findings about subdecisions of Beijing outbound tourists are reported such as desired activities, information search, accommodation selection etc. The research findings provide information for destination marketers and service providers as to the expectation, preference, and characteristics of Chinese outbound iii tourists, and help them better promote and service this market. Meanwhile, the research contributes to the travel behaviour literature by providing empirical evidence about the decision-making process of Chinese outbound tourists

International Relations and Tourism: Geopolitical Tension in China-United States Relations and Implications in Tourism Development

Black cat or white cat, if it can catch mice, it\u27s a good cat. As China\u27s then Chief Secretary, and later the nation\u27s Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping made this now-famous metaphor in the 1960s for a planned economy versus that of a market economy (Zheng & Sun, 2018), little did anyone at the time anticipated the sheer level of influence this populous yet impoverished nation would have on the world\u27s geopolitical and economic scene in the coming decades. Indeed, through a combination of economic reforms, diplomatic engagement, and political reorganization, the People\u27s Republic of China rapidly elevated its international positioning from a marginalized member of the global community to one of the world\u27s biggest economies and what external observers would call a quasi-superpower in the 21st century and aims to catch up or surpass the United States in the near future (Brooks & Wohlfarth, 2016; Lu, 2019)

A multidimensional inquiry into Chinese outbound tourism to Western Europe: the visitation of Chinese millennial students to the Netherlands.

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of Philosophy.This research focuses on the multidimensionality of Chinese outbound tourism to Western Europe and particularly highlights the visitation of Chinese millennial students to the Netherlands. The contributions made to knowledge construction are first of all, to establish a propaedeutic research agenda for which this current research serves as a framework. Simultaneously, seven discernable dimensions have been identified as archetypal to the Chinese tourist, especially regarding their key interests and behaviour when visiting Western European destinations. These being competitive, demographic, economic, technological, cultural, natural and political. Within this construct, the researcher drew from Urry’s ‘The Tourist’s Gaze’, and Pearce et al., reconstruction of this, in their article in Tourism Recreation Research on “Puzzles in Understanding Chinese Tourist Behaviour: Towards a Triple-C Gaze”, to create the Quadruple-C Gaze in depicting the Chinese millennial tourist’s behaviour. (Quadruple-C is in reference to Confucianism, Capitalism, Communism, and Consumerism). The latter is a proposition for the establishment of a propaedeutic research agenda, which is derived from this study. In exercising an interpretative research methodology, the researcher attempted to gain a comprehensive understanding of the key interests of Chinese millennial tourists to the Netherlands and juxtapose them to Chinese millennial students as tourists to the Netherlands. At the same time, an investigation was carried out into the implications of these visits for the Dutch tourism industry as well as the Dutch higher education board. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among experts from the Dutch tourism industry as well as from the Dutch higher education board and experts from Dutch universities. Likewise, focus groups meetings were held among five different groups of Chinese millennial students from universities in the Netherlands as well as students from a university in China. Data was also generated from discourse analysis. The outcome of the thematic analysis performed resulted in seven pronounced themes, which are: the cultural values of Chinese millennial travellers; their motivations for visiting the Netherlands; the Netherlands and its higher educational institutes; Chinese millennial students in the Netherlands; the travel interests and behaviours of Chinese millennial students in/through Europe; the Chinese millennial students and their surroundings; and the implications of Chinese millennial students on their exhibited behaviour and on the Netherlands. A future propaedeutic research agenda is therefore proposed that examines “The Quadruple-C Gaze of Chinese outbound tourism and its relevance in defining the key interests and behaviour of the Chinese millennial tourists from second-and-third-tier VIII A Multidimensional Inquiry into Chinese Outbound Tourism to Western Europe: The Visitation of Chinese Millennial Students to The Netherlands cities in China”. In carrying out such a study, three relatively innovative methodologies are suggested: Complexity Theory, which is a set of concepts that attempts to explain a complex phenomenon not explainable by traditional or mechanic theories. The second is via Visual Analysis, which applies graphic prompts to assess the motivational considerations that guide visitors from different cultural backgrounds to select their travel destination(s). And thirdly, by way of Netnography - a current research method that uses online conversations as data. By applying one or more of the above-mentioned methodologies, a fresh insight will be gained into the quadruple-C gaze of Chinese millennial tourists from second and third-tier cities from Mainland China. Finally, when approaching China as a prospective source market for Chinese millennial tourists/students, both Dutch tourism providers and the Dutch higher education need to adopt a holistic approach to understanding the multi-dimensions postulated in this inquiry

