Master's lecture in Tourism Studies - Yingying Xing
The lecture will be streamed live: https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/69941724180?pwd=a3FTUDlFblhzZ04zWnJXU0U5NHIxZz09
Master's student: Yingying Xing
Title: Chinese tourists in Iceland: Motivation and satisfaction
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Faculty: Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences
Advisor: Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir, Professor at the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences
Other member of the Masters Committee: Edda Ruth Hlín Waage, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences
Examiner: Þorleifur Þór Jónsson, Specialist at Íslandsstofa
Abstract
International tourism has been developing rapidly and China has become a leading force in generating outbound tourists. It has become a trend for more people from China to travel abroad on their own instead of participating in packaged tours. In recent years, Iceland has gained increasing popularity among Chinese tourists, but research has shown that their satisfaction is lower compared to tourists from other nationalities. This thesis introduces a research conducted among Chinese tourists in Iceland with the aim of better understanding their travel motivation and trip satisfaction. Data was collected through semi-structured interviewees with 17 free independent travellers from China after their trip in Iceland. The findings reveal a variety of motivations shared by the interviewees which can be grouped into four categories: escaping daily life and searching for novelty, Icelandic nature, Icelandic culture and safety. All of the four categories of motivations impacted the interviewees’ decision to travel to Iceland. At the same time, these motivations influenced their trip experience, sometimes positively but sometimes negatively. In addition to their the motivations, their personal preference and past travel experiences also impacted whether or not they appreciated certain trip experience. Together these factors shaped their trip satisfaction. Despite disliking certain experiences, the interviewees were generally very satisfied towards their trip in Iceland.