Chinese tourists’ attitudes toward Barcelona as a tourist destination

Abstract

As China's economy grows and quality of life improves, tourism consumption is becoming increasingly common among the Chinese population, and Chinese outbound tourism is growing at a phenomenal rate. China is the largest exporter of outbound tourism in Asia and the world, with 169 million outbound tourists in 2019. Chinese tourists have become an important part of international tourism, attracting the research interest of a growing number of academics and industry practitioners. Destinations around the world hope to attract attention from this important source market. Therefore it is important to understand the relationships between Chinese tourists and tourist destinations.

As one of the most popular tourist countries in Europe, Spain has also become popular with Chinese tourists in recent years. This research takes Barcelona, which is one of the most beloved Spanish destinations of Chinese tourists, as its main object of study. It aims to study the attitudes of Chinese tourists toward Barcelona as a tourist destination before and after the visit. It also wants to discuss the travel motivation and influencing factors of Chinese tourists visiting Barcelona. Lastly, it will analyze the views of Chinese tourists on the quality, value, and satisfaction of Barcelona after their visit. This research attempts to provide suggestions on how to create and increase the intention of Chinese tourists to visit Barcelona.

The research was conducted using an online questionnaire with a sample of 50 Chinese people of all genders and ages, visiting Barcelona for the first time or revisiting the city, including Chinese people studying, working and living in Europe and Chinese tourists travelling to Barcelona from China. Specific research questions were set according to the main components of the tourism system: attractions, accessibility, accommodation, and facilities.