Looking East but learning from the West? Mass tourism and emerging nations

In the United Kingdom, domestic mass tourism began in the mid- nineteenth century during a period of peace and increased prosperity. It was facilitated by the railways, that enabled the rapid movement of people in bulk, and later by mass production of the motor car. Similarly, international mass tourism emerged in Europe and North America after the second World War, with stability, increasing prosperity, and advances in air transport. Similar socio-economic and political conditions led first to mass domestic tourism and then international tourism in Japan and China, and in both the state played an explicit and supportive part in tourism development. In all cases, mass tourism increasingly attracted academic attention, as seen most recently in the explosion of studies (in English and Chinese) of inbound and outbound Chinese tourism. There have been calls for a new ‘paradigm’ to analyse the development of Asian (most notably Chinese) tourism, which raise crucial questions as to whether or not ‘science,’ ‘paradigms’ and tourism studies can or should be tailored to study mass tourism because of its increased importance in East Asia

Looking East but learning from the West? Mass tourism and emerging nations

In the United Kingdom, domestic mass tourism began in the mid- nineteenth century during a period of peace and increased prosperity. It was facilitated by the railways, that enabled the rapid movement of people in bulk, and later by mass production of the motor car. Similarly, international mass tourism emerged in Europe and North America after the second World War, with stability, increasing prosperity, and advances in air transport. Similar socio-economic and political conditions led first to mass domestic tourism and then international tourism in Japan and China, and in both the state played an explicit and supportive part in tourism development. In all cases, mass tourism increasingly attracted academic attention, as seen most recently in the explosion of studies (in English and Chinese) of inbound and outbound Chinese tourism. There have been calls for a new ‘paradigm’ to analyse the development of Asian (most notably Chinese) tourism, which raise crucial questions as to whether or not ‘science,’ ‘paradigms’ and tourism studies can or should be tailored to study mass tourism because of its increased importance in East Asia

Hua qian zhao zui shou looking for trouble at own expense - a study of tourist (mis)behaviors

The study sets two objectives. The first is to investigate how an array of tourist misbehaviors was perceived by the young generations of the United States and China. The second is to examine factors that could explain any perceptual differences between young Americans and Chinese. Five research questions were developed and addressed for the first objective through online surveys by comparing the perceptions of American respondents and Chinese respondents on a list of tourist misbehaviors. They are: 1) What are the annoyance levels of tourist misbehaviors perceived by American college students? 2) What are the annoyance levels of tourist misbehaviors perceived by the college students from China? 3) How do the American college students and those from China differ in their perceptions of tourist misbehaviors? 4) Do the American college students differ from other Americans in their perceptions of tourist misbehaviors? and 5) Do the length of stay of the college students from China affect their perceptions of tourist misbehaviors? The study discovered that the top three annoying tourist misbehaviors perceived same by the American college students and Chinese students were “not flushing toilet after use”, “participating in criminal activities”, and “smoking anywhere without considering those around them”. In addition, the American college student also perceived “verbally or physically abusing service personnel in hotels and other service operations”, “allowing children to go to the toilet in the street”, and “not respecting the religious or spiritual needs of others” among the most annoying tourist misbehaviors; whereas the college students from China perceived “driving a car or crossing road unsafely/not observing local traffic rules and regulations”, “not respecting the religious or spiritual needs of others” and “breaking into a line of waiting people” among the most annoying tourist misbehaviors. The study also found that the American college students perceived nine tourist misbehaviors significantly different from the general American respondents. The students perceived only one tourist misbehavior “not respecting the religious or spiritual needs of others” as more annoying than the general respondents, while the general respondents perceived eight tourist misbehaviors as more annoying than the students. Another important finding from the study is that the length of stay of the college students from China did affect their perceptions of tourist misbehaviors. As the length of stay increases, the perceptions of the Chinese students on tourist misbehaviors increasingly converge with those of the American college students. Three research questions were developed and addressed for the second research objective through the synthesis of literature. They are: 1) Could the differences in perceptions between the American college students and their peers from China be explained by tourism theories on host and guest relationship? 2) Could the differences in perceptions between the American college students and their peers from China be explained by Hofstede’s Theory of Cultural Dimension? and 3) Could the differences in perceptions between the American college students and their peers from China be explained by the Theory of Planned Behavior? One tourism theory on host and guest relationship indicates that tourist misbehaviors could potentially create threats to local hosts. The results of the current study show that tourists might perceive some tourist misbehaviors as more acceptable while hosts might perceive some tourist misbehaviors as less acceptable, and therefore resulted in differences in perceptions. This finding confirms the theory on host and guest relationship. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Theory can also explain some perceptual differences as found in this study. For example, Chinese students’ attitudes towards service personnel could be explained by the power distance dimension. China is a country with high power distance in which inequalities are more acceptable than in the United States. Other perceptual differences between the American college students and their peers from China could be explained by the Theory of Planned Behavior, which suggests that cultures play an important role in individuals’ attitudes and perceived norms. In Chinese culture, “demanding discount on merchandise” is a common practice, while it is less so in the United States. The study aimed at making a timely contribution to the understanding of the fast-growing inbound market from China to the United States. The results were expected to help improve the relationship between Chinese tourists as guests and the Americans as hosts. Such understanding and improved relationship would allow global destination communities to be better prepared for the arrival of the Chinese tourists. While there may be a small group of Chinese tourists that behave improperly as perceived by the local hosts, judgments towards misbehaviors should not be generalized into the entire inbound market from China. By applying learning theories, the study proposes several strategies to guide and influence tourist behaviors for both the guests and hosts. On the host side, destination communities and businesses can employ cultural education and training to residents and employees, should they are interested in welcoming the tourists from China. On the guest side, they can benefit from cultural learning programs both at home and included as part of their trip itineraries. In addition to appropriate regulations and rules targeted at the tourists, the travel trade and various levels of government in China should consider it an important responsibility to help the outbound Chinese tourists understand the behavioral norms at their destinations so that they would be able to minimize unpleasant encounters and enjoy more of the positive experiences

