Knowledge Map of Chinese Tourists Travelling to Thailand: Based on the Bibliometric Method

Chinese tourists have essential economic and cultural exchange values for Thai tourism. The present research on Chinese tourists traveling to Thailand (CTTT) has made a significant breakthrough, but it rarely observes the research status quo, hot spots, and the future based on bibliometric methods and visualization technology. Based on 710 articles on the Web of Science (WoS), Cite Space visualization technology was used to analyze the publishing trend of CTTT, authors, institutions, countries, keywords, and categories, and build a knowledge map about CTTT. The study found that although the positive trend of published articles indicates excellent future development, the overall number of published articles is not ideal. Moreover, research on this topic has made significant progress and breakthroughs in the healthcare field, meaning that there is still much research space in the business and economic areas. Thai institutions and scientific research institutions and their scholars have significantly contributed to CTTT. They focus more on healthcare, disease, health, sexual safety, and equality in travel. Although there is an increasing focus on consumer behavior, habits, and models, However, the research on CTTT under the background of the digital economy, sharing economy, big data, artificial intelligence, and the COVID-19 pandemic is of great research value. Therefore, this study encourages different countries, institutions, and scholars to do more on this topic. Furthermore, interdisciplinary research is even more critical. © 2022.

EXAMINING CHINESE TOURISTS’ REVISIT INTENTION IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES

Southeast Asian countries have been regarded as popular holiday destinations among Chinese tourists. In recent years, tourism and travel industries in Southeast Asia have benefited from China’s Belt and Road Initiative, drawing a large number of Chinese visitors. This study examined Chinese tourists’ revisit intention towards Southeast Asia via an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) model. The added variables (destination attachment and past travel experience) can advance the theoretical understanding of the TPB model. This study also examines the moderating role of destination attachment and past travel experience on attitude towards revisit intention. Questionnaires were designed for data collection with 314 completed responses. The results of the study found that attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and destination attachment can determine Chinese tourists’ revisit intention. Tourism practitioners in Southeast Asian countries need to understand tourists’ past behavior and destination attachment on their attitude towards revisiting destination;practitioners can also consider enhancing tourists’ emotional connections and attachments to the destination in the post-COVID era. This study’s implication serves as a reference for other tourism destinations in the world. © 2022 Cognizant, LLC.

Chinese tourists’ changing behavior in package tours: The suppliers’ account

This study adopted an interpretive approach in understanding the development of the package tour industry in China and the Chinese tourists’ behavioral changes in consuming package tours, via two data sources—in-depth interviews with senior tour guides and tour operators, and content analysis of OP task sheets collected over a span of 30 years’ time. The findings revealed that substantive changes had taken place in all aspects including group structure, destination selection, itinerary, core tourist activities, supporting arrangement, personnel, and peripheral items of the package tours. The result has also shed light on the future trends and the challenges ahead, especially in the post-COVID era. Implications to tour operators and tourism marketers are discussed. © The Author(s) 2022.

How does nature heal tourists in the context of COVID-19? The perspective of the emotional mechanism

Nature has healing powers that provide physical and mental benefits to tourists and reduce their anxiety related to COVID-19. However, few empirical studies have examined the emotional mechanism that induces tourists to feel satisfied with, rather than anxious about, their lives. We explain the underlying impact mechanism that connects nature and subjective well-being in a natural heritage context by analyzing data collected from a sample of 534 tourists in Wulingyuan (south-central China). Our study revealed interesting and meaningful findings: (a) nature has healing powers that directly and indirectly (via awe and place attachment) influence tourists' sub-jective well-being;(b) tourists with a relatively low level of positive emotions who become attached to a destination, subsequently experience a greater degree of healing;and (c) there are significant gender differences concerning the healing powers of nature among tourists. These findings contribute to well-being research by highlighting the underlying emotional mechanism whereby nature influences tourists' subjective well-being. The paper also demonstrates the moderating effects of positive emotions and gender in the proposed model, which offers valuable practical insights for governments in tourist destinations.

