A Study of Segmentation of Cannabis-Oriented Tourists from China Based on Motivation
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Current Issues in Tourism ISSN: 1368-3500 (Print) 1747-7603 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcit20 A study of segmentation of cannabis-oriented tourists from China based on motivation Jun Wen, Fang Meng, Tianyu Ying & Yaniv Belhassen To cite this article: Jun Wen, Fang Meng, Tianyu Ying & Yaniv Belhassen (2019): A study of segmentation of cannabis-oriented tourists from China based on motivation, Current Issues in Tourism, DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2019.1584608 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1584608 Published online: 27 Feb 2019. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 93 View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rcit20 CURRENT ISSUES IN TOURISM https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1584608 A study of segmentation of cannabis-oriented tourists from China based on motivation Jun Wena, Fang Mengb, Tianyu Yingc and Yaniv Belhassend aSchool of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia; bSchool of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA; cDepartment of Tourism and Hotel Management, School of Management, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; dThe Program of Hotel & Tourism Management, Ben- Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY In the wake of the early liberal policies of the Dutch government, coffee Received 19 April 2018 shops in Amsterdam have become famous for their outright sale and Accepted 14 February 2019 free use of cannabis-related products. Based on a sample of 654 Chinese KEYWORDS tourists who consumed cannabis during their vacation in the city, this Commercial cannabis; tourist study proposes three clusters of cannabis tourists: cannabis enthusiasts, fi ff segmentation; cluster diversionists/recreationists, and the curious. Signi cant di erences in analysis; Chinese tourists; sociodemographic characteristics and behavioural intentions were tourist motivation detected among these clusters. In light of the commercialization of cannabis in other destinations across the world, the research proceeded to discuss theoretical and practical implications for marketers and managers in the tourism industry. 1. Introduction Cannabis consumption in the context of tourism has been increasingly taking place with the legaliza- tion and commercialization of cannabis in destinations such as Colorado, Washington, Spain, and Uruguay (Webster, 2017). This shift toward cannabis consumption in tourism destinations makes can- nabis-oriented tourists an important segment that deserves a rigorous examination for marketing and managerial purposes. As the normalization of the use of cannabis and other recreational drugs in the West makes can- nabis consumption a common activity in leisure time to many individuals in Western societies, drug use in some countries like China is illegal and strictly forbidden. In history, China had prevalent drug use, originated from the illegal trafficking of opium from British India to China in 1760s and led to severe social problems (Fang, Wang, Shi, Liu, & Lu, 2006; Lowinger, 1977). Drug use/addiction is con- sidered as one of the causes and features of the ‘Century of Humiliation’ in China’s history, which lasts from the eve of the First Opium War in 1840 to the foundation of People’s Republic of China in 1949 (Scott, 2008). After 1949, the Chinese government carried out strict laws, strong drug control, and anti- drug acts to prohibit drug abuse (Lu, Fang, & Wang, 2008). Drug use of any kind, including cannabis and marijuana, could lead to police detention for up to 15 days and mandatory treatment in rehabi- litation centres. The general public are also widely educated to stay away from any kind of drugs. Nowadays, with the fast expand of the Chinese outbound tourism market, Chinese tourists have much more exposure and access to drugs when they travel overseas, particularly to destinations where drugs are legally and commercially available. Considering the differences in cultural and legal environment between the home country and destinations, it is particularly interesting to CONTACT Tianyu Ying [email protected] © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group 2 J. WEN ET AL. examine Chinese drug tourist segments in overseas destinations as a deviant or marginal behaviour from their normal daily life. In addition, the existing literature on drug tourism are predominantly situ- ated in a Western discourse, which demonstrates a clear research gap and lack of understanding of characteristics and profiles of drug tourists from a global perspective, particularly in the fast-growing Asian market such as China. Amsterdam, which