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Waking up inside an enormous tent in the Sahara Desert in Morocco, you are unlikely to miss any of the luxuries that come with a top-end hotel suite. Private bodyguards patrol the area with guns to ensure that you aren't attacked by wild animals. This reflects a new trend in luxury travel.
Chinese people with deep pockets are increasingly enjoying such kinds of trips around the world, with many preferring to visit places that are less frequented by others.
Popular destinations include the Arctic and Antarctic poles, that could cost between 120,000 and 250,000 yuan ($20,000-40,100) per person, and Tanzania and Kenya in East Africa where wild animals are in abundance.
"Those who prefer luxury tours are very rich and tired of ordinary destinations. They like the Sahara Desert tours," says Cao Xia, a senior tour adviser to Abercrombie & Kent China, an arm of a Western global high-end luxury tour operator. She recently accompanied a group of Chinese tourists to Morocco.
According to Cao, such tours aren't just about extravagant accommodation and food. People get to know about local cultures and lifestyles in a way that feels more authentic.
Yang Mengyue, a publicity manager for the Chinese marketing consultancy HHtravel.com, says high-end customers demand "self-fulfillment", be it through leisurely trips or vigorous adventure travel. HHtravel.com is a high-end brand of Ctrip.com, a major travel website in China.
Other than big foreign companies that focus on luxury trips, there are many domestic tour operators and online agencies that offer them as well.
Yang says these customers are mostly multimillionaires aged between 40 and 55, many of whom are company executives, private entrepreneurs and celebrities - some even with their own aircraft.
HHtravel.com is offering an 80-day luxury tour around the world starting from February, at 1.25 million yuan per person, covering dozens of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
About 10 seats were purchased immediately after the company announced the offer.
"Customers of luxury tours prefer privacy and small groups," Yang says.
According to Chen Chen, marketing manager of Abercrombie & Kent China, VIP services include taking customers to the world's iconic tourist sites before or after the regular hours for visitors so as to avoid large crowds. Local experts on history or art are likely to accompany guests who opt for VIP services to tourist sites and introduce them to cultures.
Chen says that scholars with degrees in art will talk about the exhibits in museums with tourists and professional photographers will show them how to take pictures in the Antarctic region.
Guests can also dine with locals and learn to make local handicraft such as Italian puppets, she adds.
"Customized trips help visitors realize their dreams. Some guests, for instance, want to see the slums in Jordan and only an experienced guide can assure their safety," Chen says.
But not everyone in the business offers such custom-made tours.
"Our standard itineraries are well-designed after market research. They have various themes and can meet the demands of high-end customers," Yang says of HHtravel.com's policy.
Despite the growing trend in luxury tourism, Chen says that more and more Chinese customers are needed to make the business boom. Some Chinese middle-class people are also joining in.
Wang Jingkun, 41, spent less than 200,000 yuan on her cruise to the Antarctic in February.
Now she plans to take another customized trip to catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis near the North Pole.
Although such tours are expensive, Wang says that she doesn't mind paying because of the service.
She cites an example of a trip to Egypt, where riots had broken out on the streets. The local guides took good care of her and asked the police to accompany her through sensitive areas, she says.
In 2012, Wang quit her job as a management staffer at a corporation in Beijing, to travel in China and abroad. She has been unemployed since then, spending her savings on travel.
According to Xu Ting, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing-based International Tourism Studies Association, with people's living standards rising, the demand for luxury and customized trips is also increasing.
"Luxury trips are more than high consumption. It's about humanity and detailed services, from consultations until the end of the tour. Agencies should also have emergency plans," Xu says.
