China as a Tourism Destination for Foreign Students
China as a Tourism Destination for Foreign Students
Introduction
In the following scenario I would like to examine China as a tourism product and also as a tourist attraction from the point of view of foreign students.
In the winter of 2008 I had the privilege to spend 2 weeks in China. My visit was rather unusual, for the fact that my hosts were not locals or either hotels, but rather a group of foreign students then living and studying in Beijing. My main purpose of visit was not educational but rather mainly leisure. Nonetheless because of the reason I was mainly spending my time with and around the foreign student population of Beijing, I was able to see through their eyes. Consequently I gained familiarity of what it means to be a foreign student in the land of China and also of the drives and trends for foreign educational tourism.
These experiences caught my attention and drove me toward to a further study of the above mentioned subject. In the following I will state China as a tourist destination, thus I consider it important to provide a clear definition on what it actually means. According to the definition:
“Tourist destinations are a mix of tourism products, experiences and other intangible items promoted to consumers” ( Page & Connel 2006, p. 321)
There are several ways of analyzing a tourist destination however in my investigation, I would like to use the so called 4 A’s of the tourism product as the basis of my analysis. The 4 A’s can be taken apart into the examination of Attraction, Access, Accommodation and Attitude of the given tourism product (Godsave 2010). I find it crucially important to examine all of those 4 areas in order to find a relevant picture of a destination.
From the attraction point of view it is important to inquire what type of draw took part in the attraction of tourists. There can be several types of attracting the move of tourists toward a particular area, for example natural assets, towns or cities culture or even
Introduction
In the following scenario I would like to examine China as a tourism product and also as a tourist attraction from the point of view of foreign students.
In the winter of 2008 I had the privilege to spend 2 weeks in China. My visit was rather unusual, for the fact that my hosts were not locals or either hotels, but rather a group of foreign students then living and studying in Beijing. My main purpose of visit was not educational but rather mainly leisure. Nonetheless because of the reason I was mainly spending my time with and around the foreign student population of Beijing, I was able to see through their eyes. Consequently I gained familiarity of what it means to be a foreign student in the land of China and also of the drives and trends for foreign educational tourism.
These experiences caught my attention and drove me toward to a further study of the above mentioned subject. In the following I will state China as a tourist destination, thus I consider it important to provide a clear definition on what it actually means. According to the definition:
“Tourist destinations are a mix of tourism products, experiences and other intangible items promoted to consumers” ( Page & Connel 2006, p. 321)
There are several ways of analyzing a tourist destination however in my investigation, I would like to use the so called 4 A’s of the tourism product as the basis of my analysis. The 4 A’s can be taken apart into the examination of Attraction, Access, Accommodation and Attitude of the given tourism product (Godsave 2010). I find it crucially important to examine all of those 4 areas in order to find a relevant picture of a destination.
From the attraction point of view it is important to inquire what type of draw took part in the attraction of tourists. There can be several types of attracting the move of tourists toward a particular area, for example natural assets, towns or cities culture or even