THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONAL FACTORS AND BEHAVIORS OF CHINESE STUDENTS TRAVELLING IN THAILAND

Abstract

This research has 3 objectives: 1) studying the variety of students’ travel behaviors 2) studying the relationship between the personal factors and the students’ different travel behaviors and 3) providing guidance on the development of educational tourism for Chinese students. This research is based on a questionnaire collected from 310 students. The data analyses include frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation chi-square and standardized residual. The findings show that students normally travel in Thailand during school vacation and public holidays. They choose to travel once or twice a year and make a plan one month prior to the trip. Tourism information is collected from websites. Most students travel with their classmates. The expense for one person is more than 6,001 Baht per trip and it takes an average of 2-7 days for one trip. Hotels are the first choice of accommodation for their trips. During school vacation and public holidays, their friends and relatives visit them in Thailand. Most of the students recommend places which they have visited to others. In travelling, they put more importance on the safety of accommodation and tourist attractions. Chinese students in different age groups have different choices on tourist attractions and accommodation. Cost of living has impact on their choices of souvenirs. Period of study has impact on their choices of tourism activities, and visitation of friends and relatives has impact on choices of tourist attractions.