美国游客来华旅游市场分析

张金霞

（江汉大学 商学院，湖北 武汉 430056）

0 Introduction

As an important tourist source country in China,the USA tourists market has attracted some scholars′atten⁃tion.For example,by analyzing the preference behavior of the USA tourists in China,Yaofeng MA,et al.［1］summed up the USA tourists′preference rules to the tourism products,travel mode,etc.From the perspective of de⁃ mography,Derong LIN［2］analyzed the USA tourists′age,occupation and gender,etc.Hongbo ZHANG［3］conduct⁃ed a comparative study of the USA and Japanese tourists′consumption behavior.Agudam［4］explored the USA tour⁃ists market for travelling to China and the corresponding Chinese tourism products from a cross-cultural perspec⁃tive.Hong PAN,et al.［5］researched on the tourist market of the USA tourists for travelling to China.

However,since 2007,China and the USA has signed the memorandum of travel,the USA tourists market in China has changed and showed some new characteristics.Over the past five years,with the decline of the number of inbound tourists in China,the number of the USA tourists has fluctuated accordingly（Tab.1,Fig.1 and Fig.2）［6］. With the gradual recovery of the USA economy,and the extensive economic and cultural communications between China and the USA,there is still much space for development for the USA tourists travelling to China in the future. At the same time,staying time and consumption per capita by the USA tourists in China are higher than China′s neighbor Japan,the Republic of Korea,Russia and other major source countries,they have created greater econom⁃ic benefits.In addition,as a part of the non-governmental diplomacy,the expansion of the USA tourists in China has positive significance to the establishment of stable Sino-U.S.relations.The goal of this paper is to find out the crux of the problem and devotes itself to further exploring the USA tourists market by sorting out the characteristics of the USA tourists market in China.1 Characteristics of the USA Tourists Market for China

Tab.1 Comparison of the USA tourist arrivals and inbound tourist arrivals in China in 2011-2015

Fig.1 Inbound tourist arrivals in China in 2011-2015

Fig.2 The USA tourist arrivals in China in 2011-2015

1.1 Development and change of the USA tourists market

Since 1980,although in the middle of the period appeared decline several times,in general,the number of the USA tourist arrivals in China has been increasing from 100 000 people in 1980 to 2 million people in 2004,then to 2.085 8 million people in 2015.The USA has become one of the most important remote source countries for travel⁃ling to China.Especially the USA has been one of the top four inbound visitors countries for China in the past five years,which has risen to the third in recent two years.The number of the USA visitor arrivals has remained relative⁃ly steadily,but it has only shared about 8%in the whole China tourism market（Tab.2 and Tab.3）［6］.

Tab.2 Ranking of top six inbound tourist countries in China in 2011-2015

Tab.3 Comparison of the USA tourist arrivals and foreign tourist arrivals in China in 2011-2015

1.2 Demographic characteristics of the USA tourists travelling to China

Data from Tab.4 to Tab.7［6］show that the USA tourists are dominated by male.In 2015,male accounted for more than 63.22%,female accounted for 36.78%.The age structure mainly concentrated in 25-44 and 45-64 years of age,the total of both reached more than 75.28%in 2015；over 65-year-old reached the proportion of 9.96%,ranking the third.The USA tourists were dominated by meetings∕business and sightseeing∕leisure,their proportions were 18.19%and 36.95%，respectively in 2015.The main way to travel was dominated by plane,the proportion of 74.33%in 2015.It can be concluded that the demographic characteristics of the USA tourists in Chi⁃na are basically consistent with the overall situation of the USA outbound tourism through the above analysis.

Tab.4 The USA tourist arrivals in China（by sex，10 000 persons）

Tab.6 The USA tourist arrivals in China（by purpose，10 000 persons）

Tab.7 The USA tourist arrivals in China（by transportation，10 000 persons）

1.3 Flow of the USA tourists in China

The flow of the USA tourists in China had the following rules:

First,the USA tourists mainly flowed to some well-know cities（Fig.3）［7］.The report from China tourism public opinion survey showed that the USA tourists mainly favored China cities,in turns Beijing,Shanghai,Xi′an, Shenzhen,Nanjing,Guangzhou,Chengdu and Zhengzhou，etc.Among them,Beijing is China′s political and cultur⁃al center,also the ancient capital with long history and culture.Because of abundant cultural tourism resources,it is the most attractive to the USA tourists.Shanghai is a modern international metropolis with developed business, so it is the more attractive to business tourists.

