Companionship to an Aging Parent in International Tours: Conflict VS Harmony

Abstract

Senior tourism is a rapidly growing market in China, and global players have begun to attract senior tourists from China using diversified ways to help boost the industry in different destinations worldwide. However, scant research has been conducted to examine senior tours accompanied by offspring, let alone the Chinese senior context itself. This study utilizes autoethnography to examine a senior international tour accompanied by a young son.The study confirms the existence of six sources of conflict, but verifies that harmony is the more important feature in such a tour. Related practical implications on how to better arrange such tours are presented.