Chinese outbound tourism: between state control and autonomous individual travel. The case of honeymoons in France

Since 2013, China has been the leading source of outbound international tourism, both in terms of revenue and visitor numbers. Fully aware of the importance of this market in a sector that represents almost 10% of global GDP, the Chinese authorities are looking to exploit these outbound flows to inc...

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Main Authors: Marine L’Hostis, Maxime Dejean
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Association Via@ 2023-12-01
Series:Via@
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/viatourism/10398
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author Marine L’Hostis
Maxime Dejean
author_facet Marine L’Hostis
Maxime Dejean
author_sort Marine L’Hostis
collection DOAJ
description Since 2013, China has been the leading source of outbound international tourism, both in terms of revenue and visitor numbers. Fully aware of the importance of this market in a sector that represents almost 10% of global GDP, the Chinese authorities are looking to exploit these outbound flows to increase China’s sphere of influence. This strategy may work with developing countries – who are often islands and/or yet to develop their own tourism image – however, major international tourism destinations seem to be less receptive to this form of instrumentalization. In France, for example, there is evidence that the practices of Chinese tourists are becoming more individualized with visitors increasingly looking for immersive and personalized experiences. The present article sets out to shed some light on this paradox: how can we explain the growing autonomy of Chinese tourists when the Party-State has always sought to control China’s outbound flows? We will focus on the case of honeymoons in France and show that Chinese tourists still have some room for manoeuvre because of the representations that existed before the Party-constructed narratives, and of the learning processes they undergo as a result of their travels.
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spelling doaj-art-b093af499279436797ef63d8188d6ce52025-01-30T14:06:12ZdeuAssociation Via@Via@2259-924X2023-12-012410.4000/viatourism.10398Chinese outbound tourism: between state control and autonomous individual travel. The case of honeymoons in FranceMarine L’HostisMaxime DejeanSince 2013, China has been the leading source of outbound international tourism, both in terms of revenue and visitor numbers. Fully aware of the importance of this market in a sector that represents almost 10% of global GDP, the Chinese authorities are looking to exploit these outbound flows to increase China’s sphere of influence. This strategy may work with developing countries – who are often islands and/or yet to develop their own tourism image – however, major international tourism destinations seem to be less receptive to this form of instrumentalization. In France, for example, there is evidence that the practices of Chinese tourists are becoming more individualized with visitors increasingly looking for immersive and personalized experiences. The present article sets out to shed some light on this paradox: how can we explain the growing autonomy of Chinese tourists when the Party-State has always sought to control China’s outbound flows? We will focus on the case of honeymoons in France and show that Chinese tourists still have some room for manoeuvre because of the representations that existed before the Party-constructed narratives, and of the learning processes they undergo as a result of their travels.https://journals.openedition.org/viatourism/10398Chinese tourismhoneymoonsChinese social networksKey Opinion Leaderstourism practicesChinese society
spellingShingle Marine L’Hostis
Maxime Dejean
Chinese outbound tourism: between state control and autonomous individual travel. The case of honeymoons in France
Via@
Chinese tourism
honeymoons
Chinese social networks
Key Opinion Leaders
tourism practices
Chinese society
title Chinese outbound tourism: between state control and autonomous individual travel. The case of honeymoons in France
title_full Chinese outbound tourism: between state control and autonomous individual travel. The case of honeymoons in France
title_fullStr Chinese outbound tourism: between state control and autonomous individual travel. The case of honeymoons in France
title_full_unstemmed Chinese outbound tourism: between state control and autonomous individual travel. The case of honeymoons in France
title_short Chinese outbound tourism: between state control and autonomous individual travel. The case of honeymoons in France
title_sort chinese outbound tourism between state control and autonomous individual travel the case of honeymoons in france
topic Chinese tourism
honeymoons
Chinese social networks
Key Opinion Leaders
tourism practices
Chinese society
url https://journals.openedition.org/viatourism/10398
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