An exploratory study of T2T-romantic encounters: the case of Chinese young tourists

Tourist-to-tourist (T2T) romantic encounters as a form of Tourist-to-tourist interactions (TTI) have not yet been fully investigated. This study aims to explore the formation of T2T romantic encounters among Chinese tourists and their emotional experiences from the encounters during the pleasure trip. Through qualitative interviews, we collected data from 18 Chinese tourists and 8 bystanders who witnessed the romantic encounters. Grounded on the Chinese philosophical theory ‘San Cai’, a thematic analysis was performed to analyse the data and identify three key factors contributing to the formation of T2T romantic encounters. The results suggest a conceptual model to explain how T2T romantic encounters happen and what emotional experiences have been produced that make the tour memorable. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.