Chinese model for mass adventure tourism

• Domestic experiences shape outbound expectations.
• Chinese rafting is passive mass tourism in modified rivers.
• Western rafting expects individual safety responsibility.
• Chinese model has ∼80 million participants already.
• Cultural differences apply across outdoor tourism.

China has evolved a new domestic model for river-based adventure tourism, a form of passive mass tourism characterised by short trips, in small unguided rafts without paddles, on heavily modified watercourses with exclusive control of access, receiving up to 10,000 clients per site per day. This is very different to international models, which expect much greater individual involvement and responsibility for safety. Client satisfaction is moderate and repeat business low, but the Chinese domestic model nonetheless generates a billion-dollar annual turnover nationwide, with participation to date by around one quarter of China's 18–35 year-olds. This domestic model shapes the expectations of Chinese tourists travelling overseas, with implications for practical safety and satisfaction, and theoretical tests of culture-linked expectation disconfirmation.