Chinese Outbound Tourism 2.0

Booming Mainland Chinese outbound travel is one of the most exciting phenomena in the world tourism industry’s recent history. From 2000 to 2010, Chinese outbound travel increased at a compounded annual rate of 18.5 percent, and it is forecasted that by 2020 China will generate approximately 100 million outbound trips a year, making China the fourth largest source of outbound travel in the world. The new Chinese tourists are more confident, technologically savvy, value conscious, and ready to explore unfamiliar territory. For tourism marketers and researchers who are getting ready to or just celebrated their initial "west-meets-east" moments, the new Chinese tourists are showing up at their doors and presenting new challenges for marketing and service. In this book, leading authors from around the world share their most cutting-edge findings and thoughts on the Chinese outbound travel market. The book reflects on the paths of the Chinese outbound travel development, reports new trends and issues, and provides new insights and recommendations.

For practitioners around the world (e.g., destination policymakers and marketers, travel and tourism service providers, owners, and managers), this book provides hands-on guidance on understanding tourists from Mainland China. For tourism scholars, educators, and students, this book provides basic yet essential knowledge on the Chinese outbound travel market and tourist behavior and points out important future directions. Most tourism programs today have an international component in their curriculum, usually including a global tourism class. This book serves as an excellent supplemental reading for students in these classes.

Dr. Xiang (Robert) Li is a professor and Washburn Senior Research Fellow at the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was formerly a professor at the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management at the University of South Carolina, and Associate Director of USC’s Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Travel & Tourism Industry Center and International Tourism Research Institute. Dr. Li’s research mainly focuses on destination marketing and tourist behavior, with special emphasis on international destination branding, customer loyalty, and tourism in Asia. He has authored nearly 100 scientific publications and is serving on the boards of 11 journals and book series. He is currently guest-editing a special series on "Emerging-Market Tourist Behavior" for the Journal of Travel Research. He also guest co-edited a special issue for the Journal of Business Research and one for the Journal of China Tourism Research. Dr. Li’s academic work has been recognized by a number of awards, including the 2013 "Emerging Scholars of Distinction" Award by the International Academy for the Study of Tourism and the first-ever "Best Emerging Scholar in Tourism (B.E.S.T.)" Award by the International Tourism Studies Association.

Dr. Li has conducted extensive tourism research in various areas and has been awarded over $1.14 million in research funding. His clients include the United State Department of Commerce/Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI), China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), the United States Travel Association (UST, formerly TIA), and National Tour Association (NTA), as well as numerous destination marketing organizations and companies. His research on China and Japan outbound tourism and destination marketing has been cited by a number of American and international media, such as USA Today, Time, Las Vegas Sun Times, The Globe and Mail (Canada), and China Daily. During 2012–13, Dr. Li served on the Global Insights Advisory Council for Brand USA. He holds/held adjunct or visiting faculty appointments in universities in Australia, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. He is also a frequent speaker at numerous international and industry conferences.