By Xu Lin ( China Daily )
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清晨在摩洛哥撒哈拉沙漠里的一頂巨型帳篷內(nèi)醒來(lái),盡管是帳篷,你也可以享受到高級(jí)酒店的全套服務(wù)。配槍的私人保鏢在周圍巡視以保證你不會(huì)被野生動(dòng)物襲擊。這是奢侈旅游的一大新趨向。
有錢的中國(guó)人正十分熱衷于這種周游世界的旅行,他們更喜歡到那些鮮有人去的地方。
南極和北極是比較流行的目的地,每個(gè)人大概花費(fèi)12萬(wàn)到25萬(wàn)人民幣(2萬(wàn)到4萬(wàn)美元),東非的坦桑尼亞和肯尼亞也很受歡迎,那里有大量的野生動(dòng)物。
“那些喜歡奢侈旅游的人大多很富有,他們厭倦了普通旅游。他們喜歡撒哈拉沙漠之游?!?曹霞(音)說(shuō),她是樂(lè)趣旅游集團(tuán)的高級(jí)旅游顧問(wèn),同時(shí)也是西方全球高端奢華游運(yùn)營(yíng)商。她最近陪同一個(gè)中國(guó)旅游團(tuán)前往摩洛哥。
據(jù)曹霞所說(shuō),這種旅游不僅僅是奢華的住宿和精美的食物,游客還可以以一種更為真實(shí)的方式了解當(dāng)?shù)匚幕蜕罘绞健?/p>
楊夢(mèng)月(音),鴻鵠逸游中國(guó)市場(chǎng)顧問(wèn)的宣傳經(jīng)理說(shuō),高端顧客需要通過(guò)休閑旅游或是充滿活力的冒險(xiǎn)旅游來(lái)“自我實(shí)現(xiàn)”。鴻鵠逸游是中國(guó)大型旅游網(wǎng)站攜程網(wǎng)的一個(gè)高端旅游品牌。
除了一些專門關(guān)注奢侈游的大型外國(guó)公司,許多國(guó)內(nèi)旅游運(yùn)營(yíng)商和網(wǎng)上代理也提供此類旅游。
楊說(shuō),這些顧客大都是40到55歲的千萬(wàn)富翁,他們中的大多數(shù)是公司主管,私人企業(yè)家以及社會(huì)名流,一些人甚至都有私人飛機(jī)。
鴻鵠逸游于二月份開始提供一種80天環(huán)游世界奢華游,每人費(fèi)用125萬(wàn)人民幣,包括了許多被聯(lián)合國(guó)教科文組織列入世界遺產(chǎn)的地方。
一經(jīng)推出就有十人預(yù)定。
“奢華游的顧客喜歡有私人空間的小團(tuán)游?!?楊說(shuō)。
據(jù)樂(lè)趣旅游集團(tuán)市場(chǎng)經(jīng)理陳晨(音)說(shuō),VIP服務(wù)包括帶領(lǐng)游客避開旺季到世界的標(biāo)志性地方一游。當(dāng)?shù)氐臍v史藝術(shù)專家可能隨行向VIP游客介紹當(dāng)?shù)匚幕?/p>
陳說(shuō),藝術(shù)學(xué)者們會(huì)跟游客談?wù)摬┪镳^里的展品,還有專業(yè)攝影師教授如何在南極洲拍照。
游客也可以和當(dāng)?shù)鼐用褚黄鸪燥?,還可以學(xué)習(xí)當(dāng)?shù)氐氖炙?,如意大利木偶,她說(shuō)。
“定制旅行幫助游客實(shí)現(xiàn)他們的夢(mèng)想。比如說(shuō),一些游客想看約旦的貧民窟,但是只有經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的導(dǎo)游才能保證他們的安全。”陳說(shuō)。
并不是所有的奢華游旅行社都提供這種定制游。
“我們標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的旅游活動(dòng)日程都是經(jīng)過(guò)市場(chǎng)研究后精心制定的。主題眾多,可以滿足高端客戶的不同需求?!睏钫f(shuō)。
盡管奢侈游正成為一種趨勢(shì),但陳說(shuō)他們需要更多的中國(guó)顧客來(lái)繁榮這一行業(yè)。一些中國(guó)的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)也加入了進(jìn)來(lái)。
41歲的王靜昆(音)女士在二月份花費(fèi)近20萬(wàn)人民幣到南極旅游。
現(xiàn)在她計(jì)劃再來(lái)一次訂制旅游,她想到北極看極光。
盡管這種旅游十分昂貴,但是王女士說(shuō)她不介意,因?yàn)榉?wù)很好。
她用一次埃及行為例,叛亂者毀壞了街道,當(dāng)?shù)貙?dǎo)游對(duì)她悉心照顧,經(jīng)過(guò)敏感地區(qū)的時(shí)候還要求警察陪同。
2012年,王女士離開北京一家公司,在那里她是一名管理職員。辭職后,她開始到國(guó)內(nèi)外旅游。從那時(shí)起,她就沒(méi)了工作,是在花積蓄旅游。
據(jù)北京國(guó)際旅游研究協(xié)會(huì)副秘書長(zhǎng)徐婷(音)說(shuō),隨著人們生活水平的提高,奢侈游和定制游的需求也在增大。
“奢侈旅游不僅僅是高消費(fèi),它還包括人性化和精心的服務(wù),從咨詢開始,一直到旅行結(jié)束。旅行公司還應(yīng)該有緊急預(yù)案。”徐說(shuō)。
許琳?qǐng)?bào)道(中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào))
(譯者 catherine珊 編輯 丹妮)
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