Outbound Chinese tourism: looking back and looking forward

Tourism academics, practitioners, governments and agencies around the world are in general agreement about the future of tourism in the ‘Asian Century’ of a Post-Western World. As late as 2001, Meethan positioned tourism as ‘a redefining arm of the Westernization of the world’ (Hollinshead, 2008, p. 641), but as the century advances this power has shifted eastward. This movement is due to the entry of the largest tourism source market the world has seen: Outbound Chinese tourism. Chinese outbound tourism has been the most influential new social and economic phenomenon in recent years experiencing consistent rapid growth and promising economic boons to destinations that receive these tourists.

Studies on Chinese outbound tourism began in the mid-1990s and gained momentum around 2010 as enquiry expanded to further understanding of this rapidly emerging market. Scholarly literature includes numerous journal articles, several special issues focusing on the phenomenon (Arlt & Burns, 2013; Keating, Huang, Kriz, & Heung, 2015; Tse & Arlt, 2011) and an expanding collection of books (Arlt, 2006; Boweman, 2014; Li, 2016; Nyri, 2006; Ryan, 2008). Therefore, when we planned this special issue, we wanted to consider how the phenomena is positioned within current knowledge. Looking back at research that has been done, this introductory article will examine thematic patterns to position the articles in this issue, then turn to surmise where future research should focus. Two main themes have emerged from the literature, the history of the development of Chinese tourism and the outbound China market.

Historical pattern of Chinese outbound tourism

It is widely recognized that the development of Chinese outbound tourism is experiencing a rapid increase, evidenced by a great deal of data. In the late 1990s, the UNWTO forecast that the Chinese outbound tourism market would reach 100 million trips before 2020 (UNWTO, 2013). However, statistics from the China Tourism Academy (CTA) show that China's outbound market surpassed this figure by 2014 (CTA, 2015). By 2017, China's outbound market had risen to 130 million trips, representing 7% annual growth compared with the previous year (CTA, 2018). Other sources put the number even higher at 145 million trips (COTRI, 2018). At this time, Chinese tourism represented the highest percentage of international tourists in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Russia, Maldives, Indonesia, North Korea, and South Africa (CTA, 2018), and proved itself an important source country for the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Canada (CTA, 2018). The footprints of this market are found in almost every important tourism destination around the world, including Antarctica.

Arlt (2016) divided China's outbound tourism development into four stages, which include 1983–1997, 1997–2005, 2005–2011, and 2012–present day. The first stage refers to ‘family visits’ such as visiting the Special Administration Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and selected Southeast Asian countries. In 1997, the policy on Temporal Regulation on Self-financed Chinese Citizens In Outbound Tourism was issued and South Korea became the first country to be granted approved destination status (ADS) in 1998. This second stage situates tourism within ADS agreements, which allowed Chinese tourists to travel abroad for leisure to approved destinations. While the Chinese government had carefully planned the growth rate of the outbound market, the package tours controlled by this fledgling industry suffered from lack of management. The maturing of the industry and growth of the market ushered in a third stage where China's outbound tourism started to mature (the modern era). Here, Chinese tourists were not as restricted with destination choice, and were provided a wider range of selection, such as Schengen countries within the European Union and African countries. Chinese outbound tourism significantly broadened its geographical spread. In Arlt’s (2016) view, China outbound tourism reached a fourth stage by 2012, characterized by strengthened Chinese government support for outbound leisure tourism. Many destinations reduced visa restrictions to attract Chinese tourists (Arlt, 2016). According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, the number of countries which have visa-free or visa-on-arrival policies for Chinese citizens has grown to 67 by the end of 2017 (COTRI, 2018). Those destinations which have not yet improved the visa-issuing process find that this is increasingly becoming a barrier for destinations wishing to capitalize on the market.

