The China outbound market: An evaluation of key constraints and opportunities

Abstract

Chinese outbound tourism has grown rapidly, reaching 5 million in 1995 and with the potential for significant further growth. This potential was boosted in late 1996 when the Chinese Government relaxed its foreign exchange policy for outbound tourists and out bound travel businesses, thereby overcoming a major constraint to outbound tourism. A Chinese outbound tourist is defined here as a resident of mainland China and travels tem porarily outside mainland China for any pur pose. Drawing upon a survey of constumers and of key informants, this paper outlines the main characteristics of tourists from mainland China and identifies main impediments to continuing market growth. It is concludet that Chinese tourists are drawn initially to the most frequented attrac tions overseas, and particularly to those which offer a marked contrast with what is found in China. The intrinsic attributes of the attrac tions are found to be of secondary importance. It is suggested that destination countries serious about the Chinese market need to liberalise booking procedures as a matter of urgency. Greater promotion by destination countries is needed within China to improve travel industry and consumer awareness.

Segmenting Chinese Outbound Tourists by Perceived Constraints

“…Other important constraints identified include travel distance, obtaining travel document, cost, and time. This finding is consistent, though in different orders, with those of Zhou, King, and Turner (1998), Hsu and Lam (2003), and Huang and Hsu (2005).…”

“…In addition, the ease of booking procedures appears to be the most significant factor determining destination choice, although price and familiarity also appear to be important determinants. The study suggested that destination countries wishing to tap into the China market should simplify their procedures with particular reference to visa issuance (Zhou, King, & Turner, 1998). …”

Chinese outbound travel: Understanding the socioeconomic drivers

“…Guo et al, 2007;Tse & Hobson, 2008). Although some of these studies adopted questionnaire survey in their data collection (e.g., Zhou et al, 1998) …”

Chinese Outbound Tourism: an Epilogue

“…While market analysis in the late 1990s still seemed to be the focus of Chinese outbound tourism studies (Zhou, King, & Turner, 1998), researchers started to look into the individual level tourist behavior constructs such as motivations and satisfaction (Huang & Hsu, 2009;Lin & Lin, 2006;Zhang & Lam, 1999), perceived risks and barriers (Sparks & Pan, 2009;Weifeng, 2005), travel preferences, destination image, and attitudes (Kim, Guo, & Agrusa, 2005;McCartney, Butler & Bennet, 2009;Sparks & Pan, 2009;Wang & Davidson, 2010), and expectations (Hsu, Cai, & Li, 2010;Li, Lai, Harrill, Kline, & Wang, 2011). These investigations of various aspects of Chinese tourist behaviors helped to understand the market by developing knowledge about Chinese tourists' behavioral characteristics.…”