Destination Attributes and Chinese Outbound Tourism to Europe目的地特性和中国对欧洲的对外旅游

Abstract

China is one of the fastest growing outbound tourism markets. Europe is an attractive destination for Chinese tourists. However, Europe still accounts for a small percentage of Chinese outbound tourism. If European countries want to benefit from this market, they should pay attention to Chinese tourists’ preferences. This article contributes to the understanding of Chinese outbound tourism by analyzing those destination attributes that can influence the number of Chinese tourists received. From a sample of 47 European countries, our findings suggest that a greater cultural distance from China, a large number of World Heritage Sites, a large ethnic Chinese population, and a large number of flight connections to China are associated with the amount of Chinese tourists visiting each country.