The Image of Ecuador in the Chinese Youth Market: Tourist Preferences and Motivations

ABSTRACT

Conducting studies on the image of a country and the preferences of tourists contribute to developing plans and programs for the benefit of a tourist destination. The current research constitutes an analysis of Ecuador’s image and the preferences of the Chinese youth market regarding this country. This empirical study used a questionnaire as data collection method, and the findings were analyzed with univariate and bivariate statistics. The results show that young Chinese tourists prefer to travel with friends and that their most valued motivations to visit Ecuador are related to knowing the nature, tasting the cuisine of the country, knowing new places, different cultures, and lifestyles, and enjoying the sun and the beach. Also, the types of tourism that Chinese citizens would like to do in Ecuador are nature tourism, sun and beach tourism, and urban tourism.

摘要

有关国家意象和旅游者偏好的研究有助于旅游目的地的规划设计和产品研发。本项研究基于青年旅游者的偏好和旅游动机, 分析了厄瓜多尔在中国青年市场中的意象。本次实证研究通过问卷方法收集数据, 采用了多元变量和二元变量的统计分析方法。调研结果显示中国青年旅游者偏好结伴旅行。厄瓜多尔最能激发中国青年旅游者前往的动机包括领略自然风光, 品尝地方美食; 在新的地方, 感受不同的文化和生活方式, 还有享受阳光与沙滩资源。研究启示厄瓜多尔吸引中国青年旅游者的产品应包括自然旅游, 海滨度假, 还有城市休闲旅游。

KEYWORDS:

• Tourism image
• motivation
• young Chinese tourists
• Ecuador

关键词:

• 旅游意象
• 动机
• 中国青年旅游者
• 厄瓜多尔

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fanny Manner-Baldeon

Fanny Manner-Baldeon is Ph.D. Student in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China. Her research interests include the meanings of non-hedonic tourism experiences and alternative tourism phenomena (E-mail: [email protected]).

Mauricio Carvache-Franco

Mauricio Carvache-Franco is Researcher at Espíritu Santo University, Samborondón, Ecuador. He has a Ph.D. in Business Administration and Management from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain). His research interests include marketing, consumer behavior, ecotourism and tourism marketing (E-mail: [email protected]).

Wilmer Carvache-Franco

Wilmer Carvache-Franco is Professor and Researcher in Faculty of Social and Humanistic Sciences at ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil, Ecuador. His research interests center on tourism marketing, coastal tourism and festivals (E-mail: [email protected]).