Service providers’ experience and response behaviours towards Chinese tourists: Evidence from Sri Lanka : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University

Abstract

Chinese tourists are now replacing the traditional tourist source markets in many destinations around the world because of the spectacular growth in the numbers of these tourists in recent years. Consequently, the Chinese tourist market has received extensive attention to understand their motives, expectations, experiences, and travel behaviours from the perspective of the tourists themselves. However, limited attention has been given to understanding the supply-side experience or the servicing hosts’ perspectives and how the service providers adjust and respond to this new tourist market. This research applied a qualitative emic approach to explore hosts’ experiences and responses towards Chinese tourists in two key tourist locations in Sri Lanka: Kandy and Galle. The findings show that Sri Lankan hosts have different experiences with Chinese tourists depending on the service provided and the type of Chinese tourist. This is different from the models proposed in the demand-side tourism literature. Hosts construct their perception of these tourists by observing the tourist behaviour and respond accordingly. As Chinese tourists’ behaviour changes, the initial responses are amended. Similarly, the changes taking place in the Chinese tourist market are much faster than the responses adopted by Sri Lankan service providers despite the best efforts of those service providers. The findings have resulted in interlinked theoretical insights. The concept of Chinese tourist 1.0 and 2.0 is amended to a continuum model that provides a nuanced level of changes that is patchy, uneven, and lacking uniformity. The hosts’ observations/perceptions of and responses towards the Chinese tourist market are considerably influenced by the Chinese cultural value driven behaviours. Following these observations, it becomes apparent that there are a number of ‘gazes’ in operation: the service providers gaze at different types of tourists, the tourists gaze at the service providers, and the tourists gaze at each other