The Constructions of Family Holidays in Young Middle-class Malaysian Chinese Children

Abstract

The absence of children in tourism research has been identified by past scholars but the rising attention on Asian consumers in tourism has also implied that the voices of Chinese children need to be heard. This study triangulates fourteen young Malaysian Chinese children's drawings of their favourite family holidays with open-ended interview questions. The drawings were analysed using the five thematic levels according to a model of analysis of children's drawings. Findings revealed the collectivistic Confucian values of family and education during vacations, but also highlight what Chinese children conceptualised as fun holiday activities. A number of suggestions are provided for future research and for tourism practitioners to provide memorable holiday experiences for their young travellers.

An Art-Based Inquiry into the Perception of Tourism Impacts on Their Quality of Life: The Case of Cambodian Host-Children

“…Recognizing the limitation relating to her cultural background, she proactively engaged with Cambodian scholars both in Australia and Cambodia to learn about the Cambodian culture over the past 3 years, undertook two field trips to Cambodia, and recruited a local scholar specializing in women’s rights to get interpretational assist. The first author, who has experience working as a consultant for ECPAT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking), an NGO for combatting the sexual exploitation of children, has published research using similar methods with children (Khoo-Lattimore & Jihyun Yang, 2020). The second author is an established international expert on children in tourism, visual research methods, and a master trainer in qualitative research.…”

The psychological process and emotional cognition of children's tourism experiences in Chinese family culture

“…Different family cultural environments lead to differences in children's tourism experiences. Khoo-Lattimore and Yang ( 12 ) pointed out that Eastern countries with strong family values under the influence of Confucian culture can provide better tourism experiences for children. Qiao et al ( 23 ) found that the left behind children's tourism experience is lower than that of non-left behind children in the situation of traveling with parents.…”

“…So it is necessarily to use appropriate methods and scenario to understand children's tourism views. Secondly, from the perspective of cultural geography, most studies on children tourism has been set in western cultural background ( 12 , 33 , 34 ). Currently, as Chinese authorities have introduced a set of guidelines, such as to ease the burden of excessive homework and off-campus tutoring for students undergoing compulsory education, and to open the third child, China parent-child tourism market is booming ( 35 ).…”

“…Moreover, most studies on children's tourism experiences have been conducted in western contexts. However, there are some kind of differences between western and Chinese cultural ( 11 , 12 ). For instance, Chin et al ( 13 ) points out that the central governments to the COVID-19 event have revealed salient cultural difference, people in China with more group-centred and collectivist cultures.…”

Analysis of Destination Images in the Emerging Ski Market: The Case Study in the Host City of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games

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