Travel motivations of Chinese tourists traveling abroad

As a pillar industry of my country's tertiary industry, tourism is now receiving more and more widespread attention from the people. With the continuous development of China's economy, the improvement of people's living standards and the introduction of outbound tourism-related policies, outbound tourism has become a new fashion for the people. The outbound tourism market has become an important part of the tourism market, and people have formed certain rules in their consumption decisions and behaviors. However, outbound tourism has just started and is not yet mature. There are still certain problems that need to be solved.

1. Overview of my country’s outbound tourism market

1. The formation and structure of my country’s outbound tourism market

The outbound tourism market refers to the process of tourists’ outbound travel the economic phenomena and economic relationships reflected in it. Early outbound tourism was mainly for business, but my country's outbound tourism was formed in March 1997, when it was approved by the State Council, officially promulgated by the National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Public Security, and implemented in July 1997, the "Interim Administration of Chinese Citizens' Self-Expense Overseas Travel". "Measures", which truly marks the formation of my country's outbound tourism market and also establishes the basic pattern of China's travel agencies' business operations - the three major components of inbound tourism, domestic tourism, and outbound tourism. At present, my country's outbound tourism is divided into three parts: overseas tourism, border tourism and tourism to Hong Kong and Macao.

2. The development and reasons of my country’s outbound tourism market in recent years

(1) Characteristics of the development of my country’s outbound tourism market in recent years

First of all, according to Information provided by travel agencies shows that outbound tourism is growing rapidly. Among them, urban residents are growing at a high rate of 30%, and are mainly concentrated in coastal provinces and cities, such as Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other provinces. 2/3, and they are mainly families traveling abroad at their own expense. As can be seen from the following data, the number of outbound tourists has grown rapidly. From 1996 to 1999, the number of outbound tourists doubled. The following is data extracted from the China Statistical Yearbook:

2. Analysis of the current situation of tourist behavior in the outbound tourism market

Tourist behavior mainly refers to tourists collecting information about products. Decision-making and behavioral performance when purchasing, consuming, evaluating, and handling tourism products. Today's society is a diversified society. Differences in ethnicity, status, gender, occupation, education, life, etc. living in different societies lead to differences in behaviors, interests, preferences, and concepts. These aspects are also reflected in travel behavior, which strongly affects people's travel behavior, making people show great differences when making decisions about travel destinations and travel forms.

1. Analysis of consumption decisions of Chinese outbound tourists

Tourism consumption decisions are made based on various relevant information collected and based on one’s own experience, subjectivity, preferences, personality, etc. process, there are two main factors that affect tourism behavior: one is the overall impression of the environment formed in the brain by various information collected, that is, the perceived environment; the other is the principle of maximum benefit, that is, tourists always choose the least travel time and obtain the maximum amount of travel information. Due to these two factors, outbound tourists show obvious regularity in their decision-making regarding destination selection, travel formats, purchasing channels, and transportation methods.

(1) Destination selection

Tourists always pursue the principle of maximum benefits during travel, so they show a certain consistency in their choice of tourist destinations, that is, most tourists Most outbound tourists choose the same country. According to statistics in 1998, about 17,000 Chinese tourists visited New Zealand. After the two countries signed an agreement in May 1999, the number of Chinese tourists to New Zealand increased by 50%. Of course, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau will continue to be the main destinations for outbound teams. According to statistics from the Hong Kong Tourism Association, Hong Kong received 227,000 tourists from mainland China from January to September 2000, an increase of 29.5% over the same period in 1998. According to the border control registration of the Ministry of Public Security, the total number of entries and exits in 2000 hit a record high, with 142.87 million people, of which 1.685 million were mainland Chinese (including those living overseas and holding Chinese passports), an increase from 1998 2.5%.

2. Behavior model of my country’s outbound tourists

After completing the travel decision-making behavior, tourists will turn to the last link-tourism spatial behavior, which is where people travel and travel geographically. The process of playing. It is based on decision-making behavior, and many of its characteristics are determined by the principles of decision-making behavior. In specific spatial behaviors, it involves three different spatial scales: large, medium and small. There are interdependent connections between different elements within tourism behavior. It is mainly determined by the intermediate conditions of tourism and the personal motivations of tourists. Their relationship can be expressed by the following formula:

S→O→R

S represents the tourism conditions, and O refers to the individual tourist. Motivation, R is tourism behavior. Among them, S, O, and R can also represent that they are composed of many elements, which can be represented by n, I, and m respectively.

