What do Parents Look for in an Overseas Youth Summer Camp? Perspectives of Chinese Parents

ABSTRACT

Sending children to overseas summer camps has quickly become a popular practice for Chinese parents. The sizable market as a result of the potency of the Chinese economy and the current lack of understanding of parental decision-making factors are the primary motivating factors for this research. Specifically, this research attempts to shed light on the perspectives of Chinese parents concerning the specific traits and characteristics of overseas summer camps they perceive as attractive and what benefits they seek from such an experience for their children. Employing the notions of push (internal) and pull (external) factors as a theoretical backdrop, this study tested a model of perceived attractiveness of overseas youth summer camps via a sample of 234 Chinese parents. The findings suggest that both push and pull factors positively contribute to the perceived attractiveness of overseas summer camps. While sharing similar preferences with Western customers in some aspects of a summer camp, the Chinese parents were found to have unique camp attribute preferences and motives. Theoretical as well as relevant practical implications are discussed.

摘要

近年来，中国家长竞相把子女送到海外参加各色夏令营。中国经济的强劲发展所带来的广袤的市场潜力，以及学术界对家长在夏令营决策上认识的不足是本研究的动机。本研究旨在探讨中国家长在为子女选择海外夏令营时偏好哪些项目特点以及追寻何种利益。运用推拉因素作为理论基础和234位中国家长作为样本，本研究调查了海外夏令营的感知吸引力。研究结果表明推与拉的因素都对海外夏令营的感知吸引力有正面影响。与传统的西方夏令营参与者不同的是，中国家长具有独特的夏令营项目偏好和参加动机。本研究为旅游学术研究和夏令营从业者提供了见解。

KEYWORDS:

• Overseas summer camp
• perceived attractiveness
• push
• pull
• benefits sought
• family tourism

关键词:

• 海外夏令营
• 感知吸引力
• 推拉因素
• 利益追寻
• 家庭旅游

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xinran Y. Lehto

Xinran Y. Lehto is Professor in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA (E-mail: [email protected]).

Xiaoxiao Fu

Xiaoxiao Fu is Assistant Professor in the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA (E-mail: [email protected]).

Ksenia Kirillova

Ksenia Kirillova is Assistant Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China (E-mail: [email protected]).

Chen Bi

Chen Bi is Sales Specialist at the Westin Beijing Chaoyang, Beijing, China (E-mail: [email protected]).