Research on the Psychological Aspects of Female Tourism Consumption

by szhysj1029 on 2011-08-29 14:16:48

Name: Liao Guiying

Institute: Jiangxi Vocational and Technical College of Information Technology

Major Class: 07 Tourism Management

Student ID: 07140806

Tutor: Xu Min

Date: December 22, 2008

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I. The Significance of Studying Female Tourists' Consumption Psychology

(A) Establish a marketing concept focusing on female tourists' consumption

(B) Research the development of the female tourism market

II. Psychological Analysis of Female Tourist Consumers

(A) Why it is necessary to understand women

(B) Main motives for female tourism consumption

III. Various Consumer Psychologies of Female Tourists

(A) The curiosity psychology of pursuing new things

(B) The nostalgic psychology for past things

IV. Development and Research of Female Tourism Consumption Products

(A) Modern women focus on consumptive tourism activities

(B) Diverse and colorful tourism consumption projects

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Abstract:

With the continuous development and improvement of China's market economy system and the successful accession to the WTO, on one hand, it has expanded the domestic and international tourist source markets for China's tourism industry, while on the other hand, the competition in the tourism industry will become increasingly fierce. Therefore, to remain invincible in the fierce market competition and seek development, we must adapt to market demands. Thus, paying attention to the psychological needs of female tourist consumers is indispensable. The increasingly mature consumption concepts of female tourists have injected fresh opportunities and vitality into the tourism industry. How to use the female consumer psychology to promote the development of China's tourism industry has become an issue of concern. This article mainly discusses the psychology of female tourism consumption from several aspects. First, it introduces the significance of studying female consumption psychology, analyzes the characteristics of female tourism consumption in China, studies different female tourism consumption psychologies, and develops targeted tourism products based on their consumption psychology. Starting from the problems existing in the current tourism consumption psychology in China, this study explores solutions and measures to promote the development of China's tourism consumption and applies marketing theory to develop a tourism market targeting women.

Keywords:

Women, Tourism Consumption, Psychological Needs, Marketing Concept

I. The Significance of Studying Female Tourism Consumption Psychology

(A) Establishing a Marketing Concept Focusing on Female Tourism Consumption

The psychology of female tourism consumption refers to various psychological phenomena and their external manifestations that occur among female tourists during tourism consumption activities. All kinds of behaviors of female tourists in tourism consumption activities are without exception governed by psychological activities. Tourism is a special comprehensive sightseeing activity, and tourism itself is a psychological need activity. Therefore, tourism business units should establish a marketing concept that focuses on the psychological needs of female tourists, realistically starting from the perspective of the psychological needs of female tourists, and developing tourism products suitable for them.

(B) Researching the Development of the Female Tourism Market

Based on questionnaire survey data from 61 large, medium, and small cities across the country, a quantitative study was conducted on the tourism consumption preferences of middle-class women in China. According to the current situation of tourism consumption among middle-class women in China, only 1.7% of middle-class women never go out to travel throughout the year, more than one-third of middle-class women save money for travel, and nearly 60% of women prefer to travel during public holidays. Among them, good health is the most important motivation for middle-class women to travel. Due to high work pressure, they want to relax their minds and return to nature. They prefer local specialties when traveling, like to stay in budget hotels, prefer independent travel, and show active interest in shopping during travel. Income, education level, age, occupation, etc., have varying degrees of influence on the tourism consumption of middle-class women. With the increase in relatively independent and ample disposable income, their emotional consumption phenomena become more prominent. The potential for developing the female tourism market is still significant, and tourism business units should study and develop strategies targeting this golden customer group.

People's psychology directly affects their purchasing behavior. Therefore, through research and analysis of the psychological activities of female tourists in tourism operations, we can accurately grasp the basic patterns of purchasing behavior among female tourists, thereby stimulating their purchasing needs and guiding them to make purchasing decisions. This requires tourism operation managers to possess certain knowledge of tourism psychology and apply this knowledge to actual operations, providing some guidance. Using the impact of female consumers' psychological activities on their tourism purchasing behavior to guide tourism operations.