Second,the USA tourists had preference for Chinese traditional historic area,strong cultural area and attrac⁃tions,such as Chongqing,Tibet,Shanxi,Beijing,Fujian，etc.These provinces or municipalities owned many of the world′s cultural heritage：the Great Wall,the Forbidden City,the Temple of Heaven,the Imperial Palace in Terra⁃cotta Army,the Ming Dynasty Tombs,the Shaolin Temple,the Summer Palace,the Three Gorges,the Chongqing Dazu Rock Carvings,etc.Compared with other countries,the USA tourists preferred to Western China.

Third,the USA tourists were interested in the Great Wall Tourism Zone,accounted for 76.7%；followed by the Yangtze River Tourism Zone,the Silk Road,the Coastal City Holiday Tourism Zone and Beijing,Xi′an,Shang⁃hai,Guilin,Guangzhou Tourism Zone,about 40%-50%.

Fig.3 Fame of major China cities in the USA

1.4 Output source of the USA tourists

According to outbound tourist data of U.S.Department of Commerce in 2013,from a regional perspective,the Middle Atlantic（25%）,the South Atlantic（20%）and Pacific（15%）were traditional outbound tourists region in the USA；from the view of the state,New York（12.5%）,California（12.1%）,Texas（8.2%）,New Jersey（7.3%）and Florida（5.6%）were the most important outbound tourist states；from the view of the city,New York（11%）,Atlanta（3.6%）,Houston（3.5%）,Los Angeles（3.5%）,Chicago（2.5%）were the most important outbound tourist cities.Clearly,these regions,states or cities are our vital target for the USA tourists market.

2 Concerns of the USA Tourists Market in China

In the past five years,although the number of the USA tourist arrivals in China remained basically stably,but decreased slightly.It did not match with the rapid development of Chinese citizens for travelling to the USA（Tab.8 and Fig.4）［5］.Then,the reasons for the slowdown of the USA tourists arrivals in China are mainly in the following aspects.

Tab.8 Comparison of the USA tourist arrivals in China and Chinese tourist arrivals in the USA in 2011-2015（10 000 persons）

Fig.4 Comparison of the USA tourist arrivals in China and Chinese tourist arrivals in the USA in 2011-2015

2.1 Depression of the USA economy

According to Tab.9［7］,since the USA′s economic crisis in 2008,the economy has been in the doldrums,the consumers′confidence index was not high.The economy has improved from 2010 to 2012,but it had a downward trend in the past three years.The lower the economic growth,the lower the income.Because lack of money,high level tourism consumption was reduced,the remote tourism was first affected naturally.The survey report from the USA Public Opinions on Tourism in China also showed that the economic factor was the primary factor hindering the USA tourists for travelling to China（Fig.5）［8］.

Tab.9 Comparison of economic growth rate between China and the USA in 2008-2015∕%

Fig.5 Factors of hindering the USA tourists for travelling to China

2.2 Impact of tourism environment

From Fig.5,the second and the third factors hindered the USA tourists for travelling to China were the air pol⁃lution,such as smog and haze,and food safety；the fourth factor was language barrier.These concerns indicated that China′s tourism environment needed to be improved.

To some extent,smog and haze,food safety and public security issues affected enthusiasm of the USA tourists for travelling to China.In the past few years,the Chinese government has stepped up its efforts to take a series of measures to improve the tourism environment.Nowadays the Chinese environment is becoming better and better, especially the environmental pollution issues,in addition to large and medium cities had more serious pollution concerns,other provinces,such as Xinjiang,Tibet,Yunnan,Hainan,their air quality are as the same good as Eu⁃rope and the USA,even better.In this sense,despite the existence of some concerns such as smog,food safety,pub⁃lic security issues,we still have the confidence to attract more the USA tourists for travelling to China.

As for language barrier,English are popular relatively in some large cities,like Beijing,Shanghai,as well as some remote cities,like Dali,Lijiang and Yangshuo.But English is not popular to most of the tourism cities and the scenic areas.For the USA tourists,especially the choice of self-guided tourists,it is inconvenient to their accom⁃modation,travel and food,also hindered the further development of the USA tourists for travelling to China.

2.3 Lack of enough tourism products

The USA is the most developed country of international tourism industry in the world,is also a nation that ad⁃vocates freedom.The USA tourists had rich travel experience,came from remote country for travelling to China, hoped to spend more time to visit the natural landscape or historical monuments with exotic,rather than a simple sightseeing in the city.Therefore,more than 50%of them chose"self-guided tour",and about 40%chose"all package tour"and"semi package tour",but at present these"self-guided tour"products are very short in China, which could not meet the USA tourists′demands of diversity and personalization,also hindered the development of the USA tourists market.

