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Factors affecting the travel behaviour of Chinese millennial

Table of Contents

Declaration

Abstract

Acknowledgment
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Introduction

1.1 Background

The Chinese millennial is the individuals born between the years of 80s

and 90. The individuals are now hitting the consumption age and are

described as educated, tech-savvy, and open-minded. The Chinese

millennial makes up 31 % of the Chinese population and represents 415

million people. More than 350 million millennial in China account for

more than 25% of the total population (Trump, 2014). In June 2019, the

Internet penetration rate in China was 99.1%, compared with 5.3% in

2003. After the millennial have witnessed the development of

technology and the ability to change their daily lives, they have become

the main driving force for the surge in China's consumption. According to

China Daily, people under 35 accounted for 65% of total consumption

growth (Dadwal et al 2020).

Due to the financial crisis and epidemics, employment difficulties have

become why some young people choose to continue their studies.

Chinese millennial are more educated than previous generations, and

25% of them hold a bachelor's degree or higher. It led to the economic

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growth of the current generation. The situation still depends on parents'

contributions, and financial freedom cannot be achieved ( Dadwal et al

2020). However, Chinese millennial are known to be among the largest

spending group in the world. The Chinese millennial travel oversees

more than the tourist from the United States combined.

1.2 Problem Statement

The generational gap between the millennial and the older generation

has affected the consumption views. The age experienced by the elderly

is difficult, the supply of goods exceeds demand, the technology is

backward, and the productivity is low. Such experiences occupy most of

their time. The development of the Chinese economy has resulted in a

substantial increase in people's income and spending power. As a result,

young people have started to pay more attention to both domestic and

international tourism. In this case, a lot of Chinese millennial travels a

lot. Therefore, investing in studies to determine the factors affecting

Chinese millennial travelling behaviour is necessary.

1.3 Purpose of the study

Presently, numerous aspects of research focus on the perceptions of

consumer behaviour in different travel brands. Also, the action

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generated by the various travel brands treat consumers as an

undifferentiated whole when working out on research and thus ignored

the differences and influencing factors of the other age groups. In this

case, the research generalized everything in marketing, planning, and

development of tourist ideas. Therefore, it is necessary to analyses

different consumer behaviors for the consumers of travel.

Research objectives:

i. To investigate the Chinese millennial consumer attitudes towards

inbound travelling

ii. To identify the factors that influence the Chinese millennial

perceptions towards inbound travelling

iii. To identify the various ways China can improve the travelling

industry by assessing different attitudes and perceptions.

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2. Literature Review

2.1 - Theoretical Background:

Thakur (2020) defined tourism as the aspect of travelling to a country or

region different from the hometown of consumers for various leisure or

business purposes and staying there for some time. Most of the time,

travelling plays an integral part in tourism as it assists the shifting from

one place to another. Tourism plays a vital role in the development of the

global economy. According to the 2019 Economic Impact Report

prepared by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism

accounts for 10.3% of global GDP in economic development. In this case,

the activity boosts the economy's revenues, generates income, and

creates thousands of jobs among the Chinese citizens.

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On the other hand, inbound travel entails travelling to a particular

country by visitors who are not part of the specific country (Seetaram,

2012). The international inbound tourists have travelled to countries

rather than their official residence. Many countries worldwide have

offered attractive benefits to visitors to ensure that they have an exciting

experience outside their home environment.

Liu et al. (2020) believe that tourism behaviour refers to travellers'

complex decision-making processes during the journey, including travel

mode selection, departure time selection, and destination selection.

Similarly, Travel motives are the conditions for people to travel. People

who come up with travel ideas have a positive mentality to explore new

things or a mentality that can escape reality and relax. The Chinese

travellers believe that an unforgettable travel experience requires

novelty, participation or social interaction to have a perfect travel

experience (Xu, Brown, & Long, 2016). In particular, the Chinese may

travel due to academic affairs. The consumer may decide to travel to

witness preliminary information. Om the other hand, Gretzel et al. 2015

find travelling experience as technology motivated and refers to it as

Smart tourism. In this case, the three factors influencing millennial

decisions include personalization, digital convenience, and relevant

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information from social media. Therefore, experiences offer a feeling of

accomplishment.

The travelling behaviours of Chinese millennial and that of the elderly

differs. The elderly prefer organized groups for travelling purposes and

worry less about the journey plans. On the other hand, millennial prefer

independent, individualistic holidays. The studies from Patterson &

Balderas (2018) revealed emerging and continuing trends in senior

tourism. The traditional tourism behaviour elements analyze the internal

and external factors from tourists of all age groups, without combining

the relevant background of the times and not having a comprehensive

grasp of each age group's aesthetics. The article distinguishes the

preferences of the elderly and young people in travel so that Travel

Company can improve and plan plans to increase the choices of the

elderly. The article's findings noted an increase in senior travelling in the

past few decades due to the perception of how the tourist companies

handle their travelling plans.

