Group Decision-Making Process of Young Chinese Independent Travellers

Abstract

China’s tourism industry has been developing at a phenomenal pace and an increasing number of young Chinese travellers are now preferring independent travel over package tours (International Tourism Consulting Group, 2011). Independent travel does not equate to an individual travelling alone, Chinese travellers often travel with a small group of people, such as friends, colleagues, and family members. Therefore, associated independent travel decisions and itineraries may not be made by an individual but by the group travelling together. However, the existing literature has not examined how groups of Chinese travellers make travel-related decisions. This study examines how small groups of young Chinese independent travellers make travel-related decisions. Specifically, four sub-objectives are to: 1) explore the topics discussed by group members in the group travel decision-making process; 2) understand how groups of travellers communicate with others in a group travel decision-making process from both verbal and non-verbal communication perspectives; 3) examine whether small groups of travellers experience any disagreement or conflict. If so, how do they address the disagreement or conflict in order to reach agreement; and 4) characterise the actions of group leaders in the group travel decision-making process.