2.4 Shortage of tourism promotion and tourism image

From Fig.3,in addition to Beijing and Shanghai,the fame of other cities was lower,indicating that USA pub⁃ lic was still limited understanding for China,our publicity effect was not obvious,and did not establish a good tour⁃ism image in the minds of the USA.In recent years,the promos of China′s national image,as well as the promos of Shanghai and other cities have been broadcasted on the big screen of New York Times square and CNN；Some Chi⁃nese scenic spots took various promotion forms,such as by inserting ads in the Hollywood movies,to enhance the USA people′s awareness of China and improve the fame of tourist destinations.However,this kind of spread was not suitable for local environment.It was a lot of difference with American′s viewing habits，especially，it also had less successful cases in the USA on the internet.

3 Some Strategies to Expand Tourist Market

As the largest source country in international tourists market,the USA is also an important tourist market that China needs to further expand［9-10］.According to the new trend of the development of outbound tourist market in the USA and the present situation of the tourist market in China,some strategies of further expanding of the USA tourists market in China can be considered in the following aspects.

3.1 Communication and cooperation

Sino-U.S.governments and non-governmental organizations should strengthen communication and coopera⁃tion to provide strong support for the tourist market.

3.1.1 In terms of government The improvement of Sino-U.S.air transportation capacity and the reduction of transportation price can make up the difference of the ground price，and it is beneficial to tourism consumption.

Sino-U.S.visa extension and procedures simplification will help to extend the travel time of the USA tourists for travelling to China.

To carry out Tourism Year activities continuously.It was the″Sino-U.S.Tourism Year″in 2016［11］.Sino-U.S.have focused on communication and cooperation in tourism industry,both sides carried out a series of activi⁃ties,such as plan of mutually visits of 10 000 tourists,″Sino-U.S.Tourism Year Leadership Summit″,″Sino-U.S. Tourism Year Closing Ceremony″，etc.Colorful tourism promotion and nongovernmental exchange activities upgrad⁃ed tourism cooperation of two countries,so that the people of both countries enjoyed these activities.They not only were a strong driver for the economic development of two countries,but also strengthened understanding each other the people of two countries

3.1.2 In terms of enterprise Various local tourism enterprise should further study joint promotion systems of ex⁃change and cooperation between Sino-U.S.,to connect with medium and large wholesalers in the USA,and to in⁃crease cooperation,capital investment and after-sales support.

3.1.3 In terms of industry association All kinds of tourism associations,travel agency associations,scenic asso⁃ciations,hotel associations and other tourism organizations should strengthen exchanges,visits,study and investiga⁃tion with the corresponding associations in the USA in order to understand their travel needs,living habits and ta⁃boos,and provide better services for the USA tourists.

3.2 Exploration and improvement of tourism products

On the basis of the research on the needs of the USA tourists,we should strengthen the research and develop⁃ment of products,integrate the tourism resources of all regions,and explore high quality tourism products suitable for the USA tourists.

3.2.1 Study the demographic characteristics of the USA tourists It will be very important to study seriously the demographic characteristics of the USA tourists to cultivate tourism products that fit market requirements.

According to the characteristics of the larger proportion of the USA tourists travelling to China for conference and business tourism,we should vigorously develop some business tourism routes,organize the USA businessman to visit the investment environment of China,explore multiple tourism products,such as business tourism plus sightseeing,or business tourism plus vacation,and establish a platform for the USA capital and technology entering China.

According to the survey of the USA Society of Travel Agents（ASTA）,74%of the USA women took the sight⁃seeing as the key of successful travel,and 66%of women took food as the key of successful travel,while men took outdoor activities as the key of successful travel,therefore above factors should be considered in the development of tourism products.

According to the characteristics of rapid growth of elderly outbound tourists in the USA,we should explore health tourism products to meet their needs.

3.2.2 Study the preferences of USA tourists It will be necessary to study the preferences of the USA tourists seri⁃ously to explore targeted tourism products.According to Yaofeng MA，et al.［1］：

1）On the choice of tourism products,the USA tourists pursued cultural tourism products with strong heteroge⁃neity that they preferred to natural scenery,historical culture and folk customs.

2）On the choice of the travel mode,the USA tourists preferred the self-guided tour to the group tour.Accord⁃ing to the characteristics with larger proportion of the self-guided tour relatively,we should actively implement the important deployment of the State Council of China on the upgrading of tourism and leisure consumption,the con⁃struction of self-driving campsites,and actively promote the construction of car rental network such as build online car rental platform enterprises,to provide convenience and efficient self-driving service network for the USA tourists.

3）On the choice of food and drink,the USA tourists preferred to the local flavor in China；on the choice of tourism goods,the USA tourists preferred to handicrafts,clothing,jewelry,silk textile and art goods；in fact,food and shopping were the most important options to the USA tourists.

