Introduction
Globalization not only increases human mobility, but changes the relationship between international migrants and their country of origin. With improved transportation systems and new technologies, migrants can stay connected to their homeland in multiple ways. In the past, it was costly and time-consuming for migrants to "keep in touch" with their homeland. Thus, the ability to assimilate into the culture and lifestyle of the mainstream society was important (Alba & Nee, 2003; Portes & Zhou, 1993). At the same time, migrants and minority groups also form ethnic enclaves (e.g., Chinatown, Little Italy) where they can maintain the culture and traditions of "home" and preserve a part of their cultural identity (Portes & Manning, 1986). Contemporary migrants, however, live in a transnational social field (Louie, 2006). They can easily communicate with their friends and family back home. Even if they reside in rural areas, most goods from the old country can be found in the new country. Migrants can shop online for the groceries, books, fashion, beauty products, kitchenware, etc. from their homeland. They can listen to hit songs in their native language, keep up with the major news events, follow the newest TV series, cheer for their favorite sports teams, watch live election results, and more—almost as if they have never left. Traveling back to the homeland is one important way for migrants to main transnational ties (Haller & Landolt, 2005). This type of travel is commonly known as diaspora tourism (Coles & Timothy, 2004), VFR tourism (Uriely, 2010), and roots tourism (Maruyama & Stronza, 2010). Migrants may visit the homeland for various reasons, including: leisure, business, local food, culture and heritage, quest, retain ties, finding oneself, roots-seeking, personal identity, connection with place, obligation to ancestors, recovery of social identity, and family togetherness (Kluin & Lehtom, 2012; Li & McKercher, 2016; Murdy, Alexander, & Bryce, 2018; Ray & McCain, 2012). Given that contemporary migrants can engage in transnational practices in the host society, and take part in various types of leisure activities that are related to the culture and lifestyle of "home," the question is: do migrants still feel the need to visit the homeland in person? Or since everything is readily available, they do not need to go back as often as before. On one hand, participating in transnational leisure activities may strengthen their attachment to the homeland and increase their longing to return. On the other hand, the accessibility of homeland goods, services, culture, and relationships through global networks may decrease the desire and frequency of traveling back to the homeland. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between transnational leisure activities and motivation to visit the homeland. Specifically, do migrants‘ transnational leisure participation and involvement influence their diaspora tourism motivation?
Literature Review
Transnationalism refers to the interconnected lifestyle and social experience of immigrants maintaining multiple ties with their home and host societies (Basch, Glick-Schiller, & Blanc, 1994). Transnationalism could be sustained through different types of activities, including economic, political, social, familial, religious, and cultural activities. Although leisure activities have not been a focus of transnationalism research, some cultural transnational practices overlap with leisure activities. The Immigration and Intergenerational Mobility in Metropolitan Los Angeles study (IIMMLA) found that 8.1% of second-generation immigrants participated in organizations associated with their parents‘ country of birth, and 48.7% watched TV or listened to the radio in their parents‘ language at least once a week or more (Rumbaut et al., 2008). The Immigrant Second Generation in New York study (ISGNY) revealed that ethnic music is very important to West Indian immigrants, and they listened to more ethnic music. Chinese-Americans, however, might listen to some Cantonese pop, but usually not traditional Chinese music (Kasinitz et al., 2008). Within leisure research, most studies on the leisure activities of immigrants employ the theory of acculturation. The focus was not on transnational leisure, but on immigrants‘ leisure participation within the mainstream culture of the host society. Many studies examined the effect of acculturation on immigrant leisure, be it participation, perceived benefits, motivations, or constraints. Floyd and Gramann (1993) compared Mexican- and Anglo-Americans to determine if the former‘s outdoor activity patterns and site visitation would be similar to the latter, based on different levels of structural assimilation. Shaull and Gramann (1998) also examined Hispanic- and Anglo-Americans to determine the impact of cultural assimilation on one‘s perceived benefits of outdoor recreation. They found a strong Anglo-conformity pattern in Hispanic-Americans‘ perception of nature-related benefits, while family-related benefits were less prone to the impact of cultural assimilation. Another study by Walker, Deng, and Dieser (2001) compared the motivations of Chinese-Canadians and Euro-North Americans for outdoor recreation. Their findings indicated that acculturation influenced the recreation motivation of Chinese-Canadians, both directly and indirectly through self-construal. The relationship between acculturation and leisure was also examined in Yu and Berryman‘s study (1996) on immigrant adolescents, which revealed a positive relationship between acculturation and recreational activities, and a negative relationship between acculturation and perceived barriers. A similar relationship was found in Scott, Lee, Lee and Kim‘s (2006) study of Korean migrants. They identified some constraints (i.e., lack of English proficiency and fear of discrimination) that varied by one‘s level of acculturation, while the biggest constraint, time, was not influenced by acculturation. Stodolska and Santos (2006) were the first to propose the concept of "transnational leisure," and they defined it as "leisure that is maintained by transnational migrants to foster their ties with their countries and communities of origin" (p. 162). Huang, Norman, Ramshaw, and Haller (2015) identified different types of transnational leisure activities by second-generation Chinese-Americans, and categorized them into four types: ethnic events and festivals, ethnic social clubs and organizations, ethnic media and pop culture, and Internet-based activities. As these previous studies were qualitative in nature, there is a need for more quantitative research so as to compare and identify different patterns of transnational leisure (e.g., level of involvement, frequency of participation) and examine how transnational leisure relate to other variables.