The most popular destinations for Chinese tourists in 2017 by the number of arrivals were Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, the U.S.A., Taiwan and Malaysia (COTRI, 2018). All of them except the U.S.A. are located in East or Southeast Asia. Most Chinese tourists prefer to visit destinations around Southeast Asia for reasons concerning perceived ‘value’ and ‘quality’ and, of course, proximity; in 2013, 65.5% of the Chinese outbound tourism market involved Southeast Asian countries (CTA, 2014). In this age of increased mobility, the market is continually seeking out new destinations, and widening its geographical reach. For long-haul tourist destinations, the European market received 9.3%, North America 8.7%, Oceania 4.5%, Africa 0.8% and South America 0.3% (Ctrip & COTRI, 2018). It is important to note that although independent travelers and self- or semi-organized tours are increasing, only a small percentage of Chinese citizens can afford long-haul overseas travel (Arlt, 2013). Tourism plays a vital role in China's expanding engagement with the rest of the world and the sheer size of the market holds significant impacts on the tourism economies of the countries Chinese outbound tourists visit.

Studies on Chinese outbound tourism

Studies on Chinese outbound tourism began in the 1990s, and we cite six key literature review papers which have helped us to grasp the progress of this field. These key papers not only look back on what has been done, but also shine light on the future. When Chinese outbound tourism first began to develop, the first scholarly interests were on the places visited and why. Keating and Kriz’s (2008) review of 22 journal articles found the focus firmly fixed on topics concerning Chinese tourists’ destination choice with reference to push and pull factors, internal and external moderators, and destination image. In the same year, Cai, Li, and Knutson (2008) carried out a more systematic review of the literature. They surveyed 20 top-ranked tourism and hospitality journals published to 2006 and found only 30 academic papers on outbound Chinese tourism. These articles were categorized into two themes: market overview and destination-specific research. In this period, scholarly interest was firmly focused on understanding the ebbs and flows of Chinese outbound tourism movements. Interestingly, these review papers also indicate that researchers in this period mainly took a stance of advocacy.

Subsequently, Tse (2015) surveyed 21 journals from 1995 to 2013 to identify 80 research papers related to the field, a number much larger than in previous studies. Three research areas were identified: (1) Destination-related. Researchers were interested in profiling visitors, understanding perceptions of destination images, identifying differences among destinations, and gauging visitor satisfaction; (2) Tourist-related. Here, much of the research tended to look at motives; and (3) Source-market related. These explored questions such as how macro factors in the source market shape tourist flows to various destinations. Tse’s (2015) review showed two important advances: (1) the in-depth understanding of Chinese tourists’ behavior and experiences and, (2) the recognition of the important roles that Chinese institutions and policies play in supporting the industry.

Jin and Wang (2016) evaluated the scope, method, and themes of 161 articles published in 16 top tourism and hospitality journals between 2000 and 2014. The scope of their review is much wider than in the previous reviews cited above which indicates a significant growth of research in the field within this five year period. Jin and Wang (2016) found that research efforts continued to concentrate in areas such as travel motivation, expectations, travel barriers, destination image and preference, market segmentation, and business management issues. They recognized that alongside the growth of the market, future research is needed on the platforms of sustainability and ethics.

Law, Sung, Fong, Fong and Fu (2016) retrieved 122 articles from ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and EBSCOhost to undertake a comprehensive view of the literature from the first appearance (i.e. 1996) to the time of their research (i.e. 2015), which comprised 107 empirical and 15 review/policy articles. Their study found the main topics to include market segmentation, travel motivation, and travel behavior, to make the point that contrary to a common assumption by many authors, outbound Chinese tourism is far from homogeneous.

Based on these reviews, we have arrived at some basic conclusions. That the Chinese outbound tourism is highly heterogeneous, and these markets are emerging as some of the biggest in the history of the global tourism industry. That it is of the utmost importance to increase understanding of these markets to equip destinations to attract these visitors. That it is important to recognize that studies of Chinese outbound tourism will often challenge current theories and research paradigms. Indeed, fruitful knowledge can be derived from Chinese outbound tourism research.