III. Various Consumer Psychologies of Female Tourists

(A) The Curiosity Psychology of Pursuing New Things

Modern urban life is both tense and mechanized. People yearn to break out of the urban cage made of steel and concrete, longing to return to nature, express their primitive passion, and seek a way to stimulate their own vitality. During the travel process, female tourists encounter some novel stimuli, such as the Hainan Joy Festival in China, the Li and Miao "March Third" Festival, the International Wedding Festival at Tianya Haijiao, and the Nanshan Longevity Culture Festival, all of which can evoke a sense of curiosity. For example, once a Hong Kong-Taiwan tour group visited Guilin in Guangxi. At noon, a mountain inn served black ink rice. The tourists, accustomed to white rice, were both curious and apprehensive about this black rice, not knowing what it was. The enthusiastic tour guide said: "Everyone, please eat. This is called black rice, a specialty of Donglan County in Hechi region of Guangxi. Why is it black? According to folklore, there was once a great drought, and the Red Water River near Donglan also dried up. For hundreds of miles, the fields cracked, and the crops withered. An old man's field miraculously had one surviving clump of rice plants. To save this clump, the old man climbed nine mountains and walked through sixteen villages but still could not find water. Helplessly, he cut off his own fingers and used his blood to irrigate the rice plants. Strangely enough, the rice plants, nourished by the blood, grew very robustly and produced a cluster of full rice grains. The old man died from excessive blood loss. The villagers preserved this single cluster of rice, and the next spring used it to sow seeds. The resulting rice was jet black. Eating black rice regularly can treat chronic hepatitis, gastritis, and anemia, hence its nickname 'medicine rice.' Through the tour guide's introduction of the mythological story of black rice, most of the female tourists became excited immediately. Several elderly ladies from Hong Kong and Taiwan requested to purchase it to take home, allowing their families to share in the deliciousness."

(B) The Nostalgic Psychology for Past Things

Most women who love traveling are emotionally delicate. They are nostalgic, and exploring ancient sites reflects the nostalgic psychology of travelers. Famous scenic spots visited previously, if revisited, feel particularly intimate, evoking endless reveries. Xi'an is a Chinese ancient capital and the starting point of the Silk Road. In its prime, it was extremely prosperous. In 1375 AD, the second son of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty built the grand Ming city wall on the original city walls. Visitors see the massive city wall lying quietly on the Guanzhong Plain, imagining the bustling scenes of hundreds of years ago, merchants gathering, the market thriving, and the ancient splendor vividly appearing in their minds. The rise and fall of dynasties and historical vicissitudes leave infinite reverie for future generations. On the outskirts of ancient Xi'an lies Mount Lishan, a branch of the Qinling Mountains. During the Western Zhou period, King You of Zhou built the Lishan Palace here for entertainment with Bao Si, igniting beacons to fool the feudal lords, and was later killed at the foot of Lishan Mountain by the Quanrong tribe. People visiting here cannot help but think of the cruelty of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the ignorance of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and the debauchery of Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Yang in the Huaqing Pool. Emperor Xuanzong lavishly repaired the Huaqing Palace on Lishan Mountain. Du Mu of the Tang Dynasty wrote in "Passing the Huaqing Palace": "The view of Chang'an from four directions is embroidered, and the gates on the mountain peak open one after another." This makes people reminisce about the days when Lishan Mountain became a place of pleasure for the nobility. People drive to the foot of Lishan Mountain, look up at the vast sky, reflect on the present, and recall the past when the water of the Huaqing Pool washed the fat, presenting a scene of revelry and indulgence. The common people complained bitterly and were filled with indignation. Poet Du Fu wrote: "The rich men's wine and meat stink, while on the road there are frozen corpses." This has long been a famous sentence condemning the sins of the feudal ruling class.