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2.2 Hotel Booking

According to a study conducted by Alonso-Almeida, Borrajo-Millán & Yi

(2019), the number of Chinese tourists has increased alongside

Barcelona's. The study highlighted the increased bookings among the

hotels and revealed a significant increase among the Chinese millennials.

Also, Hua, Chan & Mao (2009) found an increased Chinese booking for

inbound travelling hotel rooms. The Millennial has a higher demand for

online hotel reservation as compared to their elderly counterparts. Most

millennial in China choose economic chain hotels, accounting for more

than 70%. The Chinese Millennial like high-quality hotels due to the
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presented facilities and the hospitable workers. In particular, Food is also

an important consideration for young people when booking hotels. The

studies from Küster, Vila & Sarabia (2019) inferred that the Chinese

millennial do not carry packed Food. The travellers may search for local

speciality food, and thus, the popularity of the hotel increases the

youngsters' attraction. Other factors include discounts, grounds,

shopping, and other facilities offered by the preferred hotel.

While conducting the importance of online and offline booking, H

Crnojevac, Gugić & Karlovčan (2010) found out the different attractions

between the elderly and the millennial. The authors noted that

millennial's most prevalent interests include personalized affairs such as

technology. In this case, the hotel's marketing, price, Food, and

surrounding accounts for the youngsters' largest proportion of

attractions. The construction of the hotel industry should no longer be

limited to advanced nature. Nowadays, local hotels are too standardized,

there is no outstanding personalized construction, and there is no strong

integration of cultural elements.On the other hand, young people pay

more attention to customized affairs. Only a particular hotel structure

and valid network promotion can arouse the curiosity of many young

people. In particular, bed and breakfast (B&B) attract the attention of the
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elderly.

2.3 Destination

The destination is the process by which tourists travel to different

regions to experience local resource culture. Its comprehensive coverage

can be divided into historical sites, religious tourism, ethnic culture, etc.

2.3.1 Historical sites

Although most Chinese millennial prefer travelling alone, the

destinations of their travels are defined. Due to its particularity,

participants can obtain more information, purposeful learning through

travel. For example, Beijing has different historical sites such as the

Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the Temple of Heaven. The identified

historical site has a unique history that defines Chinese culture. Although

the historical sites are attractive for the elderly due to their cultural

output of telling their childhood fun, millennial find them boring. Feng

(2012) identified architecture as effective in learning and making useful

information to the future generation. The studies noted that destination

attracts many tourists due to its connections with the Chinese cultures.

2.3.2 Religious tourism

Religious tourism refers to religious believers' tourism activities for

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communication, preaching, and investigation. For non-believers to

participate in religious tourism, the spiritual value is of little significance

to them but because of the cultural importance, architectural meaning,

and historical value attached to religion (Leung, 2017). The cultural

connotation characterized by quiet scenery and self-cultivation brings

travellers psychological relaxation. The recorded statistics by 2010

revealed that Christianity had an estimated 2.2 billion believers,

accounting for nearly one-third of the global population. Islam had 1.6

billion followers, accounting for about 25% of the world's population

(Hackett & McClendon, 2017).

The number of believers in various religions accounts for more than 60%

of the world's population. Many countries attach great importance to the

development and utilization of religious, cultural tourism resources.

Many religious sacred sites have been formed in various countries and

regions. Jerusalem, the Vatican, and India have become areas with

relatively developed international tourism. The wide range of foreign

religions in China includes Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. The

majority of the current religious tourism is based on monasteries

(Hackett & McClendon, 2017). The tourist guides with the knowledge of

the religious culture and religion development in the respective regions

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guide the visitors through the different historical and religious sites. On

the other hand, the Chinese millennial do not find the historical sites'

visit interesting due to the outdated technological and lack of the

modern infrastructure for spending. In particular, Zhu (2012) suggested

that Chinese historical sites' development was necessary to attract

Chinese Millennial.

2.3.3 National culture

Maurer-Fazio & Hasmath (2015) referred to the national culture as the

national characteristics developed by the cultures of various ethnic

minorities in China in their historical development, including

architecture, Food, clothing, and festivals. Cultural tourism is based on

regional differences. Ryan & Huang (2013) noted that cultural tourism

accounts for the largest proportion of inbound travels. The authors state

that China is rich in cultural sites and thus act as destinations for the

millennial. The Chinese millennial is eager to learn much about the

changing cultural landscape. The Chinese pupation is roughly divided

into 56 ethnic groups. Except for the Han, which has the largest

population, the other 55 ethnic groups are ethnic minorities (Maurer-

Fazio & Hasmath, 2015). In particular, ethnic tourism will also be the

inheritance and protection of China's intangible cultural heritage. The

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most important cultural activity that attracts millennial in the inbound

travels is the Water Splashing Festival called PO Shui Jie in Chinese (Jian-

yun, 2014).

