The Growing Chinese Adventure Travel Market Wants Experiences Beyond Tourist Traps
Skift Take
Young Chinese travelers increasingly want to connect with their adventurous sides as that market matures, but they're also bungee jumping, luging, and skiing to show-off cool photos on their social media profiles to prove they deserve attention and respect.
Snapping photos of Times Square and the Eiffel Tower provide instant gratification for many travelers eager to share selfies with friends on social media, but a growing faction of Chinese tourists also seek adventure experiences such as bungee-jumping from steep river gorges and hiking through glacial terrain.
Last year Chinese travelers made up two-thirds of Queenstown, New Zealand's leading skydive operator’s business and hot air ballooning ranks first as the adventure activity the Chinese say they're most interested in pursuing during a trip to the destination.
Chinese travelers visiting New Zealand independently increased 60% year-over-year in 2014 and independent visitors often have more confidence and flexibility to do what they want than tour group participants have, said Christine Adair, a spokesperson for Tourism New Zealand.
These adventure travelers don't fit the typical profile of selfie stick-carrying Chinese tourists getting bussed around from tour stop to tour stop without taking a deeper div
