The World Meets Asian Tourists: Volume 7

This introductory chapter defines and notes the development of tourism out of Asia as a new force in global human communication. The complexities and some efficiencies in defining Asia are reviewed. The chapter considers dispersal patterns from a number of Asian countries and notes the chief destinations as provided by current statistical counts. Key issues arising from attempts to interpret these data are noted. The importance of out of Asia tourists is confirmed through the material presented. The visibility of Asian tourists is considered and the subtleties of recognizing intra-Asian differences are noted. Some select theoretical approaches focussing on societies in contact are introduced. These theories offer pathways to bring academic and managerial insights to this evolving phenomenon.

Laws, regulations, and policies, including specific intergovernmental visa agreements, exert significant influences on people’s mobility and cross-border travels. Such forces are powerful in shaping the emerging Asian tourism market. This chapter provides a critical review and analysis of the laws and regulations that have shaped Chinese outbound tourism. It first reviews the evolution of China’s policies and government attitude toward outbound tourism. The three tourism administration regulations promulgated by the State Council are then reviewed and their implications for outbound tourism are discussed. The Tourism Law enacted in 2013 is reviewed and discussed separately due to its significance and supreme power in China’s legal system. Finally, the chapter discusses the impact of intergovernmental visa facilitation arrangements on Chinese outbound tourism.

This chapter reviews the institutional seasonality phenomenon in Asian outbound tourism. Eight key Asian countries were selected for investigation. Secondary data and archives from official tourism authorities and government reports are used as the information sources for the holiday systems and the celebrations for the cultural festivals. Four categories of holidays shaping the outbound seasonality patterns (universal holidays based on Gregorian calendar, Chinese culture-based holidays, religious festivals, and school holidays) are identified across the eight countries. Particular observances for those key cultural and religious holidays are highlighted. The opportunities and challenges for destination managers and tourism businesses to capitalize on and support peak outbound Asian seasonality are discussed.

This chapter assesses the portrayal in the online English media of mainland China tourist behavior. Social representation theory is used to classify and interpret the major themes being portrayed in recent online reports. The analysis suggested two emancipated representations, one which incorporated both “ugly” behavior and positive issues, while the second view highlighted the undesirable behaviors due to cultural clashes. Two minority representations also existed. The first offered a warm welcome toward the more sophisticated and well-educated market and the other stressed the potential damage to China’s national reputation of their unfavorable behavior. Implications and directions for future research and viewing outbound tourists are offered.

This chapter considers Chinese tourists’ learning and skill acquisition through travel and contemplates these outcomes as insights for proving advice to those designing tourist experiences. A three-part classification is employed to document the self-reported learning of mainland Chinese tourists derived from blog, interview, and questionnaire data. The coding of the results focusses on the multiple facts assimilated, the array of skills attributed to their tourism experiences, and the many reflections generated about Chinese society. In documenting these outcomes, the study reviews the implications of the findings for host societies to sharpen their appreciation of how to provide tourism-linked learning experiences for Chinese tourists.

The voices of cabin crew on international air routes have scarcely been heard in tourism management studies. Using an auto-ethnographic account and interviews with cabin crew colleagues, this chapter presents some of the complexities in managing Asian tourists on long-haul flights. Typical and real incidents demonstrating problematic behaviors by Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Korean passengers are documented and discussed. The results show that the aircraft environment can be a site of intensity, rich in contradictions and tension. Key challenges include cabin crew grappling with unfamiliar passenger values, facing their own and staff judgments, and status issues. Adjusting and developing training curriculum for cabin crew to enhance cultural awareness is a core resolution to optimize service delivery.

This chapter explores the cultural interest and needs of Thai group tourists undertaking specific tours. The perspectives of a specialist Thai tour operator in choosing routes and conducting tours for these tourists in Europe provide the basis for the points identified. The special appeal of themes linked to Thai life is emphasized. The development of a group travel itinerary is documented as a pragmatic exercise in matching the expectations and the spending power of the participants with the business goals of the tour provider. The wider pan-Asian implications of the work include the need for a high level of personal care and the necessity to explain and interpret often little understood historical facts.

Destination and resort managers have little knowledge regarding the Chinese outbound tourist market, yet its enormous potential cannot be overlooked. Providing services to this often unfamiliar segment can be difficult and may result in poor service delivery which can be detrimental to both enclave resorts and small island destinations, such as Mauritius. This study uses in-depth interviews among key informants from three- to five-star enclave resorts targeting Chinese tourists. The main challenges experienced by the resorts are cultural behavior, language barriers, different food habits, and the need to improve the service facilities and experience. Based on insights from industry practitioners, the study identifies service modifications provided by enclave resorts to provide Chinese tourists with a positive experience.

Significant heritage buildings in Europe, and most especially cathedrals and churches in Western Europe, are sites of considerable international tourism appeal. A developing analytical approach termed the orchestra model of experience was used to structure the collection of empirical data about Chinese tourists’ reactions to major cathedral sites in Florence and Milan. These results are used to identify the challenges of meeting not just the needs of Asian tourists but also simultaneously deriving commercial benefits and maintaining the Christian values of the settings. Emphases are placed on the roles of interpretation and the management of protected spaces to meet these goals.

