A growing contingent of Chinese tourists seeks ‘shareable’ and ‘off-the-beaten-path experiences’, away from the hustle and bustle of urban sightseeing
Big city lights? Too dull, say bright-eyed Chinese travellers who prefer to dream of far-flung locales – areas more likely to drain their life alongside their bank account. And oh, what a thrill.
Chinese tourists eyeing overseas excursions are increasingly turning their gaze to remote areas – generally away from urban settings and run-of-the-mill tourist destinations that comprise the photo posts of more traditional travellers, and towards off-the-beaten-path locations that, in many cases, wowed them on social media.
They are often pitched as once-in-a-lifetime experiences that allow people to disconnect from the daily grind and immerse themselves in the beauty and thrill of nature, albeit from a relatively safe vantage point.
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Huang Yihe, a 28-year-old operator at a foreign trade company in Shanghai, said she spares no expense in her quest to avoid the most popular sights and destinations when travelling.
“Where
can’t
you see [something like the] Petronas Twin Towers,” she eye-rollingly asked of the world’s tallest twin skyscrapers, which have since the turn of the century become dwarfed in height by 20 single structures around the world.
She had just completed an adventure in the jungles of Malaysia, where she set out to find the world’s largest rafflesia. Known as the “corpse flower” or “stinking corpse lily”, it is famous for its massive size and smell of rotting flesh.
“Urban sightseeing is pretty much the same,” He lamented. “You can have similar experiences in any metropolis around the world, but during the rafflesia trip, I was able to see the diversity of wildlife, experience local culture that hasn’t changed, and see first-hand what kind of life local people lead.
“Those experiences aren’t possible if you stick to urban areas.”
Huang shared her experience online of hiking through old-growth forests to find the rafflesia in Kuala Lumpur in January. She started a channel on Chinese social media platform RedNote, where she shared the local guide’s contact information, and now the group has more than 200 participants. Her posts struck a chord with other like-minded people eager to explore remote areas of Malaysia.
Fliggy, an online travel booking platform, reported that city visitors increasingly seek distinctive and hassle-free experiences. Rather than ticking crowded landmarks off their checklist, many now favour immersive activities, such as participating in local traditions, sampling under-the-radar eateries, or delving into a destination’s cultural and historical depths.
Some of the regions in highest demand, according to Fliggy’s data from the Dragon Boat Festival in late May, are nature-centric locations such as Tanzania, Mauritius and Madagascar.
On RedNote, notes and vlogs under the tag “Travelling around the world” have more than 6.5 million entries, with 1.4 billion views in total. Discussions revolving around “less-crowded travel destinations” have more than 41.5 million notes and 11.5 billion views.
A search of “travelling” on Rednote’s data tracker for the past 90 days showed “outdoor enthusiasts” as the top blogger demographic, making up 35.5 per cent of creators. In terms of content features, “camping and hiking” ranks first, at 28.5 per cent.
Unlike urban travel, which benefits from matured infrastructure and travel supply chains, adventure-type tourism often demands higher budgets, as they need to hire local guides to lead them and secure specialised transport to reach remote destinations.
“One visitor can spend between US$500 and US$800 per day. In a standard trip [excluding air tickets] of nine days and eight nights, a traveller can spend upwards of US$7,000,” said Allen Kimbelwa, CEO and owner of the WildReality Safari, a travel agency in Tanzania.
This year, he is seeing more Chinese tourists, many keen on climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Social media sharing, along with a desire to challenge or test one’s limits, has helped fuel the uptick in interest.
To ascend the mountain, travellers each need a minimum of five porters to join them, carrying all of the necessities for climbing. Local travel agencies say the hiring of multiple porters helps provide jobs to locals, directly improving their lives through tourism while economically elevating the region.
Huang, who said she has friends visiting Africa this year, noted how many of them are DINK – double income, no kids – couples and are willing to allocate a large portion of their living expenses to travel, frequently visiting other countries instead of saving money or putting it towards a child.
“We see kids and property as two major pressures that significantly reduce our quality of life,” Huang said. “Money we save by not spending on these pillars would be enough for global travel.”
Fresh survey results released by China Trading Desk on Thursday reflected a continued increase in first-time and younger travellers seeking novel, nature-based and wellness-centred experiences. In the second quarter of the year, the top motivations were not shopping or luxury, but enjoying local food, experiencing nature, and exploring history and culture – largely tracking a trend that has continued for several quarters.
“Adventure-type travel appeals especially to ‘spontaneous Gen Z explorers’, who use Douyin and RedNote to discover trending destinations. These travellers seek ‘shareable’ and off-the-beaten-path experiences,” Subramania Bhatt, CEO of China Trading Desk, said by email.
Similar patterns are observed with Antarctic cruises. Lyu Caihui, president of Noble Holiday, a travel agency specialising in chartered cruises for polar visits, said the pandemic changed people’s consumption habits.
In the past, his clientele largely comprised retired civil servants or retirees from large state-owned enterprises. They typically had robust financial support, he said, and they made up about 70 per cent of his Antarctic tourism.
Here, on the world’s only continent lacking permanent human habitation, excursions offer a chance to gaze at glaciers millions of years old, surrounded by raw and unbridled nature – a penguin or seal lion trying to evade the jaws of an orca, or a glimpse of the biggest animal to ever live on Earth, the Antarctic blue whale.
And in the last two to three years, Lyu said, the experience has increasingly enticed younger people. Many saw their interest pique after online influencers or opinion leaders hyped up destinations – some previously unknown to them, and others that were pitched as see-it-to-believe-it.
“In mainland China’s tourism industry, routes to traditional destinations like Europe or Southeast Asia are actually hard to sell nowadays. Relatively speaking, niche destinations are more appealing to ordinary people now. Since the pandemic, more people prefer remote and less-crowded places,” Lyu said.
Bhatt expected this to be a long-term trend, particularly among Gen Z and younger millennials, as the digital-native trip planning via social media ensures visibility and repeatability, with increased mentions of “mental well-being” and “outdoor desire” in travel-purpose surveys.
According to Xinhua, more niche overseas destinations such as India, South Africa, Dominica and Macedonia drew younger travellers for “reverse outbound travel” at the beginning of the year, setting the tone for a shift in travellers’ tastes toward more in-depth and customised travel experiences.
“Government policy on nature preservation or visas, local infrastructure in remote areas and weather and climate volatility could be possible things to watch out for,” Bhatt said.
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