Spatial and temporal dynamics of expenditure of international tourists of China

The paper explores the spatial and temporal dynamics of expenditure of international tourists in China from 2000 to 2013 by using information entropy, concentration ratio, Theil index, spatial concentration ratio, and Local Moran I index. International tourism reception data was collected from China tourism statistics yearbooks. The results indicated that the structure of international tourists´ expenditure became balance from 2000 to 2003 and it concentrated on long distance transportation, shopping and accommodation from 2003 to 2013. The sum of the first three expenditures was more than 60% of whole expenditure. Spatially, the spatial expenditure differences of international tourists reduced and dispersed from 2003 to 2013. There emerged 3 international tourists spatial cluster centers: Pearl River delta involving Guangdong, Yangtze River delta including Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, and Bohai Bay, which involves Beijing and Tianjin. The expenditure of international tourists in the 3 cluster districts reached 70% in 2000 and reduced to 55% in 2013. However, they are still the main international tourist spatial cluster centers.