Smaller groups seeking quality experiences a highlight of post-pandemic era

Chinese tourists are traveling in smaller groups and seeking out more personalized experiences.

Following the pandemic, small and private tour groups ranging between two and nine travelers are replacing traditional large tour groups of dozens in China with priority given to quality and the experience, Shanghai-based online travel operator Trip.com said with the release of its 2023 annual report on Monday.

The percentage of private tour groups in the total of all groups surged nearly 400 percent last year compared with 2019, with sales of private group domestic tours growing 370 percent from 2019.

The percentage of bookings from single tourists grew 25 percent.

"Small groups are particularly popular among the young generation who pursue more flexible and diversified tour experiences," said Xiao Yinyuan, head of Trip.com's group tour department.

Chinese tourists are pursuing new experiences, making domestic tour packages combining tickets and extra experiences gain in popularity, growing 85 percent last year from a year earlier with sales volume surging 256 percent.

Travel photography, camping, kayaking, parachuting and surfing are among the most popular pursuits

The craze for tourism is sweeping the nation with Harbin in northeast China becoming one of the hottest destinations recently. It reported a record 3 million visitors who spent a record 5.9 billion yuan (US$824 million) during the three-day New Year holiday.

Prodded by social media, tourists flocked to the city to marvel at the magnificent frozen sculptures at the world's largest ice festival.

At the same time, "Blossoms Shanghai," a 30-episode popular TV drama, produced in both Mandarin and Shanghai dialect, had tourists flocking to sites such Huanghe Road, the Cathay Theater and Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai which featured in the series, bringing local traffic to a standstill.

The China Tourism Academy forecast that domestic travel visits will surpass 6 billion this year, generating revenue of 6 trillion yuan, compared with an estimated 5.4 billion and 5.2 trillion yuan respectively last year. Inbound and outbound travel visits could surpass 264 million, the academy said, with tourism revenue amounting to US$107 billion.