Case studies of the experiences of Chinese visitors to three tourist attractions in Victoria, Australia

Outbound travel by Chinese residents is growing rapidly and it is predicted that Chinese visitors will become the largest inbound source market to Europe and Australia, possibly in less than a decade. The Chinese government tightly controls outbound travel via a number of mechanisms such as limiting travel to selected destinations through its Approved Destination Status (ADS) scheme, predetermining tour itineraries and requiring travellers to be under the control of their tour guides for virtually their entire overseas experience. This paper draws on cultural mediation theory to deconstruct the Chinese visitor experience at three specific tourism attractions in the state of Victoria: Sovereign Hill (a recreated historic site located in a rural area), Phillip Island (a nature-based destination) and Royal Botanic Gardens (an urban-based non-commercial attraction). A review of tour guiding and cultural mediation literature suggests that a visitor’s experience is facilitated (or inhibited) in at least three ways: through the provision of physical access to places and spaces, through cognitive/affective access or understanding/appreciation via the provision of information and interpretation, and through the provision of social access, e.g. opportunities for encounters with locals and others. The experiences of visitors from other cultures can be expected to be richer and more memorable to the extent that all three types of access are possible. These three dimensions are used as lenses through which to examine how the visitor’s experience is facilitated or inhibited at each of the three attractions in this research. Data collected from multiple sources are used to provide an in-depth analysis of the visitor experience at these three sites. Content analysis was undertaken on open-ended responses collected in a questionnaire-based visitor survey and in interviews with visitors and tour guides, focusing in particular on ‘memorable experiences’ as a construct. Together with data collected from on-site observations, conclusions were drawn about the visitor’s experience at each of the three sites as well as their collective experience. Overall, the Chinese visitor’s spatial and temporal experience is not a particularly good one. Visitors report the most memorable things at the three attractions as mainly related to the cognitive and affective dimensions of the experience and, where the opportunities presented themselves, the encounters with locals. The findings suggest that attention be given not only to providing physical access to spaces and places, but also access to opportunities for understanding, appreciation and interaction. This largely falls on the shoulders of the Chinese speaking tour guides, who serve as the main point of contact between the destination and their Chinese clients. While improvement to itineraries and written communication are important, the findings suggest that for this market, the focus should be on the tour guides who play the key role in facilitating the experiences of Chinese visitors at tourism attractions.