UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIO-CULTURAL

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHINESE TOURISTS:

IMPLICATIONS FOR DESTINATION COUNTRIES
TOURISM MARKETING IN CHINA
ZENG, BENXIANG
Charles Darwin University, Australia
There have been many studies on the economic, cultural and social
determinants of Chinese outbound tourism, which are essential for tourism
marketing. However, some important recent culture associated changes in
the Chinese outbound tourism market seem to have been insufficiently
analysed. This paper reviews recent literature and identifies some cultural
features and recent culture associated tourist behaviours. The social and
cultural reasons behind these behaviours are analysed and their
implications for destination markets are also discussed.

1. Introduction
Although it has a short history, Chinese outbound tourism has been
developing quickly. The outbound tourist numbers and total expenditure have
been increasing strongly and consistently in last decade or so (Figure 1). In
2011, the total number of Chinese outbound tourists reached over 70 million
(Caixin, 2012). China is now already the third largest source market (UNWTO,
2012).
Figure 1: Chinese outbound tourist number (1995-2011)

Chinese outbound tourist number (1995-2011)

Tourist number (million)

80.00
70.00
60.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00

19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
20
07
20
08
20
09
20
10
20
11

0.00

Source: Annual Reports of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA); Caixin (2012).

There have been numerous investigations into the Chinese outbound

tourism market. However, there has been a paucity of identified studies that
examine the specific impacts of culture particularly traditional Chinese culture,
on the travel behaviour of Chinese outbound travellers, including their
destination choice and consumption behaviours (Keating and Kriz, 2008) and
their implications for tourism business management and destination marketing
(Andreu, Claver and Quer, 2010).
This paper reviews recent literature and analyses some emerging trends in
Chinese outbound tourism, which are associated with Chinese cultural
traditions, and finally discusses their implications for destination markets.

2. The Chinese philosophy on tourism

The traditional culture of China is the most influential ideology for the
Chinese people. Even in the contemporary China it penetrates every aspect of
social, economic and political life. Chinese traditional philosophies have had a
fundamental impact on Chinese tourists motivation and attitudes toward
travelling. While Confucianism is the cornerstone of traditional Chinese culture,
other cultural values have also contributed to the formation of a Chinese
philosophy on tourism. Many Confucian cultural values, such as family's
reputation-based, act in line with the identity-type and selfless and
aggressive, and Taoist cultural values such as respect for nature-based
(Yang, 2011), illuminate some key Chinese cultural attributes which influence
Chinese people in making decisions on tourism, such as: respect for authority,
interdependence, the importance of 'face', group orientation, harmony and
external attribution (Mok and DeFranco, 1999).

Travel for learning: Confucius taught that travelling should not be

undertaken unless there is a strong purpose. This purpose can be moral
improvement and self-enlightenment. This teaching is different from Western
culture, where discovering exotic cultures and places is often the goal (Xu,
Ding and Packer, 2008). The old Chinese saying du wan juan shu, xing wan li
lu (meaning reading tens of thousands of books and travelling tens of
thousands of miles) accurately expresses this teaching.
Travel in a safe way: Confucius teaching Devout sons should not climb
or be close to the deep valley makes the Chinese extremely careful about
making the decision to travel (Xu, Ding and Packer, 2008). The Taoist cultural
value of conservative and rational manner also discourages Chinese taking
substantial risks during travel (Yang, 2011). Although younger Chinese are
much influenced by Western culture and follow the fashion of searching for
adventure and novelty, for most people the traditional culture places constraints
on travelling to remote and unknown areas and on engaging in activities with
mental and physical challenges and cultural unfamiliarity.

