Understanding a new tourism market and destination development: the case of chinese tourism in spain
- Autores: Aureli Lojo Blesa
- Directores de la Tesis: Gemma Cànoves Valiente (dir. tes.), Mimi Li (dir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona ( España ) en 2019
- Idioma: español
- ISBN: 978-84-09-14149-4
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Miquel Seguí Llinàs (presid.), David Saurí i Pujol (secret.), Alon Gelbman (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Geografía por la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
- Materias:
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- Resumen
China is the top source market, in terms of both numbers of tourists and international tourism expenditure. The growth of tourism in China is one of the most exciting phenomena that have occurred in recent years. However, understanding Chinese tourists is a challenge for Western destinations. The main objective of this thesis is to improve our understanding of Chinese tourism in Spain. To this end, five practical approaches are generated here. The specific research objectives are to: (1) review the existing literature; (2) interpret the tourist product; (3) understand the tourist behavior; (4) know the characteristics of the main sources of tourism information; and (5) identify the image of the destination.
This thesis consists of a compendium of publications. There are three main parts: the general introduction (Part I); five articles (Part II); and the discussion and general conclusions (Part III). From a quasi-positivist philosophical position, all the articles are approached with quantitative data and methodologies. An inductive method has been followed (not based on previous hypotheses, but on research objectives). The design of the research is empirical, and the research strategy is the case study. Two techniques are used for data extraction (web scraping and surveys), which have been analyzed mostly with quantitative techniques.
After analyzing the past 10 years’ research production on Chinese outbound tourism, the results of Article 1 reveal that the main networks of scientific collaboration are built around four authors. The findings also identify and explain six thematic clusters of research: tourist behavior; policies and impacts; industry development; consumer segments; services; and cultural values and tourism. The analysis of the products offered by Chinese travel agencies (Article 2) finds patterns and similarities in tourism itineraries. The main cities visited are Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Granada, Toledo, Mijas, Ronda and Córdoba. The product is formulated through cultural and experiential dimensions. The cultural dimension is formed by history, culture, and architecture. The experiential dimension is formed by the convenience of an organized trip, the tour guide and the services offered.
Article 3 defines the Chinese tourist’s demographic profile, motivations and satisfaction with the destination. The results show that, overall, the Chinese tourist is firstly motivated by novelty and relaxation on their trip to Spain and, secondly, by heritage and culture. However, tourists that visit Spain for the third time are more motivated by the climate, nature, and shopping than by the culture and heritage. After analyzing the websites of four types of information providers, the results of Article 4 show the positioning of sources in online search engines. The findings also show the profiles of density, diversity and domains of information. Blogs are the most diverse and rich sources of information, followed by travel guides and Barcelona Turisme. In contrast, travel agencies tend to be more repetitive.
Article 5 proposes a conceptual framework for understanding the fragmentation of the tourist image. The results show that, for Barcelona Turisme, the image of Barcelona is built on the concept of public space, elements of local art, tangible and intangible culture, festivities and sports. In contrast, Chinese sources have a much more traditional and limited image (based on Gaudí). The general discussion and conclusion (Part III) includes a discussion of the results, the academic and practical implications, limitations, and future areas of research. As shown in this last part, the methods and theoretical bases contributed by this dissertation are also applicable to other emerging tourism markets. The theoretical and practical implications for the entire dissertation are discussed.