is the geographical focus of this study, is regarded as the worldwide capital of ‘cannabis culture’ and attracts millions of tourists every year (Belhassen, Santos, & Uriely, 2007; Kleiman, 2015; Korf, 2002). The city hosts nearly 200 such coffee shops out of the 700 coffee shops available all over the Netherlands (MacCoun, 2011). It is estimated that nearly 1.5 million tourists visit these coffee shops every year and consume drugs, and this demand for drugs is expected to increase at the rate of 23.4% over the next few years (Coffee shops, 2016; MacCoun, 2011). Recent statistics have shown significant growth of inbound Chinese tourists to Netherlands, a well- known drug tourism destination worldwide. The number of Chinese tourists in the Netherlands increased by 152% over the past 10 years (NBTC, 2015). Approximately 250,000 Chinese tourists arrived in the Netherlands during 2016, 15% higher than the previous year. Chinese tourists accounted for the sharpest increase in inbound tourism in Amsterdam for the year 2015, and the number of overnight stays in hotels in the Netherlands by Chinese tourists soared by 33% to a total of 436,000 (CBS, 2016). Furthermore, China is the number one tourism source market in the world with a spending of $261.1 billion in 2016, and has ranked No. 1 in tourism expenditure world- wide since 2012 (UNWTO, 2017). With the increase of Chinese outbound tourists, countries all over the world have targeted to this lucrative market and drug tourism unavoidably becomes one of the attractions in Netherlands (BBC, 2012). Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume, as already shown elsewhere (Wen, Meng, Ying, Qi, & Lockyer, 2018), that many of these tourists are attracted to Amsterdam due to its association with cannabis and the accompanying opportunity to consume it. In recognition of the need for specific market research for Chinese outbound tourism markets, and as part of a larger research project related to the drug use of Chinese tourists in Amsterdam, this study aims to identify and cluster this market of Chinese tourists who come to Amsterdam specifically to consume cannabis. 2. Literature review 2.1. Drugs and tourism Drug tourism is a type of special interest tourism that has garnered scholarly attention throughout the past two decades. Drug tourism has myriad definitions; it is often considered a non-institutiona- lised form of tourism (Belhassen et al., 2007). According to Valdez and Sifaneck (1997), drug tourism is ‘the phenomenon by which persons become attracted to a particular location because of the acces- sibility of licit or illicit drugs and related services’ (p. 880). Uriely and Belhassen (2005) pointed out that definitions of drug tourism should account for the multifaceted nature of tourism, noting that drug tourism involves travellers who deem ‘their drug taking merely as a by-product of their travel experi- ence and tourists who become aware of the accessibility of drugs only during their stay in a particular destination’ (p. 244). Wen et al. (2018) investigated drug tourists’ motivations based on a definition framing drug consumption as a major reason for travel (i.e. Chinese tourists labelled drug-oriented tourists). The same definition applies in the present study. Drug tourism is not new; the phenomenon has been explored from various psychological and social frameworks. However, most studies have concerned the West aside from work by Wen et al. (2018), which examined from the Chinese market perspective. As most scholars have depicted drug tourism as a deviant tourist behaviour or a Western lifestyle prevalent in developed countries (Bandyopadhyay, 2013; Uriely & Belhassen, 2006), drug use in a tourism context tends to be classified as marginal tourism (Uriely & Belhassen, 2005). Bandyopadhyay (2013) called for a ‘paradigm shift’ in studies of sensitive tourism activities (e.g. sex tourism) to unveil Asian tourists’ escapades in the West. CURRENT ISSUES IN TOURISM 3 Although Wen et al. (2018) investigated the motivations underlying Chinese cannabis-oriented tour- ists’ recreational consumption of cannabis in licensed cafés in Amsterdam, tourist segments related to drug tourism remain unexplored in both Asian and Western contexts. Therefore, this study intends to explore drug tourist segments based on their motivations by using a Chinese sample in an over- seas destination to fill this research gap. 2.2. Motivations of cannabis consumption among Chinese tourists Tourist motivation is regarded as the fundamental psychological reason why people wish to travel to a particular destination and/or participate in tourism-based activities (Crompton, 1979). In other words, motivation is a both compelling and impelling factor behind tourist behaviours, and the study of travel motivation