Analysis of Chinese travel blogs of New Zealand

The Chinese outbound tourism market is a fast growing source market for many destinations. However, more research is needed to better understand the Chinese outbound tourism market and its diversity and complexity. Again, it can be argued that consistent monitoring of what is a fast evolving market is required, even where prior research has been undertaken. The aim of this research is to provide the tourism industry with a better understanding of the Chinese tourist market and the attitudes of Chinese visitors with specific reference to New Zealand. Consequently perceived destination image, travel motivations, and patterns of online communications of and about New Zealand were identified by analysing travel blogs written by Chinese tourists. Given that there were 181 million bloggers existing in China by the end of 2009 (CNNIC, 2009), blogs written by Chinese visitors have a significant market value for tourism organisations and marketers. This study used content analysis to identify the perceived destination image held by Chinese tourists to New Zealand. In this study, the analytical process was divided into two parts, namely photographic and textual analysis. In each of the two parts, qualitative content analysis was first undertaken, and then followed by secondary quantitative analysis to support the findings discerned through the qualitative process. By analysing 6968 photographs and 408 blog entries posted by Chinese visitors, an image of New Zealand as a tourism destination was identified. The findings revealed that the main components of New Zealand, as perceived by Chinese visitors, were that it possessed a protected ecological environment, offered a variety of activities, and had a highly developed society with a “Pakeha” culture. The research also indicated that Chinese cultural norms played an important role in the process of decision making, perception formation and interpretation. These norms included the desire of harmony, Li, Junzi Aspiration, and a respect of authorities. The results of the study also included details about travel patterns in dining, accommodation, and tourism activities. These results indicated that content analysis of visual and textual materials provides rich information about perceived destination image, travel preference, and online information search behaviours. Online photographs and narratives posted by visitors are not only valuable information source for potential visitors who read the blogs, but can also be an effective way to understand the Chinese market. Based on the results, it can be concluded that blogs are important, and point a way by which destination marketing organisations can seek to influence potential visitors. For example, blog celebrities are an effective way by which to attract thousands of readers to know more about the country. The use of the Chinese language and creating special arrangements for Chinese festivals are shown to be effective means by which hosts can display a friendly attitude to their Chinese guests. With more and more countries being granted Approved Destination Status (ADS) by the Chinese government, Chinese citizens have more choices as to where to travel overseas, thereby intensifying competition for their custom. It is vital for tourism destinations to promote their unique features through all possible channels according to different target markets. Additionally, because service quality is a crucial issue for group tourists, consistent monitoring the travel blogs is an effective way of facilitating the improvement of the service quality of tourism product suppliers

Travel experiences and aspirations: a case study from Chinese youth

Understanding cultural values is vital in tourism as these influence an individual’s travel experiences and expectations. Students represent an important segment of the international tourist population, and Chinese student tourists are an increasingly significant part of that segment. It is therefore important to understand how cultural values influence Chinese students’ experiences and aspirations. Will their past travel experiences influence future aspirations? Using data collected from a free-elicitation method, this paper reports on the travel experiences and aspirations of 284 Chinese students. It explores the notional link between past experiences and future aspirations and discusses the impact of Chinese political history and cultural values on tourist experiences and motivations. Implications for marketing are drawn out