Abstract

This paper compares the travel behaviour and attitudes of two different nationalities of undergraduate students from the United Kingdom and China. The survey did find some similarities between the two. Both groups enjoyed beach holidays, and placed importance on having fun and relaxing after their studies. Both were motivated to discover somewhere new and both preferred to eat the local food of the destination. In other ways, the two groups showed significant differences. The Chinese students thought it more important to see the famous sights and learn about other cultures and history, while the British were more concerned to have fun, to socialise and enjoy the challenges of outdoor adventure. These differences were found to exist in both male and female groups. The paper discusses the extent to which these differences could be explained by cultural factors as opposed to market factors or the students’ previous experience in their travel career.