2.3.4 Theme park

Consumers depict seasonal characteristics in tourism activities, and

changes in tourism resources will promote tourists to conduct tourism

activities in different periods. According to Chio (2014), Chinese

landscape tourism resources are prosperous, composed of natural

elements such as landforms, animals and plants, and water bodies. Such

as Jiuzhaigou, Changbai Mountain, and other famous landscapes. Such

areas are relatively sparsely populated and retain the relatively primitive

state of the ecological environment. Visitors can feel the magic of nature

through their appreciation of natural scenery. Similarly, Wang & Xiang

(2012) conducted some studies to determine the new landscape visiting

destination for Chinese by analyzing mobile applications' data. The

studies indicated that the process of environmental protection is

conscious behaviour. Therefore, the Chinese millennial consider theme

parks as a form of preservation of the natural landscape.

2.4 Traffic
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Traffic is an essential factor affecting inbound travels among Chinese

millennial. Millennial get tired quickly during the trips. In this case, they

cannot have patients towards the congestion in the traffic flows. The

primary function of transportation is to realize people's spatial position

(Afrin & Yodo, 2020). It is one prerequisite to recognizing tourism

activities to guarantee tourists' actions in the destination area.

Therefore, when tourists choose a tourist destination, the transportation

situation is often an important reference factor. There are three main

transportation modes used for transportation in China, aviation, high-

speed rail, and road transportation. In the development of tourism, air

transportation has the advantages of speed, comfort, and safety. As

pointed out by Afrin & Yodo, the quality of its product determines the

possibility of large-scale international tourism in the tourism area.

High-speed rail is a new type of transportation in China in recent

years. The price is moderate. The train operating speed is 200km/h, and

it remains stable throughout the journey. Hen et al. (2016) investigated

the implication of high-speed rail and found out that it affects the

population's travelling behaviours. As long as roads are concerned, to

protect the local environment, the road density in the entire area is low,

and the technical standards are low. Natural roads still account for the
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majority. Due to the exceptional local climate, roads and airports'

disaster resistance has been weakened, and maintenance losses have

been severe, directly increasing the probability of car and aircraft failure.

The railway covers a wide area, and the maintenance cost is lower than

that of roads and aviation. The advantage of railway transportation is

that long-distance transit can be obtained at a lower price. This is in line

with the impressive terrain of China's Tibet.

Cruise travels are not familiar in China but facilitate the quality of

service. While conducting the study about Chinese travellers' attitudes

towards cruise travel, Park et al.(2019) stated that Chinese millennials'

transport through cruise had changed drastically. Through transportation

via the cruise ship, consumers enjoy services such as enjoying music and

dancing the art exhibition, among other benefits. And although cruise

travel spends most of the time on the cruise, it will stop in various

countries for a short time, and then consumers can disembark for a tour.

This has received the love of the elderly. In this case, cruise travel is not

young people's interest because they cannot stay in a particular country

for long. In particular, cruise ships have weak network signals. Millennial

may not see the need to use smartphones for entertainment. Therefore,

Chinese millennial may have a negative impression of cruises.

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3. Research Methodology

The research methodology entails the analysis of the data from Ctrip, an

international travel agent. After that, the chapter focuses on the data

collection and ends up with reliability and validity. The research

methodology is a Case Study of Ctrip.com.

3.1 Choice of the Methodology

The choice of a case study methodology was the most reliable due to its
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effectiveness in establishing data and intelligence in the analysis. Web

analytics is the research aspect using qualitative and quantitative data

from the website and competition to enhance the continual

improvement of the online experiences, often customers and prospects,

and translate into the desired outcomes (Kaushik, 2009). In this case, two

types of web data analytics were conducted. The first one entails the

onsite web analytic that involves analyzing visitor and server data

through page tagging. On the other hand, the offsite data analytic is

associated with the comments, site visibility, and page view opportunity.

In this particular thesis, the author incorporates qualitative research

methods to illustrate the challenges facing China's travel industry due to

the differences in age groups' behaviour. The two age groups are

generation Y or Chinese millennials and the elderly. Putting up the

marketing strategy for the country's tourism destination in the dynamic

market is not easy. It requires the tourism board to identify the factors

that lead to consumers of all ages. The paper focuses on the three

elements, including hotel booking, the most preferred destination, and

traffic. In this case, the most considered aspect is the behavioural

patterns of the two groups. In this particular study, the research's main

objective is to establish Chinese millennial attitudes towards different

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travelling behaviours and practices. The studies also find out the factors

affecting the other actions of travelling in the two age groups. The

studies recommend improving the travelling sectors' aspects to establish

a competitive advantage in travelling and tourism.

