Travel Behaviors of Mainland Chinese Visitors to Macao

This study empirically identifies variations in traveling patterns underlying the second wave of the Chinese outbound tourism market. Targeting visitors to Macao (Special Administrative Region), this study examined respondents’ traveling behaviors with data collected from three continuous large-scale surveys. Results reaffirmed the conceptually repeated, but not empirically verified, viewpoint that the Chinese market is evolving. Specifically, there has been a surging interest in self-organizing trips with smaller groups, skipping pre-trip planning, and last-minute booking (i.e. walk-ins). Conversely, mainland Chinese showed less interest in gaming-related activities. Implications and suggestions are offered accordingly.