In this way, we can express the above formula more accurately as:

Using the above formula can easily explain why different tourists have different travel behaviors under different travel conditions and different travel motivations. According to tourists’ travel motivations, outbound travel behavior can be divided into several types: visiting relatives and friends, sightseeing, working and doing business, immigration and settlement, studying abroad, cultural and sports exchanges, inspection and training, etc. In Western countries, the outbound tourism market is mature and tourists' consumption behavior is mainly affected by travel motivations. However, the outbound tourism market in my country is not very mature, and consumption behavior is not greatly affected by tourism motivations. It is mainly affected by tourism conditions, that is, different tourist source markets, different economic incomes, different social classes, different cultural levels, different ages and genders and other factors. Impact.

(1) Behavioral patterns of outbound tourists from different source markets

Due to my country’s vast territory and large differences in economic development between regions, the travel behavior of outbound tourists from different regions All are different.

3. Analysis and Countermeasures of Main Problems in my country’s Outbound Tourism Market

1. Main Problems in my country’s Outbound Tourism Market

(1) Outbound Tourism The software facilities of tour groups are not up to standard

Although tour groups that are qualified to organize outbound tourism have gone through strict assessment and approval, the proportion of people engaged in outbound tourism is very different compared to the number of outbound tourists in our country. Therefore, it is impossible to dispatch a full-time tour leader to each team, which causes the service quality of outbound tourism to decline and various problems to arise. This is because outbound tourism is a cross-border interpersonal communication activity. There are great differences in social systems, political beliefs, lifestyles, and living customs between countries. Therefore, the team leader must not only have high professional quality, but also It also requires a strong professionalism.

(2) The franchise market is too small

Our country has formed a franchise market, but at present, our country’s franchise market is still very small, which makes some travel agencies, non-travel agency business organizations, and individuals , and even overseas permanent representative offices and personnel in my country, through various channels and using various means, do everything possible to organize Chinese residents to travel overseas. It is relatively common for these people to use personal passports and other passports to organize and participate in overseas travel, and their number has far exceeded that of franchise channels. Therefore, the number of people traveling abroad for tourism purposes has increased rapidly year by year, but the number of people traveling abroad through travel agencies has not yet exceeded one-third of the total number of people traveling abroad.

(3) The order of outbound tourism operations is relatively chaotic

This is mainly reflected in the fact that in addition to approved travel agencies operating outbound tours, there are also a large number of unapproved or illegal outbound tours in our country. Outbound tourism management organizations and personnel approved by the procedures, including operating and non-operating organizations and personnel of travel agencies and non-travel agencies, that is, the so-called operations without licenses and without business licenses (referred to as operations without licenses) and those with licenses or licenses The business license holder operates beyond the scope of business (referred to as beyond-scope operation). Because these operators do not have the right to operate and the government has limited supervision, they naturally have more hidden dangers and problems in terms of quality, credibility, safety, etc. than those who have the right to operate. At the same time, travel agencies that are authorized to operate after being approved by prescribed procedures are also finding ways to expand their business volume outside of franchise channels, and various illegal business operations and publicity and promotion behaviors are also serious.

(4) The issue of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of tourists has become increasingly prominent

Mainly manifested in the unfair competition in the market on the one hand, travel agencies providing low prices and low quality and non-standard and unfair contracts , Failure to honor services. Travel agencies use various legal and reasonable and illegal and unreasonable means to compete for business. The simplest and most effective one is of course price war. As long as the price is lowered, it is necessary to regain the lost value of the low price by reducing the reception level and service quality and temporarily adding a large number of overseas tourism projects that are of low quality and high price or even harmful to health. The more the more, the better. Well, "zero tour fee" and "negative tour fee" came into being and are becoming more and more common. In September 2000, the National Tourism Administration vigorously rectified the outbound tourism market, specifically targeting the protection of tourists' rights and interests arising from situations such as "zero tour fee" and "negative tour fee"; on the other hand, the current situation of tourists and the public Overemphasis on price, while the ability to protect rights and interests is still weak. When the rights and interests of tourists are not protected, they do not complain to the relevant departments in a timely manner.

(5) Adverse effects on my country’s international image

Problems in this area can be divided into two categories. One is that due to low prices, some destination countries have formed a set of tourism products specifically for Chinese tourists, which are significantly different from those provided to tourists from developed countries in terms of reception level and service quality. This has a great impact on our country. It is obviously disadvantageous to establish the image of a major country in the world and improve its international status and reputation. In serious cases, it will damage the national character of our country and the personality of its citizens. Quality and safety accidents frequently occur in Chinese tour groups overseas and cannot be resolved in a timely manner. Those responsible are not fully investigated, and Chinese tourists patronize overseas and visit some low-style pornographic entertainment venues, which further deepens these bad behaviors. Influence. The other category is a small number of tourists who stay abroad and do not return, illegally engage in labor, commercial and even pornographic activities, and are used by criminals to engage in illegal immigration, etc., which often cause bilateral disputes and have a negative impact on the improvement and consolidation of bilateral relations. It will further have a negative impact on the reputation and image of our country and people overseas.

