{"id":43930,"date":"2019-07-12T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T01:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daxueconsulting.com\/?p=43930"},"modified":"2021-11-18T11:13:27","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T03:13:27","slug":"china-customized-tourism-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daxueconsulting.com\/china-customized-tourism-market\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s customized tourism market in 2019 | Daxue Consulting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cCustomized travel in the Chinese tourism market is unique in that it is characterized by its popularity, youthfulness, and high growth rates.\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n– COTRI director Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arltstated \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing demand for private tours for Chinese tourists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Customized tours are trips with personalized itineraries. This provides tourists with flexibility catering to specific interests and individual needs. In the Chinese tourism market, high-end customized tourism is aimed at clients with relatively high disposable income who can afford such expensive services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report<\/a> published jointly by China\u2019s online tourism giant Ctrip and China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), \u201cCustomized Travels of Chinese Visitors to Europe\u201d, the number of private tours for Chinese tourists to European countries has increased by 130% and made up 10% of the whole outbound customized travels. China\u2019s customized tourism market is fast-growing and shows huge potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2019 Chinese travel consumptions trends <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With the growing number of tourists traveling abroad, customized travels for Chinese tourists are actively developing. One of the goals is to prevent overcrowding, especially during holidays. According to the Hurun Report<\/a>, around 3.9 million families in China have assets worth more than RMB 6 million, and 1.6 million households have more than RMB 10 million. Besides, a growing number of high-income groups in China are delighted to spend money on outbound tourism because they believe overseas travel experience is a vital contributor to improve life quality and happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the report, China\u2019s high-net-worth individuals totaled 1.67 million in 2018. These travelers are ready to spend a generous budget for tourism. Professional service and individual approach are the most valued drivers in the high-end tourism market in China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those Chinese tourists with more\ndisposable income, the uniqueness of a travel\nexperience is prioritized over cost\nsavings. <\/a>The following\ndata demonstrates the sequence of decisive factors for Chinese tourists. Beauty\nand uniqueness of tourist attractions (56%) are most important to high-net-worth\nChinese tourists, the next factor is safety\n(47%) and then ease of visa procedures (45%). Relatively less important factors\nare friendliness of local people (35%) and affordability\n(34%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"China\u2019s
[Source: Nielsen, \u201cThe 5 most important factors for Chinese tourists\u201d]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Following the\ndemand, many travel agencies now offer private tours for Chinese tourists. As a popular online tourism company, Ctrip launched\nits \u201chigh-end customized travel platform 3.0\u201d to\npromote the development of the high-end\ntourism market in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ctrip organizes private tours for Chinese visitors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ctrip can now organize customized private tours for Chinese tourists. Its customized services take significant share in China\u2019s customized tourism market, by upgrading facilities, such as flight tickets booking, accommodation reservations, route arrangement, exclusive car service, Chinese speaking tour guide, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Specifically, Ctrip\u2019s\nplatform also works on arranging experiential activities to contribute to the high-end customized tourism of\nChinese travelers, such as study\ntours to prestigious universities, honeymoon packages to watch aurora borealis\nor visit hot spring, wedding tours, and\nmock marriage ceremonies, local food\ntours, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main target audience of high-end customized tourism in China is 35-50-year-olds due to the higher consumption level. High-end tourists aged over 46 years old account for nearly 60% of the long-distance customized travel. And most of them choose to travel with partners and families. As for younger tourists, they prefer to have shorter trips because their time for vacation is more limited. Thus, private tours for Chinese tourists also need to offer age-appropriate services. This is one of the big challenges shaping this industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The high-end travel agency, HHtravel\u2019s report<\/a> shows that the high-end customer groups have\na strong willingness to travel to South America, Northern Europe, Africa, Russia,\nAustralia, Canada, Maldives, Japan, and\nSoutheast Asia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"China's
[Source: HHtravel, \u201cFavorite destinations in China\u2019s high-end customized tourism market\u201d]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In order to follow the\nconsumption trends of Chinese high-net-worth individuals,  Ctrip\u2019s high-end customized\ntravel platform 3.0: HHtravel,<\/a> has developed various tourism projects. For example, travelers can\nchoose to ride a speedboat across the Horizontal Waterfalls in Australia; dine\nunder stars at a camp on the Savannah in Kenya; run a Marathon or watch the NBA\nfinals. Aiming to meet the diverse needs of Chinese visitors, all\nthese activities can be adjusted with clients\u2019 individualization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rethinking the classic Chinese tourism market<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are two ways to travel in the current Chinese tourism market: Fully independent travelers (FITs) and Modular\noutbound travelers (MOTs). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chinese
