America s Destination Image as Seen through Chinese Outbound Tourists Eyes

Transcription

1 America s Destination Image as Seen through Chinese Outbound Tourists Eyes Xiang (Robert) Li, Ph.D. School of HRTM, University of South Carolina Svetlana Stepchenkova, Ph.D. Department of TRSM, University of Florida

2 Mainland China as a Growing Source Market In 2009, Chinese citizens made approximately million trips outside Mainland China (Qian, 2010) The UNWTO estimates that by 2020 there will be 100 million outbound Chinese tourists, making China the 4 th largest source of outbound travel in the world (cited in Pan, 2007). It has been estimated that over 11.5 million Chinese have traveled or plan to travel to destinations outside Asia (Li, Harrill, Uysal, Burnett, & Zhan, 2010)

3 Arrivals from Mainland China to U.S.: number of arrivals (Unit: 000) Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries

4 Destination Perception as an Associative Network The destination perception held in tourist memory (Cai, 2002) is part of their destination brand knowledge (Li et al., 2008), which is arguably akin to a large associative network (Anderson, 1983; Keller, 1993)

5 Building a brand image amounts to identifying the most relevant associations and strengthening their linkages to the brand (Cai, 2002, p. 723)

6 Echtner and Ritchie s Model Echtner and Ritchie (1991, 1993) s 3- dimensional framework of TDI: attribute-holistic continuum functional-psychological continuum common-unique continuum Collectively, the image characteristics, features, and attributes described in Echtner and Ritchie (1991, 1993) s model may all be considered as different brand nodes and brand associations of tourists brand knowledge

7 Purposes of This Study Understanding Chinese tourists collective mental perception of the United States as a travel destination identifying major features and components of the America travel brand; examine the links and associations among these images; and exploring image differences among customer groups with different levels of travel experiences (Oppermann, 1998)

8 The Study Framework Phase 1 阶段 1 Telephone survey in 11 Chinese cities 在中国 11 个城市的电话访谈 (N=7,000) Phase 2 阶段 2 11 Customer Focus Groups in 11 Chinese cities 在中国 11 个城市的焦点团体座谈 (N=8/session) Travel Trade Interviews 中国出境游旅行社访谈 (N=30) Government Official Interviews 中国政府官员访谈 (N=30) Phase 3 阶段 3 In-person customer interviews in China 中国出境游客深度访谈 (N=1,600) In-person customer interviews in US-China return flight 中国旅美游客回程访谈 (N=400)

9 Target Population Long-haul Chinese outbound leisure travelers: nonagricultural, adult Mainland Chinese citizens who have taken a leisure trip of 4 or more nights, by plane, outside Asia in the past 3 years or plan to take one in the next 2 years (Li, Harrill, Uysal, Burnett, & Zhan, 2010, p. 253) USA (400) had been to the U.S. for leisure purposes in the past 3 years Outside Asia (400) had traveled outside of Asia (but not the U.S.) in the past 3 years Within Asia (400) had traveled within Asia in the past 3 yr and were interested in traveling outside of Asia in the next 2 yr Potential (400) had not traveled outside of China in the past 3 yr but were interested in traveling outside of Asia in the next 2 yr

10 Have traveled outside Asia Have traveled inside Asia, but not outside Asia Have never traveled abroad Plan to travel 1 outside Asia 3 4 Plan to travel inside Asia only 6 2 Do not want to 5 travel abroad 7

11 Three Unstructured Questions Stereotypical image: What three images or characteristics first come to mind when you think of the U.S. as a leisure travel destination? Please list the 3 things that come to your mind first. Affective image: How would you describe the atmosphere or mood that you would expect to experience while visiting the U.S.? Please list the 3 words that come to your mind first. Unique image: Please list three distinctive tourist attractions, cities, or states you can think of in the U.S. (Echtner & Ritchie, 1991; Stepchenkova &Morrison, 2008)

12 Respondents Profile 55% male vs. 45% female 74% between 20 and 50 years old 70% married/partnered 68% with above high school education 80% employed full- or part-time 85% reported income < RMB 40,000 Median income RMB 10,000-19,999 91% had high speed Internet connection at home or at work

13 Stereotypical: Top Three Economically developed Democracy/freedom Statue of Liberty out of 272 mentioned 392 Economically developed 232 Democracy/freedom 187 Statue of Liberty

14 Affective: Top Three Happiness/delight Excitement/excited Relaxation out of Happiness/delight Excitement/excited Relaxation

15 Unique: Top Three New York Hawaii San Francisco out of New York Hawaii San Francisco

16 Stereotypical Image Hollywood (35) 15 High tech (121) California Disneyland (82) Sunshine (59) White House (83) Hawaii (93) The Statue of Liberty (187) Economically developed (392) Sea/beach (166) Fashionable place (70) Beautiful country (137) Democracy/ freedom (232) 76 Openness (181) Amiable/ friendly people (87)

