ARI Working Paper Series

For too long, the area of independent Asian youth tourism has remained under-examined in terms of the kind and depth of urban cultural experiences that could be associated with it.  This paper is based on study results that investigated urban cultural experiences of fully independent (of family and tour package decision-making) youth tourists (15-29 years), whose main growth and development has occurred in Asia.  Subjects were drawn from overnight visitors to Hong Kong in 2012 and were either interviewed in-depth or in short semi-structured surveys. The results were interpreted against a background comprising the available relevant academic literature and the interaction witnessed in cybercommunities in chatrooms and forums studied over that year.  The study identified six possible types of independent Asian youth cultural tourists, four of which may be specific to Asia and a range of cultural experiences regional tourists seek in Hong Kong. It also concluded that the use of the Internet and a (either a loose or tight) collective approach to decision-making will continue to define most of this group, although it includes a small number questing for specific and in-depth cultural experiences that may sometimes prefer to undertake solo trips.  Both may develop into the purposeful cultural tourists of the future for this region.