Advantages Of Alternative Tourism

Introduction

China’s tourism economy has witnessed rapid growth over the past few years. In 2016, the tourism industry catered to 4.44 billion domestic tourist trips, approximately 11% growth compared to the previous year. The total annual tourism revenue reached RMB4,690 billion, representing a 13.6% increase, amongst which 33% of the inbound trips are for sightseeing and leisure (China National Tourism Administration, 2017).

While the rise of the shared economy has drawn tremendous attention as the representative of the non-traditional hotel industry and an alternative present and future tourist consumption (S Dong-qi, et al, 2017), the increasing popularity of small-scaled high-amenity boutique hotels as another innovative business model

Timothy and Victor B. Teye, 2009). The small-scale boutique accommodation has developed since then catering to travellers who sought a cozy experience in elegant and high-amenity environment, where the owners become personally involved in the services and experiences provided to the guests (Dallen J. Timothy and Victor B. Teye, 2009). In the 1970s, the concept “alternative tourism” merged as the new form of tourism in various parts of the world, while no definition was universally agreed or widely adopted. The general differences between mass tourism and alternative tourism are the dimensions, behaviours, traits for visitors as well as their inherent characteristics(Douglas G. Pearce,

Travellers tend to choose them as a preferred travel accommodations rather than the traditional five-star hotels, which results from the decreasing occupancy of the star hotels across the country. China’s travel is expected to grow 16% on a yearly basis until 2020 when it is estimated to reach a total of 234 million travellers. The younger generation, the Millennials, who travel frequently and spend more freely during the travel are around 322 million in total. These new Chinese travellers seek more luxuriously travel and expect high quality, uniqueness and exclusivity in addition to superior customer experiences. They are looking for destinations that they have not explored and mobile optimisation booking through Apps are required as now most travel bookings are on mobile phones (Affluential, 2016). The new travelling needs will urge the tourist industry to reshape the customer experience. The pressure of the availability of the leisure time in modern urban life drives the desire for unique and personalised experience. They look for unique stories to share with friends about the “unspoilt” destinations they discovered (Talwar R. 2012). Today’s sophisticated and affluent traveller segment in China want to be treated as valuable clients rather than mere customers (Bhati, et al. 2013). The emotive aspects of the experiences