Beyond the stereotypes: Opportunities in China inbound tourism for second‐tier European destinations

Abstract

The existing literature has often represented Chinese tourists in broad and stereotypical ways, as a new generation of bumbling camera-waving tourists showing minimal regard for the local environments that they encounter. However, as Chinese have become more experienced travellers, they have diversified and changed their behaviours. Among these various changes, an increasing number of Chinese tourists have begun exploring second-tier destinations. By focussing on Chinese travellers to less visited second-tier destinations, this paper goes beyond the stereotypical representations of this fast-maturing market. It illustrates the heterogeneity of Chinese tourism, and its advantages for second-tier European destinations.

Influence of attractions on destination selection

“…Evidently, tourists may choose to experience a destination not because of any experience product designed for them by DMOs, but because of general attributes of a place. For example, Chinese visitors to Scandinavia note clear blue skies, clean and safe environment, and social security programs among the highlights of their travel to North European countries (Jørgensen, Law, & King, 2018).…”

Asian tourism in Europe: consumption, distinction, mobility, and diversity

“…The first generation has been characterised as package tour travellers who hastily tick off one sight after the other, whereas parts of the second generation are more sophisticated and individualised and more interested in experiences than in counting visited attractions or countries. The latter group has shown increasing interest in European second-tier destinations with a preference for deeper experiences and intangible lifestyle-related attractions (Jørgensen et al, 2018). Linking consumption, distinction, and mobility to the diversity of Asian tourism in Europe, this study proposes:…”

“…Meta-analysis of literature on Chinese outbound travel shows that the most studied regions are Asia, Oceania (particularly Australia), and to a lesser extent North America (Jin & Wang, 2016). Very few studies have analysed Chinese (Fugmann & Aceves, 2013;Jørgensen, Law, & King, 2018;Lojo, 2016;Prayag, Cohen, & Yan, 2015) or other Asian (Balaz & Mitsusake, 1998;Bernal-Barella & Scharfenort, 2015;Kanlayanasukho & Pearce, 2016) travellers in Europe.…”

“…Second, most studies highlight differences between Asian and Western tourists but generally do not analyse differences between Asian nationalities (Reisinger, Mavondo, & Crotts, 2009). Third, research rarely examines European destinations despite their increasing prominence on the Asian tourism landscape (Jørgensen et al, 2018). Consequently, the main objectives of this article are:…”

Young Chinese in Europe

“…According to Jørgensen, Law, and King (2018), studies on Chinese tourism tend to be repetitive and off er a stereotypical view of tourists. Lojo and Li (2018) indicate that most previous studies fail to show the diff erences between diff erent tourism segments.…”