The UK as an Educational Tourist Destination: Young Chinese’ Experiences of the UK

Abstract

The growing number of Chinese students is a significant contributor to the UK economy in general and higher education in particular. These students do not simply come to the UK to obtain a degree; they also wish to gain experience of life in the UK. In many ways, their objectives are comparable to those of long stay tourists - whilst they have an educational goal, they also visit the UK as a tourist destination. The academic experiences of international students have been extensively studied, but much less is known about their perceptions of the UK as a study and living destination, and how their experiences match up against their initial expectations. Five group interviews with 4-5 Chinese postgraduate students each were conducted at a middle ranking UK university in the spring of 2010. The discussions were conducted in Mandarin by an experienced researcher. The findings indicate that particularly for students targeting non-elite universities, other factors than educational quality are much more important. A unique contribution here is the importance of the motivators placed by the respondents. Short postgraduate courses which act as a differentiator in a crowded job market at home without ‘aging’ the student significantly seem to be one of the main attractions for studying at ‘average’ UK universities and experiencing the UK. The findings also suggest some gender differences as young Chinese women might view this differentiator as more important and advantageous than males. Furthermore, the opportunities to improve language skills and easy access to travelling opportunities across Europe are important motivators and these findings give support to previous studies. (e.g. Llewellyn-Smith and McCabe 2008). On arrival, many of these young people are relatively ill prepared for their stay in the UK. Coming from a very protective home environment, they have never learned how to take decisions for themselves or how to cope in difficult circumstances. Consequently, their (rather vague) expectations of their stay in the UK are disappointed because they find themselves unable to integrate with their British peers or British society more generally, especially when they arrive as part of a group and then ‘stick’ with this group (Zhou and Todman 2009). This leads to negative perceptions of the UK as a destination country for travelling and leisure. The UK has, for Chinese students and tourists alike, a distinctive and unique image capital, which is comprised of its history, landscape, customs and traditions which influences destination choice and travel behavior (Tasci and Gartner 2007). It is a challenge for universities and communities alike to harness this image and ensure that Chinese educational tourists either confirm their image or deepen their understanding of the UK in a positive way. This is even more important in view of the fact that the role of university students in attracting their family and friends to visit them is often underestimated (Bischoff and Koenig-Lewis 2007). Our respondents are young people highly influenced by a collectivistic culture and therefore very likely to share their experience and stories with their family and friends, who may seek advice on visiting the UK as a study destination and/or generic travel destination. Thus it is a challenge for practitioners to turn these educational tourists into advocates of the UK.