Methods
This study aims to examine the transnational leisure involvement and travel motivation of diaspora tourists. Specifically, overseas Chinese residing in North America (i.e., the USA and Canada) was selected as the target population. The service of a reputable and reliable international online survey company was obtained to reach out to this specific population of interest. Data collection took place from December 2016 to January 2017. A total of 808 responses were gathered. A questionnaire was developed based on previous literature. A list of transnational leisure activities with 19 items was developed based on the work of Huang et al. (2015). The transnational leisure involvement scale was adapted from the works of Kyle, Graefe, Manning, and Bacon (2003) and Kyle, Bricker, Graefe, and Wickham (2004). The scale consists of 14 items and three dimensions: Attraction, Centrality, and Self-expression. As there are many types of transnational leisure activities, respondents were first asked to go through the list and indicate their frequency of participation in each activity. Next, they were asked to think about "these activities" as they answered the leisure involvement scale. The measures for diaspora tourism motivation was developed based on Poria and colleagues‘ scale for heritage tourism motivation (2004; 2006a; 2006b), Kluin and Lehto‘s (2012) scale for family reunion travel motivations, and Li and McKercher‘s (2016) qualitative study on diaspora tourists. The last section of the questionnaire will be used to collect demographic information.
Findings
EFA was conducted to explore if transnational leisure activities can be categorized into different types. Three items were removed due to double loading (i.e., Sing Chinese songs in the karaoke, Online shopping for Chinese/Asian items, and Connect with friends and relatives in China through social media). Factor 1 consisted of 3 items that are basic common activities in migrant life, and was labeled "Basic" transnational leisure (i.e., Eat Chinese food, Shop for Chinese/Asian groceries, and Celebrate Chinese holidays). Factor 2 consisted of 7 items that are related to pop culture and internet-based leisure activities, and was labeled "Media-based" transnational leisure (e.g., Listen to Chinese songs and music, Watch Chinese drama, Visit websites related to Chinese or Chinese-American culture, and Read/watch the news related to China). Contrary to the individualistic nature of the activities in Factor 2, Factor 3 consisted of 6 items that are more likely to be group activities, and related to social clubs events and activities (e.g., Attend events hosted by Chinese ethnic organizations, Participate in Chinese cultural activities, Play Chinese board or card games, Attend Chinese concerts/performances, and Follow Chinese/Chinese-American sports players or teams). Thus, Factor 3 was labeled "Event-based" transnational leisure. Respondents‘ participation in these activities was measured on a 5-point scale of frequency, from 1=Never to 5=Always/Everyday. Overall, "Basic" transnational leisure received the highest mean score (M=3.82), while the means for "Media-based" (M=2.86) and "Event-based" activities (M=2.62) were lower. Although the mean scores in Factor 2 and 3 were not high, it should be noted that the nature of these activities are different. Chinese migrants can "Eat Chinese food" every day, but they cannot "Attending Chinese concerts" every day. Therefore, the mean scores for "Event-based" activities were the lowest. Moreover, ANOVA was conducted to compare five migrant generation groups (e.g., first-generation migrants who were born in the old country and relocated to a new country and second-generation migrants are native-born in the new country). The second generation had the lowest level of participation, while the first generation and 4+ generation had the highest level of participation in most types of transnational leisure activities. Correlation analyses further revealed that the frequency of "Media-based" activities and "Event-based" activities were positively correlated to the number of homeland trips, while the relationship between "Basic" transnational leisure and number of homeland trips was not statistically significant. Lastly, CFA was conducted to confirm the underlying dimensions of Transnational Leisure Involvement: Attraction (6 items), Centrality (4 items), and Self-expression (4 items). EFA was conducted to identify the dimensions of diaspora tourism motivation. The 11 items loaded on one of two factors: Chinese Culture (6 items) and Family Heritage (5 items). Multiple regression analyses were conducted, with the three dimensions of transnational leisure involvement as independent variables, and the two dimensions of diaspora tourism motivation as dependent variables. It was found that Attraction and Centrality would influence respondents‘ motivation for Chinese Culture, while Attraction, Centrality, and Self-expression would influence respondents‘ motivation for Personal Heritage.
Discussion
Results showed that transnational leisure involvement is useful in understanding the activity patterns of different migrant generations. Specifically, the relationships between transnational involvement and diaspora tourism motivation were consistently positive, which provides an effective means of segmenting diaspora tourists. Transnational leisure activities are good opportunities for homeland destinations to connect with diaspora tourists prior to their travel. Other than direct promotional activities, transnational leisure provides an alternative way to increase diaspora tourists‘ level of engagement and frequency of travel to the homeland.

• Wei-Jue Huang(The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong Kong)
• Chun-Chu Chen(University of Idaho, USA)