Motivation and Behavior of Chinese Outbound Senior Tourists

Abstract

From a general perspective, China ranks first in the world not only in the speed of population aging but also in tourism, spending power, and consumption scale. This study presents a model of the behavior of Chinese outbound senior tourists based on the theoretical framework of push and pull motivations. Data was collected based on 394 Chinese seniors who returned from outbound countries at the international airports in Beijing, Jiangsu, Shandong and Sichuan. The objectives of this study were to identify the travel motivations, the effects of push and pull factors on satisfaction, and the importance of, and the satisfaction with destination attributes perceived by Chinese outbound senior tourists. There wasa total of 31 motivation items and 22 destination attributes. By using factor analysis, three push factors were obtained: "social& self-enhancement", "exploration/novelty seeking" and "physical exercising". Three pull factors were also obtained: "accessibility & safety", "environment" and "facility". The study shows that the pull factors predicted overall satisfaction better than the push factors. Additionally, the study found that Chinese senior tourists were most strongly concerned with "safety of destination" and most strongly satisfied with "variety of products for shopping". Finally, some implications of these results for the tourism industry are provided. The limitations of the research are discussed, and suggestions for future studies presented accordingly.