17 Potential Within 5 Asia 1 13 Outside Asia USA Economically developed 2.Democracy/freedom 3. Statue of Liberty 4. Openness 5. Sea/beach 6. Beautiful country 7. HighTech 8. Hawaii 9. Friendly people 10. White House 11. California Disneyland 12. Modernization 13. Graceful environment 14. Fashionable place 15. Clean unpolluted 16. Sunshine 17. Casino 18. New York 19. Wealth 20. China town 21. Convenient transportation GROUP -1.6 image number

18 Stereotypical Image USA Outside Asia Within Asia Potential Total Chisquare* p- value** Economically developed Democracy/freedom Statue of Liberty Openness Sea/beach Beautiful country HighTech Hawaii Friendly people White House California Disneyland Modernization Graceful environment Fashionable place Clean unpolluted environment Sunshine Casino New York Wealth Chinatown Convenient transpor tation * The degree of freedom for all tests is 3. ** Only tests results with p-value less than 0.05 are shown.

19 Affective Image Comfort (85) A place I hope to visit (78) Amiable/ friendly people (107) Happiness/ delight (1190) Novelty (135) 49 Democracy/ freedom (112) Relaxation (265) 68 Excitement (721) 19 Openness (53) Enjoy life/holiday (192) Tension (69)

20 Potential 8 14 Outside Asia USA 3 Within Asia Happiness/delight 2. Excitement/excited 3. Relaxation 4. Enjoy life/holidays 5. Novelty 6. Democracy/freedom 7. Friendly people 8. Comfort 9. Place I hope to visit 10. Tension 11. Openness 12. Interesting 13. Depressing 14. Pleasant mood 15. Romanticism 16. Full of entertainment 17. Beautiful country 18. Passion 19.Energy 20. Fashionable place Dimension GROUP image number

21 Affective Image USA Outside Asia Within Asia Potential Total Chisquare* p- value** Happi ness/de light Excitement/excited Relaxation Enjoy life/enjoy holidays Novelty Democracy/freedom Friendly people Comfort A place that I hope to visit Tension Openness Interesting Depressing Pleasant mood Romanticism Place full of entertainment Beautiful country Passion Energy Fasionable place * The degree of freedom for all tests is 3. ** Only tests results with p-value less than 0.05 are shown.

22 22 Yellowstone See/beach 51 3 Philadelphia San Francisco Hawaii Las Vegas Disneyland CA Grand Canyon Universal Studio Of Hollywood 78 Ocean World/ Busch Gardens Washington Las Angeles New York White House Chinatown Statue of Liberty 215 Golden Gate Bridge Houston Chicago Hollywood 95 California 103 Unique Image

23 Potential Within Asia Outside Asia USA New York 2. Hawaii 3. San-Francisco 4. Washington 5. Los Angeles 6. Statue of Liberty 7. Disneyland CA 8. Las Vegas 9. Grand Canyon 10. White House 11. Chicago 12. California 13. Hollywood 14. Chinatown 15. Universal Studio 16. Philadelphia 17. Yellowstone 18. Houston 19. Ocean World/Busch Garden 20. Sea/beach GROUP 1.0 image number

24 Unique Image USA Outside Asia Within Asia Potential Total Chisquare* p- value** CITIES New York San Francisco Washington Las Angeles Las Vegas Chicago Philade lphia Houston STATES Hawaii California ATTRACTIONS The Statue of Liberty California Disneyland Grand Canyon White House Hollywood Chinatown Universal Studio Yellowstone Ocean World/Busch Gardens Sea/beach Niagara Falls Golden Gate Bridge * The degree of freedom for all tests is 3 ** Only tests results with p-value less than 0.05 are shown

25 Missing Data USA Outside Asia Within Asia Potential Total Stereotypical Affective Unique ANOVA: the Potential group is significantly different from other groups

26 Conclusion Chinese outbound tourists destination image of America is very complex. The unstructured approach generated rich information but also presented challenges to data analysis. Overall, Chinese outbound tourists perception of America is highly urban, featuring advanced economic development, open and democratic system, high technology, and big cities. Further, the four groups of respondents reported somewhat different perceptions of the U.S., which may reflect different travel experiences and horizons (Oppermann, 1998), as well as different levels of familiarity with the U.S.

27 Conclusion The findings also provide a reality-check on many American destinations awareness level in the Chinese market. The findings may be applied to tour package and product (itinerary) design targeting Chinese tourists. The findings have important marketing and geo-political implications.

28 For more information, please contact: Xiang (Robert) Li, Ph.D. Phone: Svetlana Stepchenkova, Ph.D. Phone: x 1411