A Chinese tourist poses for a photo of the Sphinx at the Giza Pyramids in Egypt. (Photo : Reuters)
Rich and young Chinese travelers are finding places such as the Polar Regions, Africa and the Middle East more attractive for their adventure trips than Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, a wealth research firm revealed, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
According to "The Chinese Luxury Traveller 2016" report released by Hurun Report, China's young luxury travelers, those aged between 18 and 36, spend an average of 420,000 yuan (HK$496,000) on travel per household each year, and 220,000 yuan on shopping, mainly on bags, clothing, watches and jewellery.
The report said that young luxury tourists also travel abroad mainly for leisure, about three or four times a year.
About 23 percent of those interviewed said they were interested to visit Africa in the next three years, while 18 percent prefer to travel to the Middle East. Only 8 percent of them had gone to Africa and another 8 percent said they went to the Middle East last year.
About 10 percent said they visited the Arctic or Antarctic in 2015, while 17 percent of them wished to go there in the future.
More than 25 percent of those surveyed visited Oceania, while 41 percent plan to travel there in the next three years.
From 32 percent last year, those who were planning to go to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau dropped to 19 percent. Similarly, those who favor Southeast and South Asian countries in their future travel plans have dropped from 34 percent last year to 24 percent this year.
"China's young luxury travelers are seeking a wider choice of unique and novel travel experiences," said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report's chairman and chief researcher.
"They are interested in adventure travel, polar exploration and road trips that take them further afield to a wider range of destinations around the globe," Hoogewerf added.
Over the past few years, high-end tours aimed at niche travelers sold well and became more popular, according to Shi Kaifeng, public affairs manager for online travel service Ctrip.com.
"We launched three group tours to the Antarctic in 2013-2014. But for the 2015-2016 travel season, all of our six groups are fully booked," Shi said.
But before, due to travel restrictions and lack of flights, only a few mainland tourists traveled to these places.
"Now it's far easier for mainland tourists to get visas [for most countries] and more direct international flights have started," Shi said.
Amrita Banta, managing director of Agility Research & Strategy, which also researches in wealthy consumers, said that young mainlanders were part of the so-called AAA generation--aspiring, affluent and ambitious--and are more mature and open to other activities when it comes to their travel choices.