3. Cultural explanations of some new characteristics

3.1 A nexus between the high number of outbound tourists and
continuous economic development
The continuous growth of the Chinese economy has brought a concomitant
increase in personal disposable income. That has provided a strong impetus
for Chinese outbound travel. Li et al. (2010) suggested that this Chinese
outbound tourist market comprises of at least 22 million city residents, who
have either travelled outside Mainland China or plan to do so in near future.
Although long-haul tourism is relatively time and money consuming, 11.5
million of these projected tourists intend to travel to destinations outside Asia,
especially Europe, America and Oceania. The relative proportion of outbound
tourists in the total population of China is still small. However, the large
absolute volume of the outbound tourist population not only supports a strong
real outbound tourism market currently, but also presents an even stronger
potential for its future growth.
Chinese outbound tourists are mainly middle to upper middle class families
and/or businesspersons (Li et al., 2011). Students who study abroad make up
a significant portion of Chinese tourists. This instils a propensity for foreign
travel that will most likely be repeated in the students future life (Guo, Kim and
Timothy, 2007).
While the scale of outbound tourism in China is continuously increasing, a
significant change in the composition of outbound tourism has been occurring.
Chinese outbound tourism had been predominantly business travel until the
late 1990s. Since the relaxation on overseas travel by the implementation of
Approved Destination Status (ADS) and increase in disposable income, the
relative market share of self-funded private travel has grown rapidly. In 2000,
the number of private purpose outbound tourists was, for the first time, higher

than tourists on official and business travel (i.e. 54% vs. 46%). In 2010, this
category of outbound tourists reached about 90% of total Chinese outbound
tourists (i.e. 51.51 million out of 57.39 million) (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Chinese outbound tourists for public business and private purposes
70000
All outbound tourists

Tourist number ('000)

60000

Tourists for public business

Tourists for private purposes

50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

3.2 The feminisation of tourism decision making associated with an

improved womens empowerment and participation
Women are increasingly determining tourism destinations, travel routes,
accommodation and transportation. A recent online survey by an online travel
services company, Qunar.com, reveals that in 2011, 85% of females actually
made the decisions associated with tourism activities (Qunar, 2011).
The growing feminisation of tourism choice is probably associated with the
increase in the financial status of female members within the family, due to
more and more women being actively involved in economic activities and
thereby making higher incomes. Having observed this feminisation, Yang and
Zhang (2010) suggested that it is important to pay special attention to the
female tourism market in China. Given the outbound tourism, as a facet of
luxury fashion consumption in China, is one of most favoured activities for
urban or professional women, it is therefore logical to pay more attention to
females special roles in outbound tourism decision-making.
3.3 Conspicuous consumption: socio-culturally determined tourist
consumption behaviours
In 2002, China was seventh in the ranks of the worlds top spenders on
international tourism. The total expenditure by Chinese outbound travellers
reached US$ 15.4 billion (UNWTO, 2004). In 2011, Chinese outbound tourists

spent US$55 billion overseas, which made China the fourth largest country on
the outbound tourist expenditure table (Caixin, 2012).
According to Nielsen (2007) (Table 1), the average Chinese outbound
tourist actually spent US$2,923 per trip in 2007. European countries attracted
the largest expenditure for an average Chinese tourist. This was followed by
Oceania destinations such as Australia and Northern American countries.
Hong Kong and Macao attracted the highest spending by short-haul travellers,
this being attributable to purchases of prestige brand goods and entertainment
events. If considering only the direct expenditure on local purchases in
destination countries (exclusive of pre-paid cost to travel agents or
accommodation and air-tickets bookings), Chinese tourists spent US$1,878 on
average, but this varied significantly between different destinations.
Table 1: Expenditure of Chinese outbound tourists
Tourism
destinations
Total
expenditure
Pre-paid
expenditure
Expenditure
in
destinations