Souvenirs: A Systematic Literature Review (1981-2020) and Research Agenda

With the great economic significance of the souvenir business, academic interest in the souvenir field is increasing. The purposes of this study are to examine the holistic development of souvenirs research from 1981 to 2020, identify research themes and gaps, and suggest future research directions. With the tool of VOSViewer software, bibliometric analysis and systematic quantitative literature review were conducted. The research identifies five existing themes: (1) the souvenir object itself;(2) economic significance and socio-cultural impact;(3) souvenir business and ecology;(4) souvenir shopping behavior;and (5) souvenir shopping satisfaction and its consequences. This thematic map contributes to understanding the essence of souvenirs and their relationship with other tourism system elements;it reveals the possibility of exploring tourism phenomena and addressing the challenges through the souvenir field perspective. It has practical implications for the stakeholders to address issues and struggles for development in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How trust in a destination's risk regulation navigates outbound travel constraints on revisit intention post-COVID-19: Segmenting insights from experienced Chinese tourists to Japan

How do tourists cope with outbound travel constraints post-COVID-19? This study explores the cognitive coping strategy of destination trust in risk regulation on abating outbound travel constraints and catalyzing revisit intention. Taking Japan as a destination, analysis of data collected from 556 experienced tourists from Mainland China uncovered four types of travel constraints: health concern constraint, structural constraint, geopolitical constraint, and disinterest. Only disinterest had a significant negative impact on revisit intention. Trust in the destination government significantly increased revisit intention and ameliorated all types of travel constraints. Trust in local residents and in the tourism industry relieved disinterest efficiently. Results of multigroup analysis revealed that compared with tourists who have visited Japan only once, tourists with two or more past visits had lower levels of outbound travel constraints, and the impact of disinterest on their revisit intention was significantly lower. They also showed higher trust in destination government and higher revisit intention. Moreover, health concern constraint was significantly reduced by trust in the tourism industry but to be significantly enhanced by trust in local residents among tourists with two or more past visits to Japan. The theoretical and practical implications for the recovery of tourism are discussed.

Cross-Border Tourism on the Russian-Chinese Border in 2014-2019

The article examines the dynamics of cross-border tourism and developments in the tourism industry in the Russian-Chinese borderland after 2014. Using Blagoveshchensk and Heihe and Khabarovsk and Fuyuan as case studies, the article shows that due to the change in tourist flow structure after the 2014-ruble depreciation, Russian and Chinese border cities have customized their service industry to accommodate Chinese tourists. Mapping of the service sector openness of border cities conducted based on fieldwork data and media materials demonstrates that central districts of border towns concentrate the majority of businesses catering to clients from the neighboring state. This conclusion confirms the role of central districts of border towns as thermometers of cross-border dynamics as they react first to fluctuations in exchange rates and tourist flows. The article provides an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cross-border flows and the tourism industry in the Russian-Chinese borderland and concludes that the earlier reorientation towards domestic tourists allowed Heihe and Fuyuan to be better prepared for a new external shock. The tourism industry in Blagoveshchensk and Khabarovsk, on the contrary, suffered significant losses and found itself in a situation of high uncertainty, where it is hardly possible to predict when Chinese tourists will return. © 2021 The authors.

Examining Perceived and Projected Destination Image: A Social Media Content Analysis

Destination image has been extensively studied in tourism and marketing, but the questions surrounding the discrepancy between the projected (perceptions from the National Tourism Organizations) and perceived destination image (perceptions from tourists) as well as how the discrepancy may influence sustainable experience remain unclear. Poor understanding of the discrepancy may cause tourist confusion and misuse of resources. The aim of this study is to empirically investigate if the perceived (by tourists) and projected (by NTOs) destination image are significantly different in both cognitive and affective aspects. Through a comprehensive social media content analysis of the NTO-generated and tourist-generated-contents (TGC), the current study identifies numerous gaps between the projected and perceived destination image, which offers some important theoretical and practical implications on destination management and marketing.