Land, Family, and Chinese-Ness: The Influence of Chinese Values on the Study of Tourism

Abstract

China has become a major world destination and tourist-generating country. Despite flourishing literature on Chinese tourism, the analysis of China's society and value has not become an integral part of the research body. By reviewing the works of Liang Shuming and Fei Xiaotong, two great Chinese intellectuals, on the origin and constitution of the Chinese value system, this article aims to provide implications for Chinese tourism research based on their insights. The article posits that applying the indigenous culture in understanding a tourist population or destination is essential in pushing the boundaries of tourism research, particularly in this globalized environment with the diffusion of values in multilateral directions. In connecting the case of China to the study of tourists from emerging regions, the article questions the complete appropriation of the "emerging market" concept into tourism research. It argues that the term suggests a comparative notion that demeans the nature of a civilization that is non-Western. It calls for research approaches that are indiscriminate and true to the community of interest.