Beyond the tour group — more visitors opting for the tailored travel experience
Tourism New Zealand has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese travel giant Ctrip to support the growth of customised travel to this country.
There has been a surge of interest in tailor-made travel to New Zealand from China.
“Tailor-made or customised travel is a growing trend in China due to an increasing demand for in-depth travel by consumers who don’t have the time to plan their own itinerary but are willing to pay for a quality experience,” said Gregg Wafelbakker, Tourism New Zealand General Manager — Asia. “Tailor-made travel gives Chinese independent travellers the structure of an organised tour with the freedom to experience more of what New Zealand has to offer.”
A new Ctrip “New Zealand Specialist and Customised Travel” training programme has also been launched.
Ctrip is the largest online travel agent in Asia and China, with a market capitalisation of roughly US$25 billion. It owns booking site Skyscanner and has more than 30,000 staff around the world. New Zealand leads the trend to customised travel growth at Ctrip. The Chinese company says that in the first half of this year, total customised tour queries increased by 120 per cent, but queries relating specifically to New Zealand customised tours rose by 150 per cent. Tailor-made and customised travel is a significant shift from the large group tours traditionally seen from the China market. Tour groups made up just 35 per cent of the 449,000 Chinese visitors who came here in the year to June, down from 39 per cent in 2017. Free and independent travellers (FIT) now make up 39 per cent of Chinese visitors, up from 32 per cent last year.
Ctrip Customised Travel chief executive Xu Zhiyun said the partnership with Tourism New Zealand would help to highlight this country’s range of attractions and regions.
The main target customer groups are family trips and honeymooners.
Chinese visitors have spent more than $1.66b in New Zealand over the past year. This is forecast to reach $3.06b a year by 2024.