WHO IS THE POTENTIAL TEA TOURIST? A Project Presented to the Faculty of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Hospitality Management By Yi Liu 2019 SIGNATURE PAGE PROJECT: WHO IS THE POTENTIAL TEA TOURIST? AUTHOR: Yi Liu DATE SUBMITTED: Summer 2019 The Collins College of Hospitality Management Dr. Wan Yang Thesis Committee Chair Hospitality Management Dr. Patrick Lee Hospitality Management ii ABSTRACT People have many different motivations to travel. The World Food Travel Association (2016) found that 75% of leisure travelers are motivated to visit a destination to experience local cuisine. Tea drinking habits and tea cultures differ around the globe, and tea tourism is an emerging trend. Unlike Japan and Sri Lanka, where a thriving tea tourism industry is driven by demand for matcha (green tea) and black tea, respectively, China, which is the birthplace of tea, has not attracted much attention as a tea tourism destination. Few have studied tea tourism in China, and little is known about tea tourists’ intentions to visit. The purpose of this study is to explore factors that could impact American tourists’ intentions to participate in Chinese tea tourism. The multiple regression analysis was employed. Results of an online survey of 273 tourists reveal that tourists who would consider participating in Chinese tea tourism are motivated primarily by tea garden services, followed by extra activities and cultural activities. These findings have practical implications for Chinese tea tourism promotion strategies. Keywords: Tea tourism, Motivations, China, Tea garden services, Extra activities, Tour packages, Cultural activities iii FTABLE O CONTENTS List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................. 4 Tea Tourism .................................................................................................................... 4 Definition of tea tourism. ............................................................................................ 4 Chinese Tea ..................................................................................................................... 5 History of tea............................................................................................................... 5 Types of Chinese tea. .................................................................................................. 7 Chinese tea ceremony. .............................................................................................. 10 Potential Tea Tourism Motivations .............................................................................. 12 Tourism motivations. ................................................................................................ 12 Beverage tourism motivations. ................................................................................. 13 Tea tourism motivations ............................................................................................... 15 Tea garden services. .................................................................................................. 15 Extra activities. ......................................................................................................... 16 Tour packages. .......................................................................................................... 16 Cultural activities. ..................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 3 Methodology .................................................................................................. 19 iv Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 19 Questionnaire and Measurements ................................................................................. 19 Chapter 4 Results ............................................................................................................ 22 Sample Profile ............................................................................................................... 22 Hypothesis Testing........................................................................................................ 24 Chapter 5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 27 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 27 Practical Implications.................................................................................................... 29 Limitations and Future Research .................................................................................. 30 References ......................................................................................................................... 32 Appendix: Questionnaire .................................................................................................. 41 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Types of Chinese Tea ........................................................................................... 8 Table 2 Cronbach’s Alpha Scores.................................................................................... 21 Table 3 Demographic Information (N = 273) .................................................................. 23 Table 4 Summary of Regression Analysis ....................................................................... 26 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Tea set. ............................................................................................................... 10 Figure 2. Proposed model. ............................................................................................... 20 Figure 3. Normal P-P Plot. ............................................................................................... 25 Figure 4. Scatterplot. ........................................................................................................ 25 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world. In 2015, global international tourism revenue reached $1.26 trillion; in 2016, the tourism industry contributed over $7.6 trillion in direct, indirect, and induced revenue to the global economy (Global tourism industry - Statistics & Facts, 2018). Furthermore, the tourism industry will directly contribute to GDP at a growth rate of 3.7% per year over the next 10 years (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2019). Seeking to capitalize on this huge profit potential, more places are trying to attract tourists by establishing destination marketing organizations (DMOs). To motivate travelers to visit a particular location and develop a local tourism industry, a DMO must develop a nuanced understanding of travelers’ wants, needs, and interests. Nowadays, tourists’ activities are no longer limited to relaxing in the sun on the beach (Parra López & Calero García, 2006). Wearing (2002) found that travelers in the twenty-first century are more likely to replace “sun-and-sand” vacations with new and exciting travel experiences. Recent growth in special interest tourism (SIT) has been driven by “travelers who visit a destination to pursue their special interests in a particular region or destination” (Read, 1980, p. 195). In other words, travel activities are increasingly connected with travelers’ interests in certain activities or destinations (Read, 1980; Weiler & Hall, 1992). SIT also can be viewed as a form of niche tourism (Macleod, 2003) whereby the interests and travel desires of a particular market segment can make a destination more attractive and marketable (Kraftchick, Byrd, Canziani, & Gladwell, 2014). Thus, understanding travelers’ interests and which incentives can 1 increase their desires to travel has become critically important. Different individuals have different interests which can become major motivations for travel. Researchers found that 75% of leisure travelers are motivated to visit specific destinations because they desire to experience local food or beverages (Food & Beverage Tourism Future Bright Says World's Largest Research Study, 2016). As a relatively new type of travel, food and beverage tourism can meet the needs of most twenty-first century travelers who seek new and exciting travel experiences. Beverage tourism, in particular, is on the rise. Similar to food tourists who seek to partake in specific food experiences when they are traveling (Plummer, Telfer, Hashimoto, & Summers, 2005), the primary travel purpose for beverage tourists is to experience and enjoy a specific type of beverage, such as wine (e.g., Getz & Brown, 2006; Cho, Bonn, & Brymer, 2017), beer (e.g., Plummer et al., 2005; Murray & O'Neill, 2012), whiskey (e.g., Spracklen, 2011; Stoffelen & Vanneste, 2016), or tea (Gunasekara & Momsen, 2007; Cheng, Hu, Fox, & Zhang, 2012). Although a considerable amount of research exists on wine and beer tourism, research on other types of beverages (e.g., tea) is limited. Besides water,