| Abstract: | The present study investigates Chinese tourist motivations on the basis of the major life domains of Confucianism, which are self, family, social life, society, and nature. A 32-item, 9-factor Chinese tourist motivations scale was developed. The nine dimensions are family togetherness, harmony with nature, relationship/guanxi, face/mianzi, self-development, material fulfillment, escape and retreat, children’s learning, and exploration and discovery. Identified through a three-phase process, the scale exhibited adequate psychometric properties across multiple samples. While introducing a unique perspective to the understanding of tourist motivations, this study provides a timely framework as China becomes one of the most vibrant markets in the global travel industry. In discussing the results, themes that are peculiar to the Chinese context were deliberated. |
