Chinese millennials may seem a lot like young people anywhere — always on-line, willing to try new things and interested in global ideas. But they are also quite different from Western youth in that they like to stay home. Used to relative solitude as only-children but also due to the intense pace of life in China’s megacities and the lack of offline entertainment options in many inland cities, millennials like to stay home to engage in on-line consumption and entertainment: they stream movies, play on-line games, interact with friends on social media, research products on the internet, shop and order food on-line. China’s millennials are therefore often referred to as “zhai”, which can be translated as “homebody”. In the larger cities, a zhai or cocooning economy has come into existence with on-line and on-demand services, such as meal, grocery and products delivery. “Convenience” is the key.

 

The tourism industry needs to adjust to this new type of convenience for the fast growing target group of Chinese millennials. Do you want to get inspired and/or are you about to prepare your classes for students studying tourism, hospitality or cultural geography, have a look at our education package Understanding Chinese tourist.