Understanding interactions between beggars and international tourists: the case of China

ABSTRACT

Begging exists in developed as well as developing countries and in many jurisdictions is regarded as a criminal activity. In a tourism context, it is not uncommon to see begging-type activities in areas where tourists are present. Surprisingly, the literature has largely ignored begging as an issue of concern. This study examined the reaction of international tourists to encounters with beggars in China with a particular emphasis on the impact that an encounter with beggars could have on trip satisfaction. The study found that (1) elder beggars are still the most common types of beggars encountered by respondents; (2) giving money but refusing further communication with beggars was the most common reaction; (3) begging did not have a significant impact on overall trip satisfaction and (4) begging did not have a significant impact on the likelihood of revisiting China or a negative impact on future recommendations for travel to China.

KEYWORDS:

• Interaction
• beggars
• international tourists
• China

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a project grant from the Project of Innovative Talents of Henan University of Technology [Grant Number 2013CXRC13] (40,000RMB); Education Ministry Scientific Research Fund for Returned Overseas Talents [Grant Number (2013)1792] (20,000RMB) and Henan University of Technology for Project of Talents [Grant Number 2011BS003] (50,000RMB).