高端奢華定製遊開拓國內市場
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 , says high-end customers demand "self-fulfillment", be it through leisurely trips or vigorous adventure travel. is a high-end brand of , 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.
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 '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.清晨在摩洛哥撒哈拉沙漠裏的一頂巨型帳篷內醒來，儘管是帳篷，你也可以享受到高級酒店的全套服務。配槍的私人保鏢在周圍巡視以保證你不會被野生動物襲擊。這是奢侈旅遊的一大新趨向。
有錢的中國人正十分熱衷於這種周遊世界的旅行，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，每個人大概花費12萬到25萬人民幣（2萬到4萬美元），東非的坦桑尼亞和肯尼亞也很受歡迎，那裏有大量的野生動物。
“那些喜歡奢侈旅遊的人大多很富有，他們厭倦了普通旅遊。他們喜歡撒哈拉沙漠之遊。” 曹霞（音）說，她是樂趣旅遊集團的高級旅遊顧問，同時也是西方全球高端奢華遊運營商。她最近陪同一箇中國旅遊團前往摩洛哥。
據曹霞所說，這種旅遊不僅僅是奢華的住宿和精美的食物，遊客還可以以一種更爲真實的方式瞭解當地文化和生活方式。
楊夢月（音），鴻鵠逸遊中國市場顧問的宣傳經理說，高端顧客需要通過休閒旅遊或是充滿活力的冒險旅遊來“自我實現”。鴻鵠逸遊是中國大型旅遊網站攜程網的一個高端旅遊品牌。
除了一些專門關注奢侈遊的大型外國公司，許多國內旅遊運營商和網上代理也提供此類旅遊。
楊說，這些顧客大都是40到55歲的千萬富翁，他們中的大多數是公司主管，私人企業家以及社會名流，一些人甚至都有私人飛機。
鴻鵠逸遊於二月份開始提供一種80天環遊世界奢華遊，每人費用125萬人民幣，包括了許多被聯合國教科文組織列入世界遺產的地方。
一經推出就有十人預定。
“奢華遊的顧客喜歡有私人空間的小團遊。” 楊說。
據樂趣旅遊集團市場經理陳晨（音）說，VIP服務包括帶領遊客避開旺季到世界的標誌性地方一遊。當地的歷史藝術專家可能隨行向VIP遊客介紹當地文化。
陳說，藝術學者們會跟遊客談論博物館裏的展品，還有專業攝影師教授如何在南極洲拍照。
遊客也可以和當地居民一起吃飯，還可以學習當地的手藝，如意大利木偶，她說。
“定製旅行幫助遊客實現他們的夢想。比如說，一些遊客想看約旦的貧民窟，但是隻有經驗豐富的導遊才能保證他們的安全。”陳說。
並不是所有的奢華遊旅行社都提供這種定製遊。
“我們標準的旅遊活動日程都是經過市場研究後精心制定的。主題衆多，可以滿足高端客戶的不同需求。”楊說。
儘管奢侈遊正成爲一種趨勢，但陳說他們需要更多的中國顧客來繁榮這一行業。一些中國的中產階級也加入了進來。
41歲的王靜昆（音）女士在二月份花費近20萬人民幣到南極旅遊。
現在她計劃再來一次訂製旅遊，她想到北極看極光。
儘管這種旅遊十分昂貴，但是王女士說她不介意，因爲服務很好。
她用一次埃及行爲例，叛亂者毀壞了街道，當地導遊對她悉心照顧，經過敏感地區的時候還要求警察陪同。
2012年，王女士離開北京一家公司，在那裏她是一名管理職員。辭職後，她開始到國內外旅遊。從那時起，她就沒了工作，是在花積蓄旅遊。
據北京國際旅遊研究協會副祕書長徐婷（音）說，隨着人們生活水平的提高，奢侈遊和定製遊的需求也在增大。
“奢侈旅遊不僅僅是高消費，它還包括人性化和精心的服務，從諮詢開始，一直到旅行結束。旅行公司還應該有緊急預案。”徐說。
