Penetrating The Chinese Outbound Tourism Market

This publication gives a background to the growth of Chinese tourism in terms of policy decisions, demographics, socio-economic evolution, catchment areas, and market trends, all of which have a strong bearing on the position that China occupies in the world today as the leading tourism outbound market.

This publication gives an overview of the key features of the Chinese outbound tourism market in terms of policy, demographics, socio-economic evolution, catchment areas, and market trends. It includes case studies from seven destinations in Asia and Pacific and three in Europe and the Americas, which have successfully developed the Chinese tourism market. These focus on issues such as product development, market segmentation, demand and supply analysis and, most importantly, marketing and promotion. The report also has a special focus on the millennial tourists who hold a prominent position in Chinese outbound."

Assuming an international perspective, Chinese Tourist Outbound Behaviour presents an insightful exploration of the evolution of China’s tourism market, explores Chinese tourists’ behaviour, and considers how the country’s tourism landscape will expand in the future. Featuring 16 chapters compiled and written by industry experts representing 11 countries, this collection offers a vivid profile of Chinese tourists and the characteristics distinguishing them from other market segments. This book coincides with the growing interest in Chinese tourism and tourist behaviour as the top market in the world in terms of tourism spending and arrival numbers, presenting an overview of Chinese tourist segments and travel-related concerns to paint a clear picture of the market’s status. Chapters address the future of Chinese tourism, providing industry stakeholders an up-to-date view on this valuable market along with suggestions to best harness the market’s power. Providing an up-to-date exploration of numerous contemporary issues, this book will be valuable to a wide audience, including advanced students in tourism, hospitality and leisure and recreation studies and stakeholders, authorities, establishments and employees within the tourism industry. This book offers readers greater knowledge about the past, present and future of the Chinese outbound tourism market.

Booming Mainland Chinese outbound travel is one of the most exciting phenomena in the world tourism industry’s recent history. From 2000 to 2010, Chinese outbound travel increased at a compounded annual rate of 18.5 percent, and it is forecasted that by 2020 China will generate approximately 100 million outbound trips a year, making China the fourth largest source of outbound travel in the world. The new Chinese tourists are more confident, technologically savvy, value conscious, and ready to explore unfamiliar territory. For tourism marketers and researchers who are getting ready to or just celebrated their initial "west-meets-east" moments, the new Chinese tourists are showing up at their doors and presenting new challenges for marketing and service. In this book, leading authors from around the world share their most cutting-edge findings and thoughts on the Chinese outbound travel market. The book reflects on the paths of the Chinese outbound travel development, reports new trends and issues, and provides new insights and recommendations. For practitioners around the world (e.g., destination policymakers and marketers, travel and tourism service providers, owners, and managers), this book provides hands-on guidance on understanding tourists from Mainland China. For tourism scholars, educators, and students, this book provides basic yet essential knowledge on the Chinese outbound travel market and tourist behavior and points out important future directions. Most tourism programs today have an international component in their curriculum, usually including a global tourism class. This book serves as an excellent supplemental reading for students in these classes.

These guidelines from the China Tourism Academy and UNWTO offer valuable insights into the factors motivating Chinese tourists to travel. It also presents a valuable toolkit to guide destination managers and decision makers on the best way to tap into this lucrative and productive market.

The People’s Republic of China has changed from a country which actively discouraged tourism into one of the major source markets for the international industry; the 35 million Chinese travelling across the border in 2005 are merely the tip of the iceberg. China’s Outbound Tourism is the first book on this major development and has been written using a multitude of sources from China and around the world. The topic is approached from many angles, using methods from the fields of economics, political sciences, sociology and cross-cultural studies. The book explains the economic and social background of the surge in tourism and the changes in policy in the country since 1949, when it moved from prevention through controlled development to encouragement of outbound travels. Throughout the book, facts and figures are given for the global development as well as in-depth information about China’s key destinations. The growing importance of tourists from China is however not just a question of quantity; the text explains the features which distinguish their travel motivations and behaviours from ‘western’ and Japanese tourists, and the consequences for product adaptation and marketing methods for destinations interested in attracting and satisfying Chinese tourists. Arlt’s groundbreaking book cannot be ignored by professionals, academics and students of tourism and leisure; it offers fresh insight into the topic and indicates some of the future lines of development in this area.

From 1998 to 2001, the number of outbound travellers from China has increased annually by one million, and in 2001 reached over 12 million. According to World Tourism Organization forecasts, China is likely to have 100 million outbound travellers by the year 2020 and to become the fourth largest source of outbound travel in the world. This publication examines the development of China's outbound tourism market and policy trends, foreign tourism organisations in China and marketing issues, as well as looking at profile aspects of the outbound tourism sector, including gender, age and occupation of outbound travellers, purpose and modes of travel, and outbound destinations.