[Source: COTRI, \u201cChinese tourism market\u201d]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As a traditional way for Chinese visitors to travel\nabroad, travel packages offered to MOTs are mainly covering tourist landmarks\nand include coerced shopping in a fixed itinerary. The travel expenses are\npre-fixed with the agency, but hidden costs of optional activities often come\nup. Such group tours usually have tight schedules at a lower price, due to the larger number of destinations to visit at one\ntime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, a number\nof Chinese traveling as FITs is growing\nbecause of the flexibility and freedom it\noffers. The penetration of global information online also made it easier for\nFITs to use mobile apps to receive local information\non the tourist destinations before and\nduring the trip. However, the experience of FIT is insufficient to be applied\nfor everyone and can also be time-consuming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The classic\ntravel agencies in the Chinese tourism\nmarket contain separate service types for FITs and MOTs. The former\ntravelers usually choose travel agencies to help them book flight tickets and\naccommodations, because the cooperation between airlines and local hotels with\ntravel agencies can bring discounts. Apart from this, the main business and\nprofit of travel agencies rely on groups tours. MOTs only need to follow\nschedules pre-arranged by the agency. However, one problem remains: agencies\nhave often force travelers to do more shopping and activities to earn\ncommission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese travelers no longer believe that the meaning of tourism is simply to meet with their relatives and friends living abroad, go shopping, or eat fast food. Currently, Chinese travelers pay more attention to local cultural and natural experiences. Hence it is considering as an emerging approach to provide new and authentic offers to private tours for Chinese tourists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONTACT US NOW TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT BUSINESS IN CHINA<\/a> <\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Process of customizing private tours for Chinese tourists<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Because customized travels of Chinese visitors is becoming a hot topic and the demand is fast-developing, many travel agencies modify their original journey packages narrowing down group tours to small groups or offering business travel groups. While prices have been greatly increased, the service quality has not been improved significantly. It means that there is a big market potential and room for development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customized travels for Chinese high-net-worth\nindividuals should focus on the top-notch quality services\nand the exclusive use of highly scarce resources. This kind of butler services for\ncustomers include the ability to solve all problems that occur during the\njourney and make a real-time adaptation. Service providers in the travel\nplanning stage follow this process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Customized
[Source: Ctrip customized travel, \u201cProcess of customizing private tours for Chinese tourists\u201d]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For a subsequent journey, the customized services\nshould always keep in touch with customers to follow their status and care their feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customized travels of Chinese visitors: The sophisticated future of high-end tourism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the COO of Ctrip<\/a>, Mr. Ming Guo, with the advancement of technology, the future development of the high-end tourism market in China will offer more online services to make the traveling process more scalable. There are multiple online resources of touristic information which are easy to be accessed. Combined with the database, the algorithm of machine learning will be more precise to match travelers with personalized needs. As machine learning becomes stronger and more powerful, it would be used to meet the customers\u2019 expectations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business opportunities for international companies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to COTRI\u2019s forecast, the number of Chinese outbound tourists will reach 4 million in 2030. Based on the fast and impressive market growth rate, Ctrip predicts China\u2019s customized tourism market will increase by 200% in the next three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undoubtedly, the development of the high-end tourism market in China, along with the increase in customers will bring higher profits to tourism companies. It will also expand the public\u2019s interest and return on investment in terms of tourism resources. For those touristy cities that want to further increase the share of the tourism market, it is crucial to provide tourists with personalized tours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\ninternational companies, to develop high-end\ntourism market in China,\nit is necessary to combine advantages of local\ntourism resources and cooperate with well-known tourism companies in China, in\nparticular, with the online service of individual trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to research China\u2019s customized tourism market and build local travel database, international companies can also take advantage of educational resources for expertise and training professionals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building a reputation among China\u2019s customized tourism market will be a focus for China\u2019s travel agencies as they compete for more share in the growing market segment. Thus, tourism companies that provide the highest quality of services have every chance of becoming leaders in the Chinese tourism market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transformation of China\u2019s tourism market with COVID-19: Consumption trends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Outbound tourism has declined as the world is gradually affected by the pandemic. With the coronavirus under control in China, short trips within the country have been popular, particularly road trips. According to a consumer survey<\/a>, confidence in domestic travel rose by 60% in first two weeks of May with the top three destinations in 2020 being Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing, all of which are reachable by car or train.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the crisis, the younger generation is more willing than the elderly to travel. On Tomb Sweeping Day in April, 60%<\/a> of the people who booked trips were under the age of 30, which is a huge surge from 43% in the same period last year. According to a report by China Tourism Academy, more than 43 million domestic tourism visits were made within China during the Tomb Sweeping break, generating 1.1 billion USD<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Yufeng GUO<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Make the new economic China Paradigm positive leverage for your business <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n