Details of Research Outputs

With the boom of China’s economy and an influx of foreign visitors Chinese Medicine and related health services have increasingly become popular for tourists. This study includes a survey to explore the pattern of tourists’ health product and services consumption during their stays in China. The research team also visited a couple of resorts and observed the pattern of health products and services that were offered under the brand name of Chinese Medicine. The vast majority of these tourists was short term visitors and had consumed Chinese herbal medicine, body massage, hot spring baths, foot massage, and spa activities for health rejuvenation and relaxation. This trend has made Chinese Medicine a prime label for promoting various health products and services as wellness tourism. The major reasons for tourists’ consumption of such Chinese Medicine appear to be to reduce stress, relax, reduce pain, and try new things which are not accessible or affordable in their own countries. However, concern has risen about the quality and authenticity of the Chinese Medicine products and services tourists consume. As the data show, very few of the expatriates were aware of the professional background of the service providers and had little knowledge about Chinese Medicine. This paper concludes that Chinese Medicine has been used as a label to cater to tourists, where the prime selling points are Chinese culture, minimum side-effects, and stress reduction. However, this development has also been facing various challenges, such as quality control, lack of regulation and the authenticity of the Chinese Medicine products and services involved.