All
destinations

Hong
Kong
and
Macao

Asia other
than Hong
Kong and
Macao

Europe

Oceania

North
America

Africa/
Latin
America

2923

2185

1904

5253

4978

3786

2991

1045

459

821

2109

2369

1475

1828

1878

1726

1083

3144

2609

2311

1163

The survey data suggested that long-haul tourists spent more money than
short-haul travellers on pre-paid packages, this being mainly because of the
higher international transportation cost. Their average local spending
(expenditure in destinations) was also much higher than that of short-haul
travellers, although some of these travellers to Hong Kong and Macao also
spent heavily on local purchases, presumably on prestige goods.
Increasingly high average expenditure and total outbound tourism
expenditure scale seem not to correlate to the actual GDP growth in China. In
2011, per capita GDP in China was 8,442 International Dollars, ranking it only
94th in the world in 2011 (World Bank, 2012). Cultural factors are important in
explaining travellers surprisingly high per capita spending. Currently, Chinese
outbound tourism has an aspect that leads to an unconscious or conspicuous
consumptionism. This is strongly associated with some traditional Chinese
cultural features, such as familys reputation-based and face. The objective
of such consumption is beyond normal tangible demands, being an intangible
psychological and/or socio-cultural phenomenon, such as a public
demonstration of their and their families social and economic status. Under
these circumstances, these tourists do consider the price but are not as pricesensitive as they are at home. This phenomenon also fits a Chinese saying:
qiong jia fu lu (which means that even if you are poor at home you should
bring as much money as possible and behave like rich person when you are on
the way).

Such conspicuous consumption is largely a socially symbolic spend on

prestige goods, luxury accommodation and other high-status products and
services. Nearly half of Chinese travellers purchase luxury branded goods
when they go overseas. According to Nielsen (2007), totally Chinese visitors
spent US$30 billion overseas, i.e. an average Chinese outbound tourist spent
US$900, on luxury goods in 2007. This amount varied between different
destinations. European countries were the destinations where Chinese visitors
spent the most money on luxury goods, US$1,359 on average in 2007
(Nielsen, 2007). Another visitor survey indicated that the greatest proportion of
expenditure by Chinese outbound tourists was on shopping, usually between
50.2% and 76% of total expenditure (Yougo, 2011).
3.4 Destination choice: short-haul and long-haul travels
When choosing travel destinations the important destination attributes for
Chinese tourists generally included safety, natural beauty, iconic destinations
with well-equipped tourism facilities and accessibility. The travel cost is always
ranked relatively lower (Kim, Guo and Agrusa 2005; Nielsen, 2008; Sparks and
Pan, 2009).
The short-haul trip remains the dominant outbound travel type for Chinese.
Since 2005, Hong Kong, Macao and Japan have been the top three
destinations for Chinese outbound tourists (Figure 3). Other Asian countries
including Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are also usually
on the top 10 list of destinations. Taiwan has moved into the top 10 since it
became a Free Individual Travel (FIT) destination in 2008. Only two non-Asian
countries were listed the top 10: Russia and USA. As Russia is basically a
neighbour of China, travelling to Russia is still a short-haul trip to some extent,
surely it depends on where they go.
Figure 3: Top 10 first destinations for Chinese outbound tourists (2005-2010)

Year
2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Hong
Kong
Macao

1
2
Destination Rank

Thailand
3

Japan
4
5

Russia
Korea

USA
7

Singapore
8

Viet nam
9
10

Taiwan
Malaysia

Sources: Annual Reports of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA)

Interestingly, since 2001, the USA has been listed one of the top 10
destination countries (usually ranked 7th or 8th), although the USA only became
an ADS country for Chinese outbound tourists in 2008. This suggests that
visitors travelling to the USA have mainly non-leisure purposes, such as
business and education, which corresponds with another cultural feature of
Chinese outbound tourism: travelling for learning. This also implies to some
extent that Chinese outbound tourists will undertake long-haul travel as long as
the destinations are attractive enough and the markets are relatively easy to
access by Chinese tourists.
In reality there is a clear willingness for Chinese tourists to undertake longhaul travels. According to a recent tourist survey (Nielsen, 2009a), while shorthaul trips are still popular with more than six in ten Chinese travellers intending
to take outbound trips in Asia, long-haul trips are increasingly seriously
considered/planned by Chinese outbound tourists. It can be expected that
more long-haul travel destinations, such as France, Australia, UK and
Germany, which already have got an advantage (Figure 4), will come into the
Top 10 Destinations for Chinese Tourists, in the near future.
Figure 4: Proportion of Chinese outbound tourists planned their next
outbound travels to different countries (Data source: Nielsen, 2009a)

Planned next outbound travel destinations (by Countries/Disctricts)