2. Analysis of problems existing in my country’s outbound tourism market

The above-mentioned problems existing in my country’s outbound tourism market are rooted in many aspects, including the level of economic and social development in which our country is located. The economic management mechanism in the transition and transformation stage, residents' living and consumption concepts and habits, the level of understanding and implementation of my country's tourism development policies, and the shortcomings of the current outbound tourism management system, etc. From a marketing perspective, the main reasons include the following two aspects:

On the one hand, from the perspective of the outbound tourism market itself, the main reason is that there is an obvious gap between the supply and demand of outbound tourism. , the pressure and motivation to increase supply to meet demand are relatively large. The direct reason why supply cannot meet demand is that our country has determined the tourism development policy of "vigorously developing inbound tourism, actively developing domestic tourism, and moderately developing outbound tourism" based on the level of economic and social development and the needs of national construction. The development of outbound tourism must be implemented The basic principle of "organized, planned and controlled moderate development". Therefore, the state achieves the goal of controlling the scale and development speed of outbound tourism by controlling the number of travel agencies, controlling the number and scale of outbound tourism, controlling the destination countries and regions, and limiting outbound tourism methods. Such a large gap in market demand will inevitably lead to efforts to increase supply in every possible way, causing problems in the order, quality, safety and impact of my country's outbound tourism on the national image.

On the other hand, from the perspective of the outbound tourism market space, the main reason is the information asymmetry in the outbound tourism market. Information asymmetry in marketing refers to the fact that in the transaction process, when the amount of information possessed by both parties is not equal, one party has more information than the other party. The direct consequence of information asymmetry between the two parties is adverse selection and survival of the fittest. Phenomenon. When the quality of tourism products in the market is controlled by the party with hidden information, adverse selection defined in economics occurs, that is, one party desires high-quality products, while the other party is happy to provide inferior products. At present, in my country's outbound tourism market, tour groups have completely concealed outbound tourism information. Generally speaking, outbound tourists are the first to contact tourist destinations: it is difficult for them to obtain various information about tourist destinations, which leads to As outbound tourists desire high-quality tourism service products, tour groups may provide low-quality tourism products and make huge profits, which creates unfair competition in my country's outbound tourism, dampens the enthusiasm for outbound tourism, and affects outbound tourism. Sustainable development of tourism.

3. Countermeasures that should be taken to solve the problems in my country’s outbound tourism market

After analyzing the above problems, the following methods can be adopted to solve the problems in the outbound tourism market:

(1) Strengthen the training and management of team leaders, and improve the professional quality and professionalism of team leaders

The tour group organization must dispatch a full-time team leader with a team leader certificate to each group to be responsible for supervising the itinerary plan implementation status. The tour leader is not allowed to accept any form of kickbacks. If the tour leader causes losses to tourists, the tour organizer will be responsible for compensation and the tour leader's qualification will be cancelled.

(2) The tourism department should work closely with the industrial and commercial and public security departments to conduct a comprehensive inspection of local tourism groups and conduct a comprehensive inspection of illegal outbound tourism,

unlicensed tourism business and Units or individuals that engage in outbound tourism business beyond their scope shall be resolutely investigated and dealt with severely

We will investigate and deal with each clue found when there are complaints from tourists and reports from the masses. Tour organizing agencies and their agencies are not allowed to operate beyond the scope of their business, nor are they allowed to organize Chinese citizens to travel to destination countries that have not been approved by the state. They are not allowed to sell at a price lower than the cost price. They are not allowed to accept a tour group quotation from an overseas reception agency that is lower than the cost. Self-financed items are allowed to be sold, and tour groups are not allowed to visit pornographic venues. Once any violation is found, the "one-time death law" will be implemented and the qualification for outbound tourism operations will be cancelled.

(3) Strengthen the supervision of the service quality of tour organizing agencies

The National Tourism Administration has drafted the "Model Contract between Outbound Tourism Organizing Agency and Overseas Reception Agency", "Sample Contract for Outbound Tourism", "Instructions for Passengers", "Outbound Tourism Service Topic Selection Questionnaire", etc. must be carefully implemented by all localities and inspected regularly. Tourism quality supervision offices in various places must play their role. If the interests of tourists are harmed, tour operators must be ordered to make maximum compensation to tourists and punish them.