Data in 2013 showed that the shopping（75.5%）was ranked the second,the food（39.6%）was ranked the fourth in the outbound tourism project.As a country with rich delicacies,China should deepen and promote Chinesetraditional cuisine.In this regard,it is worth learning from the Republic of Korea,they combined food marketingwith cultural promotion,film and television，etc.As for shopping,it is necessary to speed up the imple⁃mentation of the measures to promote shopping consumption in the No.31 document of the China′s State Council, and to further improve duty-free shopping issue of the inbound tourism consumer.

4）On the entertainment options,the USA tourists preferred folk culture and adventure projects；on the choice of accommodation,they enjoyed the hotel with superior geographical location,more comfortable,reasonable prices, beautiful environment and complete facilities.

Therefore,based on the preferences of the USA tourists,it is vital to explore the proper tourism products to meet their diverse needs.

3.3 Enhancement of tourism promotion

In order to further improve the effect of the tourism spread,based on investigation and research of the media and audience market in the USA,it is necessary to enhance tourism promotion and make effective marketing strate⁃gies.

3.3.1 Choose targeted marketing areas and tourist destinations We should select the specific regions,states and cities to put the relevant information on China′s tourism,targeted to explore the USA tourists market.

Some second or third-tier cities and new destinations in China have very broad market space for the USA tour⁃ists in the future.We should seize the Chinese market and the youth market to guide them for travelling to these places.

3.3.2 Increase the intensity of internet marketing We should increase the intensity of internet marketing for en⁃hancing the fame and competitiveness of China′s tourism products,tourist attractions,and tourism enterprises in the international tourism market.

The USA is the most developed country in the internet world.Among them,professional travel websites,travel agency websites and tourist destination websites are the most important channel for the USA public to obtain China tourism information,accounting for up to 71.2%in all channels.Therefore,we should pay attention to improve the marketing channels targeted,especially the attention to travel agencies and Online Travel Agents（OTA）.In addi⁃tion,we should combine big data platform with traditional research data as a supplement to the design of marketing channels.For example,according to relevant big data platform,such as″Google Trends″,and″Hot Web Search″in the USA,tourist destinations or travel products information will be put on and pushed to the market.

3.4 Strengthen construction of tourism hardware and software

In order to maintain and expand the scale of the USA tourists market in China,it is time to strengthen the con⁃struction of tourism hardware and software.The hardware conditions,such as transportation,information spread and market reception facilities,are very important for the development of remote tourist market.We should further strengthen environmental governance,let sky bluer and let water greener,and create a good environment for the USA tourists.According to international standards,superior tourism service quality and good soft environment of tourism shall be created in China,including cultivation of international talents,such as English talents.By the im⁃plementation of preferential policies,such as more convenience of tourism visa and more perfect tourism regula⁃tions,the scale of the tourism market for the USA tourists travelling to China will be maintained and expanded in the future.

4 Conclusion

The USA is the largest tourist source country in international tourism market,is also one of the main tourist source country for China,especially the USA is always the most influential country in remote tourism market,it has important significance to the development of international tourism in China.

The article claims that,on the whole,the number of the USA tourists in China rose slowly,and only 8%of China′sinbound tourism market share.The study shows that the demographic characteristics of the USA tourists for travelling to China are basically consistent with the overall situation of the USA outbound tourism,which is the basis for further exploration of the USA tourism market.The USA tourists mainly flow into China′s well-know cit⁃ies and historical areas,and the USA tourists are most interested in China′s Great Wall tour belt.The USA tourists mainly came from state and important cities in the Middle Atlantic,South Atlantic and Pacific regions；the tourists of these areas are the focus of our target market development.

This paper argues that the main concerns restricting the USA tourists for travelling to China are the USA econ⁃omy has been in the doldrums；China′s tourism environment needs to be improved；China′s tourism product is not perfect,and it can′t meet diverse and personalized needs of the USA tourists；China′s tourism publicity is not in place,not to establish a good image of tourism in the USA tourists mind.

This paper puts forward the strategies of further expansion of the USA tourists market:Sino-U.S.governments and non-governmental organizations should enhance exchanges and cooperation,provide strong supports for the tourism market；vigorously develop and improve tourism products in order to adapt to the diverse needs of the touristmarket；and enhance promotion to the USA tourists market,boost targeted marketing channels；to strength⁃en the construction of tourism hardware and software for maintaining and expanding the market scale of the USA tourists in China.

We believe that the USA tourists market in China can be sustained and healthy development as long as there are a good air quality,friendly social environment,convenient technologic environment,public services in place, and the multi-products tourism eco-circle.

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