50%

45%

45%
40%
35%

31%
27%

30%
25%

19%

20%

19%

18%

18%

16%

15%

USA

UK

15%

13%

13%

Korea

Germany

10%
5%
0%

Hong
Kong

Macao

Taiwan

Japan

France

Singapore Australia

3.5 Slight decline in travel satisfaction

There has been an increasing concern for Chinese outbound tourists with
their satisfaction on their trip. The China Tourism Academy warned that the
satisfaction of Chinese visitors declining. This seems attributable to their
dissatisfaction with some key experiences such as shopping experience. In a
survey, most visitors reported dissatisfaction with tour routes and itinerary
arrangements, where they complained that they are often treated by local travel
agencies as money spenders but not as tourists who want some real
experiences, like other tourists from other countries (CTA, 2012). A survey
report about Chinese visitor satisfaction recently released by Tourism
Research Australia seems also support this. The report suggested that
although Chinese visitors had the highest levels of overall satisfaction with
personal safety and security, friendliness of locals, attractions, wine
experiences and food and beverages, dissatisfaction was highest for shopping
and value for money (TRA, 2014).

4. Discussion
4.1 Are Chinese travellers shoppers or tourists?
Chinese tourists would like to take a greater part in local activities and
events but have some critical barriers, such as time constraints, language
difficulty and cultural incomprehension. Importantly they have difficulty in
establishing direct linkages between such lifestyles and their own. They would
like to learn (travel for learning) but they do not want to take any risks (travel
in a safe way). So they intentionally choose another form of experience that
has much lower risk. Shopping could be such an experience. They shop every
day in their own home cities and are confident in this money-for-goods
exercise. On one hand, they see shopping as a good way to communicate with
locals and to understand local lifestyle and other economic and socio-cultural
aspects. On the other hand, they would expect to obtain recognition for the

personal (or family) success, as demonstrated through purchasing prestige

branded goods. Shopping in destination countries is one of most important
consumption activities for Chinese outbound tourists. It is also an integration of
three main features of Chinese travel philosophy: learning, being safe and
engaging in conspicuous consumption.
Nevertheless the impact of modern Western leisure tourism on Chinese
tourists will be more and more significant. While the uniqueness of the Chinese
outbound tourism market will be maintained for the foreseeable future, it is also
worthwhile for destination countries to realise that the Chinese market will
become more similar to other outbound tourism markets. Chinese visitors have
been largely treated as pure shoppers and goers from communist China.
Strategic tourism marketers should realise that the Chinese are becoming
normal tourists and so more sensitive to their satisfaction with comprehensive
tourism experiences.
This less-conscious culture-driven conspicuous consumption will slow.
Although total expenditure has been increasing, the average expenditure per
outbound traveller has declined slightly in recent years (CTA, 2012). This might
suggest that the consumption behaviour of Chinese outbound tourists has
begun to trend to the international norm to become more like those from other
countries. It is possible that Chinese tourists spending will increasingly be
similar to the average of international tourists spending, and so to a level which
responds to their actual income levels.
4.2 Do Chinese visitors enjoy leisure or local culture?
Chinese outbound visitors do consider cultural and historical background
as one of most important destination attributes (Kim, Guo and Agrusa, 2005;
Petersen, 2009). Enjoying local culture is also comfortably associated with
traveling for learning. However, expenditure analysis suggests that Chinese
visitors spend relatively less money on cultural activities.
Chinese visitors seek general cultural experiences rather than a deep
understanding. Research into Chinese visitors in New Zealand (Fountain,
Espiner and Xie, 2011) suggested that the Chinese market may be particularly
suited to the culturally oriented experience based on the opportunities to learn
about local cultural stories and legends as part of visiting natural environments.
On the other hand, Chinese visitors tend to arrange their schedules as money
worthy and time efficient, with many activities and different locations focused
mainly on learning (such as shopping as discussed before) but not on leisure.
They do not really see leisure and leisure-like cultural activities as an exciting
return for their money and time. Therefore they tend not to spend a day to
attend a cultural activity or performance, but to come and go. However they
would like to interact with local people to explore potential education or
business opportunities.
4.3 Are you ready for Chinese visitors?

