The Behavioral Intentions of Foreign Students Towards Tourism in China

Abstract

As China is gradually developing into an education destination for international students, this group of students constitutes an important segment of the tourism industry in China. The findings of this present research are intended to uncover the behavioral intention of the foreign students about tourism in the china mainly analyzing some vital factors which affect their travelling behaviour. The study reveals that the Theory of Behavioral Intention (TBI) can be used to develop predictive models of cultural knowledge, communication skills, perceptions of safety, costs of tourism, time constraints, and social media presence in the context of foreign students’ tourism behavior. This study indicates that requirements for foreign students for deciding on Chinese tourist destinations are interest, safety, digital media, time and financial concerns. This research involved 310 foreign students from different Chinese universities and the research data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, regression as well as correlation analysis. Therefore the results would provide information to tourism authorities and businesses to market and to position tourism so as to reflect this segment’s travel patterns. Beside, this study contributes not only to the academic knowledge regarding the dual role of foreign students in education and tourism, but also for the tourism marketing and policy making in China, especially on how socio-cultural and digital factors affect the travel behavior of foreign students.