The Forces Shaping China's Outbound Tourism

The study of outbound tourism in China has been dominated by the consumer approach, and individual travelers have been the focus of research. This article adopts an alternative approach to studying outbound tourism in China by analyzing the macro-environment. It is found that socio-economic and political factors play important parts in shaping the outbound international tourist flows from China. The market-driven economy and state control are two key dialectic forces in the macro-environment in China promoting and checking the outbound international tourist flows. The analysis shows that while the state lets market forces exert its influence, it will maintain the ultimate control and will not hesitate to intervene the market to ”correct„ the development path of outbound tourism because of its political significance.