As Chinese outbound tourism market is built on the solid base, combining a

huge population and gigantic economic scale, its market growth is not as
sensitive to external interruption as for many other countries. This persistence
of the Chinese outbound tourism market could significantly benefit destination
countries in their marketing strategy development and implementation.
Generally they have less likely encounter volatility in the numbers of Chinese
tourists.
A likely sharp increase in Chinese long-haul tourists travelling to Europe,
North America and Oceania would provide a good opportunity for these
countries. As these areas are ranked as favourite destinations for next trips,
while they are currently receiving the highest average local spending (per
visitor) from Chinese tourists, this impending increase in Chinese tourists would
doubly reward the destination countries through increasing tourist numbers and
higher average consumption. However, any quick growth in Chinese tourist
numbers would also challenge tourism infrastructure development and
management in these destinations.
To prepare for a continuous increase in Chinese visitors, it is important to
develop products and services responding to emerging trends as discussed.
Besides conventional tangible higher end products, such as luxury goods and
services, intangible products and services - such as authentic cultural products
and educational services - would interest Chinese visitors. Some products
tailor-made for Chinese visitors are required, such as Chinese speaking local
guides, Chinese signs and publications/pamphlets.
A unique marketing strategy targeting female visitors, might achieve a
double return considering the increasing feminisation of decision making in
Chinese outbound tourism. As the Internet is becoming an increasingly
important tool to acquire tourism information (Nielsen, 2009b; Sparks and Pan,
2009), especially for those young to middle-aged educated tourists with higher
incomes, who constitute the main demographic cohort of Chinese outbound
tourists, a more ambitious online marketing strategy (such as social media
marketing) will likely contribute to promoting tourist destinations to the Chinese
market.
Outbound tourism is relatively new and leisure tourism is not the first choice
for most Chinese tourists, it is important for destinations to develop patience
with regard to the transition of the Chinese market from unique to normal,
while still respecting Chinese tourists cultural values. However, it would be
deleterious to treat Chinese tourists as too exceptional, which could be
interpreted as prejudice. Chinese tourists should be dealt with in a normal
commercial way, not in a political or ideological manner.

5. Conclusions
As Chinas economy grows, the demand for consumer products and
services will also grow. However, if international tourism businesses wish to
enter this market, understanding Chinese cultural values and how the Chinese

shape their preferences and expectations is a first step in deciding on the type
of marketing and product mix to develop.
Tourism or travel has existed in China for thousands of years. However,
unlike modern western tourism, traditionally it has been considered as either a
luxury activity mainly belonging to the elite class, or an internal exercise
embodying non-leisure purposes.
Traditional culture contributes to the formation of Chinese tourism
philosophy, which determines and influences outbound tourists attitudes and
behaviours. The culture-based features of Chinese outbound tourism, such as
conspicuous consumption and travelling for learning but not travelling for
leisure significantly influence tourist behaviours. It should also be realised that
the Chinese tourist market will eventually evolve towards more normal
patters. It is important for destination countries to understand these features
and deal with them accordingly. While there is a short term marketing approach
to target immediate demands from Chinese market, it is critical to have a longterm marketing strategy to respond to changing Characteristics of Chinese
tourists and to secure a sustainable Chinese tourist flow in the future.

6. References
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Andreu, R., Claver, E. and Quer, D. (2010). Tourism in China: A

Review of Research in Leading Journal. Journal of China Tourism
Research, 6 (4): 343-357.
Caixin (2012). Outbound tourists numbered 70.25 million last year.
Obtained through the Internet: http://special.caixin.com/2012-0121/100350554.html, [accessed 25/4/2012].
China Tourism Academy (CTA) (2012). Annual Report of China
Outbound Tourism Development 2012. Beijing: Tourism Education
Press.
Fountain, J., Espiner, S. and Xie, X. (2011). A cultural framing of
nature: Chinese tourists/ motivations for, expectation of, and
satisfaction with, their New Zealand tourist experience. Tourism
Review International, 14: 7183.
Guo, Y., Kim, S. S., and Timothy, D. J. (2007). Development
Characteristics and Implications of Mainland Chinese Outbound
Tourism. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 12 (4): 313-332.
Huang, S. and Hsu, C. H. C. (2005). Mainland Chinese residents'
perceptions and motivations of visiting Hong Kong: Evidence from
focus group interviews. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 10
(2): 191-205.
Keating, B and Kriz, A. (2008). Outbound Tourism from China:
Literature Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism Management, 15(1): 32-41.
Kim, S. S., Guo, Y., and Agrusa, J. (2005). Preference and
Positioning Analyses of Overseas Destinations by Mainland Chinese

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.
21.

