The current outbound travellers from China have been segmented into three main markets: Seniors, Families, and Young People (Du & Dai, 2005
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). The Seniors' market accounts for about 15% of the total population, but this segment is growing in number. With retirement fairly early in the life cycle (60 for men, 55 for women), seniors are healthy and have the time to travel. Moreover, they tend to have good savings levels to finance their trips, and often their trips are subsidised by their children who want their parents to see the world. These ‘grey hair’ tourists tend to prefer travelling in tour groups during the off-peak seasons. Family travel is on the rise, with some high income families travelling abroad annually, or even twice a year. Southeast Asia is a popular destination for family travel due to the good prices. The youth market, aged 25–35, is also a growing target group. This segment is more adventurous and enjoys Free Independent Travel (FIT) during the school summer holidays. In addition, students who go overseas to study are another key segment, and the honeymoon market is on the rise.
In the early-1980s the main Japanese outbound markets were defined as Silver, SITs, Bridal, TV, Incentive Travel, and VFR (ATC, 1984
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). For Japan, the senior market was termed Silver and/or Jukunen (ripe years). Similar to the current Chinese Seniors market, the Silver travellers were interested in sightseeing and shopping, and had limited English and therefore appreciated tour guides/interpreters. They were also interested in meals, services, and amenities related to their home country. However, in contrast to the Seniors market, the Silver travellers were considered high yield due to their preference for comfort and deluxe accommodation/tours. The main youth market in Japan was the Special Interest Tour (SIT) market, which focused on a hobby, sport, or other special interest, and included activities such as hiking, fishing, mountaineering, surfing, golfing, and scuba diving. The ‘Bridal Market’ in Japan was considered a multi-million dollar business even in the early-1980s. At that time over 70% of wholesale tour bookings in the spring and autumn bridal seasons were honeymoon couples, and around 70% of honeymoons were taken overseas (ATC, 1984
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). By the late-1980s Australia had become the number one honeymoon destination, a position it maintained for many years (Australia-Japan Research Centre, 1992
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). The TV, or Technical Visit, market related to business travel, which often had a significant pleasure component, and could be written off as a business expense. Package tours were established for this market, with focus in the mining, livestock, and investment sectors. Incentive travel was offered by companies as a reward for high sales or productivity, such as the Coca-Cola incentive tour programme to Australia in 1981 with over 1000 participants (ATC, 1984
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). The Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) market is basically dependent on the size of the ethnic population in a particular country. This was not a significant market for Australia with only 3% of inbound Japanese arrivals in Australia classified as VFR in 1982 (ATC, 1984
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). In contrast, the Chinese community in Australia provides the opportunity for VFR travel and assists in ensuring that the Chinese visitors feel at ease in Australia.
As with all maturing travel sources visitation changes, and by the 1990s, the list of main Japanese markets had evolved to also include the (Young) Office Ladies, First Time Travellers, Repeaters, FITs, Group Travellers, Business Travellers, and Students (BTR, 1992
