Travelers opting for bespoke experiences

Visitors enjoy their bespoke tour in Italy. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Many traditional travel agencies are entering the sector. Some purchase Uniqueway's products.

A growing number of the customers are Chinese newlyweds who take overseas trips for wedding photos or small ceremonies in such destinations as Europe and Japan.

The agency's local photography teams take pictures and short videos for a day. They provide wedding dresses and cosmetologists.

"China's emerging middle class embraces consumption upgrades," says Wang Pin, who's in charge of customized trips business offered by Ctrip, China's biggest online travel agency.

"Regular tours and independent travel products can't meet their specific demands. So, customized tourism is growing rapidly."

Ctrip's customers submit requests online and purchase popular customized products. Or they select staffers to design their itineraries.

The company offers a variety of customized trips with different themes by using its 1,200 suppliers, she says.

Popular domestic destinations include Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, Hainan province's Sanya and Chongqing municipality. Favored overseas destinations are Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Most clients are from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong's provincial capital, Guangzhou.

Wang's division of Ctrip also organizes customized group tours to climb Qomolangma, known as Mount Everest in the West.

"It's amazing to enjoy a splendid view of starry skies on the highest peak in the world," she says.

Indeed, a growing number of Chinese are exploring every degree of longitude, latitude and altitude of the planet in ways that increasingly place them at the center of these experiences by suiting their individual tastes.

Contact the writer at xulin@chinadaily.com.cn

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