Motivation

China is becoming one of the most powerful actors in the tourism industry. According to estimates of the World Tourism Organization, by 2020, there will be more than 100 million Chinese travellers and China will also become the main destination for international tourists. Nevertheless, European tourists are still unfamiliar with China while for the Chinese tourist Europe is virtually unknown.

A number of reasons explain this fact: in both cases, the information that can be found at the origin is still scarce and generally is only available in a language that the traveller can not read, understand or speak. As a consequence, the traveller has to accommodate his expectations and buy a travel package offered by a tour operator. Even though this option is perfectly valid for many, it is also true that tourists sometimes feel too restricted: what they imagined would be an adventure may turn into a monotone and gregarious experience.

Alternatively, when the traveller decides to go on his own, he finds lost, he cannot communicate with the people, understand the signs and writings and, finally, he gets frustrated for he feels unable to enjoy the opportunities that more focused information or a better commanding of the language would have allowed him.