Exploring the motivation of Chinese immigrants for homeland tourism

This study explored the travel motives of the Chinese immigrants who visit their homeland for vacation. A combination of qualitative interview and quantitative survey was undertaken to collect data. Five-hundred valid Chinese immigrants in Macao were surveyed. Three core travel motivation factors are revealed: attractiveness of the tourist resources, connection to the past, and socialising with family and friends. The travel motives reflect the emotional needs of the Chinese immigrants who visit their homeland for vacation and suggest that homeland tourism is likely to provide the Chinese immigrants with a chance to recollect their past memories and experiences with their homeland and lead them to some nostalgic feelings and thoughts about their personal life, which contribute to a memorable tourist experience. Moreover, the travel patterns of the Chinese immigrants were significantly correlated with their travel motives, suggesting that homeland tourists have their unique travel needs and behaviour and thus should be treated as a separate tourist segment. For future research, it is worthwhile to undertake a further investigation in the travel motives and behaviour of immigrants with different cultural and ethnical backgrounds in order to better understand homeland tourists.