Chinese culture is profound, and the culinary culture is especially rich and diverse. Many foreign female tourists savor Chinese dishes, seeing dishes that are excellent in color, aroma, taste, and shape, praising them endlessly, and their appetites are greatly stimulated. Seeing these dishes on the table is like encountering exquisite works of art, making them reluctant to eat them. Some take photos with cameras to keep as souvenirs, others ask the host to introduce their names, origins, preparation methods, and characteristics. They listen attentively and with bright spirits. Indeed, stewing a turtle with a hen is truly amusing and humorously named "Farewell My Concubine," delighting both eyes and mouth. Waitresses then bring a pot of fragrant stuffed tofu. Guests already feeling full haven't touched their chopsticks yet. The waitress smiles mysteriously and says: "This dish is the favorite imperial cuisine of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang." Hearing that it was imperial cuisine, several foreign female tourists cheerfully pick up their chopsticks and spoons, quickly finishing the entire pot of stuffed tofu. Honestly speaking, the ingredients of this dish are ordinary, just tofu wrapped with finely minced meat, carefully cooked. Its characteristic is being fried but not greasy, the soup rich but not sticky, crispy outside and tender inside, sweet with a hint of freshness, the juice amber-like, the shape resembling gold yuan, nutritious, and prolonging life. Tasting this dish for the first time, enjoying a feast, gaining knowledge, indeed benefits greatly. The psychology of seeking novelty and knowledge in Chinese culture is fully satisfied in tourism activities. Many female tourists, after observing, express that this trip was worthwhile, making them fall in love with the kitchen.

IV. Development and Research of Female Tourism Consumption Products

(A) Tourism Activities Emphasized by Modern Women

Modern women, especially young professional women, often bear considerable work pressure. To relieve this pressure, they need to relax themselves and find ways to vent. Traveling is an excellent way to achieve self-relaxation, self-improvement, and gain different experiences. To design tourism products that meet their needs, it is essential to understand their tourism consumption psychology and pay attention to the features of diversity, fashionability, challenge, independence, and pleasantness in tourism activities. The content of the designed tourism routes should be richer, incorporating more fashionable elements. SPA specialized tours, happy shopping tours, fitness tours, cultural journeys, and romantic fashionable journeys are specifically designed tourism products and routes targeting young professional women. The aim is to realize the three high wishes of professional women: HEALTHY, HAPPY, and HIGH. The emergence of customized, personalized tourism products tailored for women also promotes the development of the female tourism market. According to a report by Heilongjiang Daily, a travel agency specially designed a women's journey to South Korea for female customers, breaking the conventional South Korea tour routes, focusing on refined attractions, integrating health, leisure, beauty, and shopping contents, highly personalized. In this custom-made personalized tourism space, they experience another culture and aristocratic lifestyle. In today's fiercely competitive tourism industry, developing female tourism resources, customizing different needs and distinctively personalized routes for women, seeking novelty and speed, can attract more widespread attention and better adapt to changes and developments in the tourism market.

(B) Colorful Tourism Consumption Projects

According to staff from the outbound department of a Chinese travel agency, regular routes that fit the shopping tastes of Chinese female tourists, such as a 4-day tour of Hong Kong or weekend tours, are very popular, usually adopting a combination of shopping groups and free travel. Female travelers are mostly high-income professionals, so their requirements are relatively higher, and the standards of food, accommodation, and transportation arranged by the travel agency are also relatively improved. Guangdong International Travel Agency pays great attention to the female tourism market and launches new, unique, and special products each quarter targeting women. The no-football, all-female route launched during the World Cup month received enthusiastic sign-ups, greatly favored by women who enjoy quietness. Mango Network, which recently collaborated with "The Banquet" to launch a movie-themed tour, also introduced a special tourism product "Beauty Journey" suitable for women, meeting the needs of urban women for leisure, shopping, and fitness.

Conclusion:

In recent years, the number of Chinese female tourists has been increasing day by day. Analyzing objectively, their personal incomes are relatively high, and they increasingly understand life. Moreover, some women with a certain social status do not care about how much they spend, as long as they are satisfied with eating, staying, traveling, touring, shopping, and entertaining, considering it a successful trip. Additionally, modern transportation is convenient and costs are low. Furthermore, Chinese culture and customs are simple and natural, all of which have become powerful driving forces for female tourists. Only by mastering their psychological needs can we improve our work. This requires us in the tourism industry to provide top-notch service levels and first-class facilities to serve every guest, enabling us to remain invincible in today's fierce market competition.

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