3.2 The Choice of the Company

The focal point of the research is the online travel booking industry.

Recently, Chinese technology has improved, leading to the popularity

and attractiveness of the online travel industry. It is imperative to note

that Information technology has impacted the tourism sector. Although

some researchers believe that online travel may replace offline, there are

minimal studies to link up the statements (García, Galindo & Suárez,

2018). In this case, the most favourable website for analysis was

Ctrip.com.

Ctrip was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Shanghai. It currently

has branches in 17 cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, and more than

30,000 employees. The company's business philosophy is to create the

most outstanding value with a customer-centric and rigorous spirit. As a

leading online travel service company in China, Ctrip has successfully

integrated the high-tech industry and the traditional tourism industry.

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The website has provided more than 250 million members with a full

range of travel services, including hotel reservations, air ticket

reservations, vacation or business travel, and travel information. The

rapid development of Ctrip has surpassed decades of exploration and

development of other large travel agencies in China in a short time.

Ctrip has the world's largest travel service contact centre, with more

than 10,000 customer service employees. Ctrip has established long-

term and stable cooperative relations with nearly 800,000 hotels in 200

countries and regions worldwide. This operation model provides

members with more high-quality travel options and guarantees the

quality of services. In the end, most consumers choose Ctrip as their first

choice when choosing an online travel service company, depicting a high

brand awareness. Search engine marketing uses search engine platforms

for network marketing, and when people search for information through

search engines, they try to deliver marketing information to target

customers. Through this model, Ctrip will push a large number of related

products after consumers search for keywords. When a consumer clicks

on a product of interest, he will see how other consumers feel about the

product and its good reviews.

3.3 Data Collection

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According to the research purpose, the studies entail collecting data

about the most favourable or limiting factors of the Chinese millennia's

choice for a particular hotel booking, destination, and transport mode.

The primary data was collected through observation on the website

experience and the interview of two staff from Ctrip.com. After

registering my email address to the website, I got promotion messages

with targeted destinations, hotels, and the possible price of flight tickets,

rail transport by road. The promotional statement was categorical as it

focused on particular goals, hotels, and transportation for a specific

group of age.

4. Data Analysis

The findings from the research reveal millions of Chinese millennials visit

the Ctrip.com website every month. The most influential factor for the

behaviour and attitude is due to the belief that the online market place is

cheaper than offline booking for travels. The promotional messages from

the company revealed that it targeted a particular group with their

tailored information. Notably, the essential part of the research findings

was the cultural and religious tourism destinations. When searching

keywords through the website, 507 most booked hotels portrays through

the search criteria. The most recently searched hotels had similar
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characteristics.

The interview for the staff aimed at establishing the behavioural

characters of the two Chinese age groups, the Millenials and the elderly.

According to the findings, Chinese millennials love travelling individually.

The staff noted that the millennial research the destination site, the

hotel, and the hotel's available services via the Facebook search. Also,

good pictures were found to attract the millennial to the new

destination. On the other hand, the elderly preferred group travels and

offer all the responsibilities to the travel companies to plan for the

events. In particular, the study note that travelers prefer air travel since it

is faster and efficient.

The resort here is a series of general terms such as parks and theme

parks. Taking Disneyland as an example, it has always been a hot search

term for the Ctrip.com website. Disney produces and sells movies,

cartoons, and toys that favours Chinese teenagers and millennial. The

combination of these products is Disney's brand culture. Coupled with e-

marketing after precise market positioning, this has directly attracted a

significant population of young people. And the staff at Disneyland are

efficient and work hard to make passengers happy. This is the brand

effect of tourism products. However, due to market positioning, overly

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intense amusement facilities are not suitable for most older adults.

Therefore, elderly tourists can only take a walk in the playground to feel

the youthful atmosphere.

5. Conclusion and Recommendation

The study entails carrying out reviews on the largest online travel

booking website in China and identifying the factors affecting the

Chinese Millennial travel industry. The Chinese millennial accounts for

the largest group of consumers due to their population. Also, the

cultures and Chinese one-child policies have made the Chinese

millennials the largest spending group. The studies reveal that the most

critical challenges for the travel industry are a traffic for the mode of

transport, the destinations' appearance, and the ease of attaining

information online for the particular destination, hotels, and the price for

the travel.

Studying the different behaviours of tourists of two age groups during

travel is vital for travel companies to understand their travel needs fully.

Related tourism companies formulate marketing strategies for each

factor when analyzing tourism consumption behaviour. Its purpose is to

accurately divide the market, enrich the target market, promptly launch
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tourism projects that meet market demand, and increase market share.

Therefore, China must invest in online bookings to attract travellers from

different age groups.

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