A Memorable Journey to the North: A Study of the Travel Experiences of Chinese Tourists in Scandinavia

Abstract: A memorable journey to the North – A study of the travel experiences of Chinese tourists in Scandinavia With the increasing number of outbound Chinese tourists, tourism bureaus in Scandinavia are now exploring ways in understanding Chinese tourists as well as to prepare themselves to be more “China-Ready”. The purpose of this thesis is to offer research demonstrating the importance of memory objects like travel photos and souvenirs in studying travel experiences. This thesis mainly applies ethnographic methods and cultural analysis in studying Chinese tourists’ experiences in materializing their travel memories in Scandinavia. The focus is on what the cultural connections are between the imaginations of Chinese tourists, their actual image of a destination and their resulting memories, and how an understanding behind the mechanism of Chinese tourists’ memories helps Scandinavia’s tourism bureaus become more “China ready”. By focusing on memory objects, the processes of cultural analysis that guide answers to these questions are revealed. The research presents the influential elements in Chinese tourists’ memories through the analysis of their cultural identity, travel memories and imaginations of destinations. The cultural identity illustrates the image of Chinese tourists, who travel with certain values under the influences of modern technology. Through the study of travel memories in Scandinavia, some particular behaviors and habits that Chinese tourist obtained regarding materialization of travel experiences are extracted. And the analysis of Chinese tourists’ imaginations of Scandinavia focuses on the originalities of imaginations. In the end, some useful applicable suggestions are proposed.