This chapter addresses the emerging trends in Australia’s food destinations and analyzes different demands for this experience from a Korean tourism market perspective. Tourism Australia’s report on the international market research was analyzed, and the findings indicate that four main food experiences were sought by Koreans. A sense of landscapes plays an important role in enhancing their local food experiences. Multicultural food, health conscious markets, and food shopping are also crucial for developing Australia’s competitive advantage in this area. This chapter suggests marketing implications and directions for future research to explore cross-cultural gaps in food culture and behaviors from the perspectives of Asian tourism markets.

This chapter explores what has been and is planning to be implemented in the theme parks in the Orlando area to meet the specific needs of a rising number of Chinese tourists. The literature review examines factors affecting tourists’ decisions and provides an overview of inbound Chinese tourists to the United States and their expectations and behaviors in theme parks. An online survey instrument was developed and implemented; it focused on Orlando-based theme park professionals’ creative design and operation strategies specific to meeting Chinese needs. The study provides a descriptive account of managers’ perspectives of both current and planned efforts to meet their needs in this particular theme park.

This chapter analyzes the recent increase in tourists traveling from Asia to South Central Europe. The work specifically examines the cross cultural communication about religious works of art in popular guidebooks. Since tourism represents a widespread global phenomenon, the guidebook descriptions of religious contents should be objective and accessible for all potential users/tourists, regardless of their cultural, historical, religious, and ethnic background. The analyses of the description of four Catholic cathedrals in South Central Europe in 12 well-known guidebooks demonstrates that the in-depth religious explanations in the literature published in English are minimal and arguably inadequate for the growing Asian market.

The awareness of Eastern Europe within China is mostly tied to the shared notion of Communist control. During the last half century, educational and cultural links were established which often resonated in the minds and desired experiences of many Chinese tourists. This chapter explores the meaning of these Asian-European links for Croatia by using economic data and archival evidence. The analysis is framed within the context of China’s policy toward Central and Eastern Europe. The work seeks to offer a better understanding of the politico-economic decisions that shape contemporary tourism flows and interests, not only in relation to Croatia, but also to similarly placed countries.

Effective interpretation of Australia’s unique landscapes has the potential to contribute to international tourists’ understanding of natural processes, as well as enhance their perceptions and appreciation of this environment. Research indicates that mystery, familiarity, and comprehension all influence how humans view landscapes and that preferences and perceptions are likely to be culturally determined. This chapter explores human perceptions of landscapes and highlights key differences in Western and Chinese approaches to experiencing and interpreting natural environments. It presents results of a study that used photo-elicitation to explore Chinese students’ perceptions of, and preferences for, six Australian landscapes. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications and recommendations for interpreting Australian landscapes for Chinese audiences.

Nature plays an important role in tourism experiences with more people seeking leisure activities in outdoor settings. Tourism management can facilitate a reduction of impacts and enhancement of experiences but requires sensitivity to individual markets to be effective. This chapter investigate stakeholders’ perspectives for managing Chinese tourism to Wet Tropics. Specifically, it aims to determine overall thoughts as well as individual attitudes toward different futures. Guided by the concept of saturation of ideas in qualitative data, 18 in-depth interviews were conducted with stakeholders in north Queensland. Findings indicate that they are optimistic toward all futures but have different plans for and concerns about individual tourism markets.

This chapter explores the modern phenomenon of Japanese tourists visiting anime-related places abroad. While similarities to film-induced tourism exist, anime-linked locations require tourists to use their imagination and permit a special interplay among the sites, fantasy, and cultural values. To examine the phenomenon, samples of popular anime titles were selected and Japanese online word-of-mouth records were collected as a set of data. Key Japanese cultural concepts were used to explain the significance of the anime-linked locations. Site managers can embellish the experience by subtly suggesting parallels in the real world to the idealized creations of leading anime artists.

The interests of outbound Chinese tourist behaviors have been of much recent research interest, yet the youth segment has received relatively little attention. By surveying young Chinese in Macao this chapter provides some glimpses into their aspirations and planning for future travel. The definition of “young” in this chapter is people aged between 18 and 35 years which is adapted from the Pacific Asia Travel Association in its “Young Tourism Professional” program. The impetus lies in the potential malleability of preferred destinations for this new generation of Chinese tourists since the precedents of the past and the limitations of language and group control over travel have weakened in the last 10 years.

Perhaps more than any other country, the island nation of Singapore offers a bridge among cultures. Using data from multinational cohorts of international tourists studying in Singapore, this chapter reveals the travel patterns and preferences of Indian students whose tourist behaviors are less well understood. This chapter aims to identify their key motives using Pearce and Lee’s travel career pattern model. It also aims to identify the destination-based factors that attract Indian students in Singapore. The findings suggest that the students’ travel motives are linked to kinship and collectivism, and they are most concerned about price and safety when choosing destinations. This chapter reveals core motives and how the students can be welcomed in the next steps of their travel trajectory.

The final chapter of this volume seeks to interpret and explain key dimensions of Asian outbound tourism. Initially the challenge of employing culturally sensitive theoretical lenses is tackled. Cautious and at times sceptical assessments of the mobilities paradigm, critical pragamatism and specific micro approaches are offered. A selection of key lenses for future study is made. Major forces affecting Asian outbound tourism such as the digital world and low-cost air carriers are reviewed. The strategic issues facing destination managers and communities are highlighted. Managing the adjustments for mutual well-being between tourists and the communities they visit are stressed and extracted from the chapters in this book.