(4) The National Tourism Administration should strengthen the supervision and inspection of overseas segments

The National Tourism Administration should send elite soldiers and generals to form an inspection team to carry out inspections in relevant destination countries and regions from time to time. Overt and covert investigations will be carried out, and tour groups that have obvious problems in overseas sections must be dealt with seriously. It is also necessary to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the destination tourism authorities to solve problems related to outbound tourism.

(5) Carry out publicity activities for tourists, educate tourists to establish correct consumption concepts, enhance their awareness of safeguarding their own rights and conduct civilized tourism

National Tourism Administration and provincial tourism The bureau should increase the number of tour groups, publish the list of outbound tour groups, domestic complaint hotlines and overseas travel complaint hotlines, and announce the scope of complaints. It is necessary to cooperate with the news media to introduce relevant precautions for outbound travel, promptly expose typical cases of outbound travel, use the news media to strengthen supervision of the quality of tourism services, and guide tourists to become healthy, civilized, and mature consumers.

IV. Development Prospects of the Outbound Tourism Market

my country has regarded tourism as a key industry to achieve local economic development. It has increased capital investment, added tourism projects, and held large-scale tourism projects. Promotional activities, improving tourism facilities, strengthening tourism management, simplifying entry and exit procedures, and creating more favorable conditions for the development of the tourism industry. Therefore, outbound tourism is more optimistic. The development of my country's outbound tourism market has the following characteristics.

1. Outbound tourism will continue to grow at a high rate

my country’s outbound tourism market has only been formed in recent years. In general, the development of the source market of outbound tourism is still sufficient. Time is short, so there is still a lot of room for development. At present, our country has a large potential tourism market. According to the 1999-2000 "Consumer Behavior and Lifestyle Yearbook" ranking statistics on the leisure activities that people most want to do, traveling abroad ranked highest.

2. The growth rate of outbound tourism will be higher than the growth rate of domestic tourism and inbound tourism

Currently, in my country’s three major tourism sectors: domestic tourism, inbound tourism, and outbound tourism Among them, the fastest growing is inbound tourism. As a country with a mature tourism industry, outbound tourism occupies a certain market share in the three major tourism structures, but in our country it is less than one percent. The state focuses on supporting the tourism industry. If our country's tourism industry is to mature, outbound tourism must develop at an alarming rate. Moreover, domestic tourism and inbound tourism have become saturated. At present, the most profitable tourism industry in my country is outbound tourism, followed by inbound tourism, and finally domestic tourism. However, outbound tourism accounts for the least market share.

3. The forms of outbound tourism will become more diverse

China’s outbound tourism is no longer the pattern of family visits and sightseeing tours, although this traditional tourism product is still very popular. , but as market demand and consumer behavior change, people focus on the fun, entertainment and participation of tourism products. Leisure and vacation tourism products, business tourism products, and eco-tourism products will attract more and more attention. . According to a survey of 17 European countries by the European "Tourism Information", European business tourism has accounted for 16% of the outbound tourism market share in recent years. With China's accession to the WTO, the form of my country's outbound tourism may be the same as that of Western countries, with business tourism as the mainstay. host.

In the near future, outbound tourism will focus on short-distance travel, mainly to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Because Southeast Asia is the first tourist destination open to Chinese citizens, people know more about Southeast Asia, and many of them are the first choice for their first overseas trip. And the main reason is that the price is relatively favorable, which is easy to accept in terms of my country's consumption level. In the long run, there will be more and more outbound tourism destinations. As my country's outbound tourism reaches a certain scale, the number of outbound tourists increases rapidly. More and more countries expect the Chinese government to approve their countries to become outbound tourism destinations for their citizens. Prosper the country's economy. At present, the countries that have expressed their willingness to become outbound travel destinations for Chinese citizens but have not yet done so include: North Korea, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Turkey, and Iran in Asia; Egypt and South Africa in Africa; Cuba in Latin America; Canada in North America; and Switzerland in Europe. , Finland, Greece, France, Germany, Austria, etc. They are targeting the growing pockets of Chinese people and are confident in the strength of China’s overseas tourism consumption. In the next few years, more countries will sign agreements with China, and the number of destinations for Chinese outbound tourism will gradually increase.

The number of individual tourists among outbound tourists will increase significantly, and the time spent outbound and consumption will increase accordingly. In countries with developed outbound tourism markets, most outbound tourists are individual travelers. Our country still accounts for a large proportion of overseas travel for business, and most of these overseas travel for business are in the form of groups. At present, my country's outbound travel time and consumption are less than those of other developed countries.

Data source: "Tourism Management" Issue 5, 2002 Author: Xiao Jiancheng, Ren Jiangming, Department of Economics and Management, Jingzhou Normal University