| Summary: | Exploring the representational effect of tourism, this study examines factors that influence
perceptions that Chinese outbound tourists are representatives or de facto ambassadors of the
Chinese government advancing its national objectives abroad. The paper finds that the Chinese
government is ambivalent, and at times inconsistent about endowing individual tourists with
the responsibility to serve as its de facto ambassadors. In addition, the paper argues that the role
of tourism in China’s bilateral relations with South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe influence
general perceptions among bureaucrats and elites in the three countries that Chinese outbound
tourists are representatives of the Chinese government.
Keywords: Outbound Tourism, Tourists, Representation, China, Bilateral Relations
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