A qualitative study on Chinese tourists in Grand Teton National Park
Open Access
- Author:
- Li, Rui
- Graduate Program:
- Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- March 26, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Bing Pan, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Alan R Graefe, Committee Member
B. Derrick Taff, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Chinese tourists
Grand Teton National Park
decision-making process
expectation
experience
satisfaction
future revisiting intentions
cultures - Abstract:
- Like most units of the National Park Service (NPS), Grand Teton National Park (GRTE) is witnessing a rapid increase in visitation and changes in the types of visitors over recent years, including an increase in international visitors. Previous research shows that international tourists may have different experiences interacting with resources in national parks when compared to domestic tourists. Compared to tourists from the U.S., Chinese tourists hold distinctive beliefs and values, and they may perceive wildlife, the environment, and the matters of natural preservation differently. However, the decision-making processes, expectation, and visitation behaviors of Chinese tourists in U.S. national parks are poorly understood. This study contains interviews with 58 groups of Chinese tourists and 11 tour guides conducted in GRTE during the Summer of 2018. It provides a qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts in order to identify factors that influence Chinese tourists’ decision-making processes, expectations, levels of satisfaction, and intentions to revisit U.S. national parks. According to the results of the study, Chinese tourists’ information sources and reasons for visiting GRTE are influenced by national technical infrastructure and policies. Their decisions for visiting GRTE are very ad-hoc in nature. The expectations and experiences of Chinese tourists, such as places they were planning to visit and activities they were planning to participate in, are influenced by high levels of collectivism, and large power distance: acceptance and expectation of unequal power distribution. The study shows that Chinese tourists’ sense of complacency, respect for nature, comfort with remoteness from nature, and beliefs in fate and destiny affect their satisfaction with their experiences, compared to their domestic counterparts. Meanwhile, tour guides play an important role for tourists on tour busses. The study then provides a conceptual model to show how these factors affect Chinese tourists’ decision-making processes, expectations, satisfaction, and intentions to return in the future.