Chinese recreational vehicle users in Australia: A netnographic study of tourist motivation

• Chinese recreational vehicle (RV) travellers in Australia.
• A netnographic methodology: focusing on the travel opinion leaders.
• Different from the mature RV markets in both North America and Australia.
• A core image: young Chinese travelling independently and social media empowered.
• RV trips are undertaken for diverse motivations.

This study analysed the blog postings of an influential set of Chinese tourists who share on-line their recreational vehicle (RV) travelling experiences in Australia. It used a netnographic approach to collect qualitative data from 22 rich and detailed Chinese blogs which in total consisted of 77 pages of Mandarin text plus images. The archival work was supplemented by online messages and email interaction with the RV travellers. Coding followed a consultative thematic approach. Segments from the narratives were used to illustrate some of the themes. The travellers' motive items were consistent with much previous motivation work and fitted into an experimental and experiential framework and revealed parallels with the career patterns of experienced western tourists. The need for further samples and contexts, and suggestions for exploring and developing this emerging market were offered.