China’s service sector shines as holidaymakers embrace pet travel and bespoke adventures
While broader consumption remains soft, demand for personalised itineraries and snow sports is growing, offering a boost to the holiday economy
More Chinese travellers are pivoting from mass-market sightseeing to bespoke adventures to ring in the new year, fuelling a surge in demand for pet-friendly itineraries and winter excursions as service consumption defies a broader economic gloom.
“Tailored travel is gaining traction,” online travel platform Fliggy said in a December 23 statement, citing a shift towards immersive “experiences that go beyond sightseeing”, favouring more memorable moments and personalisation.
In particular, searches for specific niche trips such as aurora-viewing expeditions and pet-inclusive packages soared by 200 per cent for the coming holiday, year on year, according to the platform’s data.
Meanwhile, interest in New Year’s Eve activities – including performances, fireworks and light shows – has jumped 58 per cent.
Fliggy is a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, owner of the South China Morning Post.
Boutique agencies are also capitalising on the trend. Zhong Yi, who runs Yuefeixiang, which specialises in tailored pet-inclusive trips to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, said inquiries for the New Year’s holiday have at least tripled, compared with last year.
“These owners raise their dogs as if they were their own ‘fur kids’ and want to take them out travelling,” he said, adding that such trips provide “greater emotional value”.