Image of India as a Destination—Perceptions of Mobile-savvy Seniors from China

ABSTRACT

This study is aimed at examining mobile-savvy Chinese seniors’ perceptions of India as a tourist destination. The research identifies and characterizes a distinctive outbound segment among Chinese urban seniors based on their usage of mobile information technology and focuses on the analysis of how they perceive Indian as an international destination. An online questionnaire was used to collect data via WeChat, a social media platform in China. The study results reveal that there is a notable absence of a clearly formulated destination image of India in the minds of Chinese seniors. The findings illustrate that Mobile-savvy Chinese seniors are a viable inbound segment for India and suggest that mobile information technology is an effective tool for destination marketing organizations to target this untapped market from China. The marketing implications for India’s tourism industry are discussed in detail.

摘要

本文旨在探究善用智能手机的中国老年游客对印度作为旅游目的地的看法。该研究首先详细描述了这个特殊群体的旅游习惯以及他们使用智能手机的情况, 之后重点分析了他们是如何看待印度作为国际旅游目的地。通过在中国的社交媒体平台微信发放问卷并收集数据, 研究结果表明在中国老年游客的心目中, 印度缺乏清晰的旅游目的地形象。此外, 研究结果反映出使用智能手机的中国老年游客有望成为印度入境游的潜在市场。本文就印度的旅游从业者应如何有效利用移动信息技术来吸引这个尚未开发的市场以及提升印度的旅游目的地形象进行了详细讨论并提供了见解。

KEYWORDS:

• Chinese seniors
• destination image
• india
• mobile information technology
• outbound travel

关键词:

• 中国老年游客
• 旅游目的地形象
• 印度
• 移动信息技术
• 出境游

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shweta Singh

Shweta Singh is a doctoral candidate in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University, Marriott Hall, 900 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Her research interests include destination marketing, communication, persuasion, and behavior modification (E-mail: [email protected]). 

Jieyu (Jade) Shi

Jieyu (Jade) Shi is a doctoral candidate in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University, Marriott Hall, 900 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Her interests include consumer experience, quality of life in hospitality and tourism, and intercultural learning in hospitality and tourism higher education (E-mail: [email protected]).

Jianan Z. Lee

Jianan Z. Lee is a doctoral student in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University, Marriott Hall, 900 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Her research interests include urban tourism, regenerative tourism, and guest-host relationships (E-mail: [email protected]).

Liping A. Cai

Liping A. Cai is a Professor and Director of Purdue Tourism and Hospitality Research Center in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University, Marriott Hall, 900 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. His research interests include hospitality principles and consumer experiences in travel and tourism (E-mail: [email protected]).