Understanding travel constraints, negotiation strategy and travel expenditure: An empirical study of Chinese senior tourism

Abstract

Population aging promotes the senior tourism market in China. In practice, however, the travel expenditure of Chinese seniors is relatively low, despite their high desire to travel. This study examines the effects of travel constraints and negotiation strategies on the travel expenditure of Chinese senior tourists. Based on the travel constraint negotiation theory, we first identify the subdimensions of intrapersonal constraints (physical issues and mental problems), interpersonal constraints (lack of partners and caring for grandchildren), and structural constraints (financial restriction and employment status). In addition, we distinguish two types of negotiation strategies from the perspective of adult children's support, including emotional support and financial support. By examining a rich dataset of 12,905 Chinese seniors spanning 2011 to 2020 from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS project) through zero inflated negative binomial regression, we find that physical issues, mental problems, lack of partners, financial restriction and employment status have significant negative effects on travel expenditure, while caring for grandchildren has a significant positive effect on travel expenditure. Meanwhile, both emotional support and financial support from adult children play important roles in moderating the relationships between travel constraints and travel expenditure. This study not only provides a deeper understanding of the travel constraints affecting seniors' travel expenditure and the ways in which they can negotiate these travel constraints in the Chinese cultural context but also offers valuable guidelines for the tourism industry.