Relationships between Chinese cultural values and tourist motivations: A study of Chinese tourists visiting Israel

This study examines the relationships between Chinese cultural values and Chinese tourist motivations when visiting Israel as an emerging destination. Using two rounds of questionnaire surveys supplemented by in-depth interviews, the study identified seven major motivations for Chinese tourists to visit Israel: knowledge enhancement/learning, business development, sightseeing, self-fulfilment, escape/relaxation, destination uniqueness, and adventure. Business development was a unique motivation factor in this study context. Chinese cultural values underlying tourists' visits to Israel comprised three categories: life enrichment and quality, traditional personal values, and modem personal values. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that all motivations except destination uniqueness were correlated with the three cultural values; specifically, business development and self-fulfilment were more associated with modem personal values, while sightseeing was correlated to life enrichment and quality. This study provides empirical evidence on the relationships between cultural values and travel motivations in a Chinese context. Practical implications are discussed.