The insights we have gained from these reviews are that: (1) most research continues to focus on marketing because Chinese tourism is occurring at the time when global economy is at a downturn and these markets provide a new potential for economic growth in destinations. Further research is warranted from social, cultural, political, and geographical perspectives to examine this phenomenon; (2) That Chinese markets are very diverse, yet this diversity has not received enough attention; (3) the importance of the roles that politics and government policies play in the mechanics and dynamics of outbound Chinese tourism flows. China's rapid economic engagement with the rest of the world is effecting shifts in policymaking and cultural changes in business practice worldwide; and finally, (4) the social and cultural impacts of outbound Chinese tourists need more attention, particularly from the perspectives of sustainability and ethics.

Introduction to this issue

There are seven papers in this issue written from a range of perspectives to report on issues existing in a variety of destinations across the globe. This is indeed a cosmopolitan issue with authors hailing from across the globe including Macao, Australia, Denmark, Hong Kong, France and China. This issue captures a diverse range of voices on a common theme the China Outbound Tourism market and implications for destinations. Three papers relate to tourism policy making associated with China Outbound Tourism, and two papers discuss the impacts of tourism at the destination level. A further two address the tourist market, one from the demand side and the other from the supply side.

China outbound tourism is unique not only because of its sheer volume and growth potential, but also for its socialist backdrop. China is a country that actively exercises tight political control over mobility. Travel for the citizenry of China was curtailed by hard power through most of the twentieth century with the populace holding little experience of the foreign and travelling for pleasure. The government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has used outbound tourism as a powerful tool to achieve the goal of raising transnational Chinese identity to their benefit. Government intervention in tourism manifests in many ways, such as the approved destination status (ADS) policy, policies to regulate tourist behavior, foreign investment in travel operators, and so on. The latest step has been the upgrade of tourism from the administrative level of the Chinese National Tourism Administration to the level of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, with the explicit goal to “enhance the country's soft power and cultural influence” according to State Councilor Wang Yong addressing a plenary meeting of the 13th National People's congress in March 2018 (Xinhua, 2018). The move is aimed at coordinating the development of cultural and tourism industries to enhance the country's soft power and cultural influence. This necessitates a deeper understanding of the development and processes of Chinese government policies and policymaking.

Outbound Chinese tourism still relies very much on domestic Chinese intermediaries, yet compared to the hospitality industry, stronger government policies regulate tourism intermediaries. As Kristensen found, fragmented authoritarianism, a typical Chinese regulation environment, plays a large role in the current regulatory environment. Kristensen writes from an industry perspective to shed light on aspects of government regulation on tourism from a professional point of view. His paper introduces the reader to the world of regulation in Chinese tourism, to discuss how intermediaries respond to ‘official’ government policies and ‘un-official’ or politically motivated decrees working to regulate tourism activities. He explains that while outbound tourism in other places is market driven, in China operators must work within the tight parameters of a regulatory environment subject to prescriptive laws and unexpected change. In the discussion, he provides a valuable overview of tourism policy and legislation in China and explains how regulatory policies have had a negative impact on the ability of foreign travel agencies to trade. Foreign agent involvement in Chinese tourist markets remains restricted as Jørgensen, King, and Law explain in their paper. Their research explores how foreign investors have negotiated these policies. While joint ventures appear as the way forward to trade, the study explains why the model is risky, and the business climate turbulent, for foreign investors. Opportunities for foreign travel investors operating in the market are limited, and the authors advise vigilance for those who venture into these murky waters. The study concludes that the policies on foreign investment regulating outbound tourism actively discourage foreign participation in the Chinese industry.

Drawing on the concept of ‘tourism diplomacy’, Xu, Ke and Song provide an insider perspective to explore how China uses outbound tourism as an exercise of soft power, and looks at the potentials, challenges, and dilemmas related to this strategy. The authors’ found that tourism-based soft power built through government policies have uneven effectiveness and are more operative in countries that hold close economic relationships, cultural similarities and shared beliefs. The authors suggest that substantial changes need to happen to make these policies more effective, and point out how Chinese government efforts to disseminate its culture in the west has been problematic, limiting meaningful exchange between Chinese tourists and their hosts. The paper goes on to argue that these tourism policies may be more effective in countries with closer economic relationships, cultural similarities, and shared beliefs.