Outbound Pleasure Tourists. Journal of Travel Research, 44: 212220.

Li, X., Harrill, R., Uysal, M., Burnett, T. and Zhan, X. (2010).
Estimating the size of the Chinese outbound travel market: A
demand-side approach. Tourism Management, 31 (2): 250-259.
Li, X., Meng, F., Uysal, M. and Mihalik, B. (2011). Understanding
China's long-haul outbound travel market: An overlapped
segmentation approach. Journal of Business Research, (2011): doi:
10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.09.019.
Mok, C. and DeFranco, A.L. (1999). Chinese cultural values: Their
implications for travel and tourism marketing. Journal of Travel and
Tourism Marketing, 8 (2): 99114.
Nielsen (2007). Brief on Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor
2007.
Obtained
through
the
Internet:
http://cn.nielsen.com/site/20071025.htm, [accessed 20/4/2012].
Nielsen (2008). Chinese travelers follow their palate when they travel.
Obtained
through
the
Internet:
http://cn.en.nielsen.com/site/0430en.shtml, [accessed 25/4/2012].
Nielsen (2009a). Brief on Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor
2009.
Obtained
through
the
Internet:
http://cn.en.nielsen.com/site/0616en.shtml, [accessed 20/4/2012].
Nielsen (2009b). Destination promoters wanting to attract mainland
Chinese travelers should advertise on the internet, the GO-TO
information source for Chinese travelers: Nielsen. Obtained through
the Internet: http://cn.en.nielsen.com/site/0826en.shtml, [accessed
20/4/2012].
Qunar (2011). Brief on Women Travel Report 2011. Obtained through
the Internet: http://hot.qunar.com/news_nr.php?id=1417, [accessed
20/72012].
Sparks, B. and Pan, G. W. (2009). Chinese outbound tourists:
Understanding their attitudes, constraints and use of information
sources. Tourism Management, 30 (4): 483494.
Tourism Research Australia (TRA) (2014). Chinese Satisfaction
Survey: Summary Report. Obtained through the Internet:
http://www.tra.gov.au/documents/Chinese_Satisfaction_Survey_FULL
_REPORT_FINAL_24JAN2014.pdf, [accessed 09/6/2014].
World Bank (2012). World Development Indicators database.
Obtained through the Internet: http://data.worldbank.org/datacatalog/world-development-indicators, [accessed 09/7/2012].
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2004). Tourism Highlights,
Edition 2003. Madrid, Spain: World Tourism Organization.
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2012). UNWTO Tourism
Highlights, 2011 Edition. Obtained through the Internet:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/70100000/UNWTO-Tourism-Highlights2011-Edition, [accessed 16/11/2012].

22. Xu, H., Ding, P. and Packer, J. (2008). Tourism Research in China:
Understanding the Unique Cultural Contexts and Complexities.
Current Issues in Tourism, 11(6): 473-491.
23. Yang, F. and Zhang, Y. (2010). A Study on Feasibility and
Countermeasures of Urban Women's Outbound Travel Market
Exploration. Journal of Womens Academy at Shandong, 2010 (5). (in
Chinese.)
24. Yang, R. (2011). The influence of Chinese traditional culture values
upon tourist shopping decision-making stylesA case study of
domestic tourists in Xi'an. Tourism Research, 2011 (4). (In Chinese.)
25. Yougo (2011). Brief: Quarterly analyses report on Chinese tourism
industry.
Obtained
through
the
Internet:
http://www.51yougo.com/Html/Synthetical/5339.html,
[accessed
20/3/2012].