Zaia In Macau A Lesson In Understanding The Chinese Tourist Market
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Zaia in Macau: A Lesson in Understanding the Chinese Tourist Market ABSTRACT With China’s recent economic growth, Chinese tourists have become a major target market for Western companies. In reaching out to this new market, Western firms must consider how much to standardize or adapt their products and strategies across cultures. This paper uses the case of Cirque Du Soleil’s Macau show to evaluate this challenging decision. Through interviews with audience members and with a Cirque du Soleil executive, the authors analyze the decisions of Cirque du Soleil’s Macau operation and contribute to the growing literature on standardization and adaptation from the vantage point of Chinese culture and consumers. Key words: adaptation, standardization, Chinese tourists, consumer behavior
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Cirque du Soleil’s Venture in Macau: Chinese Tourists’ Behavior within the
StandardizationAdaptation Debate
The debate on standardization and adaptation has been going on for nearly five decades, and the issue is even more relevant now than when it was first examined (Elinder
1961; Harvey, 1993; Jain 1989; Khan, Naumann, Bateman, and Haverila 2009; Papavassiliou and Stathakopoulos 1997). With the development of modern telecommunication and transportation, increased contact between peoples from diverse and fardistanced countries has been made possible. Trade among countries has increased, and tourism has grown as an important part of countries’ economic lifeline. In the global tourism industry, China is poised to become one of the biggest sources of tourists in the coming decades with its staggering economic growth since the Open Door Policy in 1978 and the sheer number of its 1.3 billion people. More lenient access to foreign visas has further encouraged Chinese citizens to travel abroad for vacation. Although an increasing number of Chinese travel to Europe and North
America, top destinations for them so far have been Hong Kong and
Zaia in Macau: A Lesson in Understanding the Chinese Tourist Market ABSTRACT With China’s recent economic growth, Chinese tourists have become a major target market for Western companies. In reaching out to this new market, Western firms must consider how much to standardize or adapt their products and strategies across cultures. This paper uses the case of Cirque Du Soleil’s Macau show to evaluate this challenging decision. Through interviews with audience members and with a Cirque du Soleil executive, the authors analyze the decisions of Cirque du Soleil’s Macau operation and contribute to the growing literature on standardization and adaptation from the vantage point of Chinese culture and consumers. Key words: adaptation, standardization, Chinese tourists, consumer behavior
2
Cirque du Soleil’s Venture in Macau: Chinese Tourists’ Behavior within the
StandardizationAdaptation Debate
The debate on standardization and adaptation has been going on for nearly five decades, and the issue is even more relevant now than when it was first examined (Elinder
1961; Harvey, 1993; Jain 1989; Khan, Naumann, Bateman, and Haverila 2009; Papavassiliou and Stathakopoulos 1997). With the development of modern telecommunication and transportation, increased contact between peoples from diverse and fardistanced countries has been made possible. Trade among countries has increased, and tourism has grown as an important part of countries’ economic lifeline. In the global tourism industry, China is poised to become one of the biggest sources of tourists in the coming decades with its staggering economic growth since the Open Door Policy in 1978 and the sheer number of its 1.3 billion people. More lenient access to foreign visas has further encouraged Chinese citizens to travel abroad for vacation. Although an increasing number of Chinese travel to Europe and North
America, top destinations for them so far have been Hong Kong and
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