With the rise in Chinese outbound tourism, it has become evident that social impacts are inherent to the practice. Two papers discuss these impacts at the level of the destination and both mention the challenges of using tourism as a soft power strategy. Macao was the earliest destination for mainland Chinese visitors, and the economic development of Macau due to mainland tourists has been widely studied and acknowledged. Lou and Xie found Chinese outbound tourism to be acting as catalyst for change in Macanese self-identity. This study analyses data gathered from social media platforms to observe a paradigmatic shift happening. With the rising numbers of mainland Chinese, the local residents/netizens use the network to voice concerns about Chinese tourism concerning the social/cultural impacts, threats to Macao's history and heritage, cultural and linguistic difference. The authors argue that Chinese tourism is driving the emergence of a new ‘awakening’ of Macanese identity. Social media platforms are facilitating netizen affiliations, providing a forum for local voices to express views on place attachment and public participation.

France, the most popular tourism destination in the world has a problem of tourism distribution when it comes to the Chinese market. Taunay, L’Hostis, and Johnson illustrate the case as they explore reasons why these visitor numbers are limited in regional France. The authors point to the lack of cultural and geographic knowledge about France by Chinese tourists to contribute to the limited distribution in the regional areas. Indeed, as Nyiri (2006, p. 107) found, ‘Chinese representations of foreign tourist sites will not necessarily adopt dominant local narratives’, and this seems to be the case in rural France. A cultural knowledge gap about Chinese visitors also limits French tourism professionals in understanding the market and how to do business with it. As outbound Chinese tourism is a relatively new phenomenon, French tourism stakeholders, like those in other EU countries, often work to different ends and are not unified in implementing tourism strategies as a team effort. The destination selection choices offered to tourists by Chinese intermediaries has also contributed to the spatial diffusion of Chinese tourists in regional France.

One of the main research areas in marketing is diversified tourist behaviors and their various experiences. Because culinary tourism has not taken off in the Chinese outbound market, research on the food behaviors and experiences of Chinese outbound tourists is limited. Although food serves as a complimentary component in travel, it is a crucial factor influencing the tourism experience and Lin, Cui, Guia, and Xu's paper explores Chinese tourist culinary preferences in Spain. Food behavior is also a cultural behavior, which in itself distinguishes different tourism markets. Compared to western tourists, Chinese tourists were found to often complain and express a preference for Chinese food rather than the local food. The authors address issues circulating around divergent culinary tastes and cultural preferences to uncover the reasons why eating habits of Chinese tourists hinder their consumption of local food.

This issue concludes on a high note, a success story of business. Lindsay, Kriz, Johns, and Keating explain how developing the outbound China market depends on the dynamics of establishing business relationships, especially because foreign travel agencies cannot directly source outbound Chinese tourists from inside mainland China (as Jørgensen, King, & Law most aptly explained in their paper). Telling the story of Tangalooma Island Resort Pty Ltd., this paper explores how long-term commercial success can be achieved by applying a multi-dimensional cultural intelligence perspective to synthesize stakeholder views. Similar to other cultural contexts, trust is fundamental to business relationships. The authors explain that in China, trust is associated with Guanxi, and to develop strong relationships non-Chinese tourism professionals must practice both interpersonal and inter-firm Guanxi – in that order. Their insights make a valuable and timely contribution by informing how Western firms can (and should) approach Chinese tourism opportunities.

Overall, these seven papers cover a wide range of outbound Chinese tourism aspects, from the demands, the intermediaries, the business linkages, to the impacts. This issue attempts to bridge the gap between scholarly research and industry practice, as contributions come from both fields. In doing so, the issue aims to raise the awareness of researchers to the importance of examining critical social, cultural, political, and economic issues that lie beyond marketing research.