Mainland Chinese and Japanese Tourists in Taiwan: The Travel Mode and Shopping Expenditures

Abstract

This paper uses quantile regression to investigate the travel mode and the shopping expenditures of over 7000 Chinese and Japanese tourists interviewed as part of the 2012-2013 Annual Survey Report on Visitor Expenditures and Trends in Taiwan. Results show that most Chinese tourists prefer to travel in group package tours, whereas most Japanese tourists prefer to travel independently. Both Chinese and Japanese tourists traveling in package tours purchase considerably more than individual travelers. Chinese visitors with high disposable income who travel in group tours had the highest shopping expenditures. Travelers over 40, those with college education or with higher income, and females had higher shopping expenditures than tourists in other demographics. Consequently, promotional marketing campaigns focusing on these travel segments could lead to significant increases in consumption and thus benefit Taiwan’s tourism industry and economy.