Breathtaking antiquity, stupendous scenery, cuisine ,and diversity are the keywords of China given by Lonely Planet. You would find the world's oldest civilization and the extremely dazzling modern skyline in China at the same time.
Credit： The Palace Museum
Given the country's size and diversity, China is not usually a destination for people traveling abroad for the first time. China's landscapes span the range from A to Z, dozens of must-see places scatter all over the country in all directions.
When I travel in China, I never go through a travel agency. The tours offered by traditional travel agencies, like Thomas Cook, for instance, are really “tourists-oriented”, if you want to experience the local life and have an in-depth interaction with the destinations, you have to “explore on your own.”
Besides, the OTA and OTP, like Ctrip or Fliggy, in China are well-developed with excellent brand awareness. It is very easy for me to book flights and hotels at the best price.
I saw an article several years ago, saying that many travelers are scared to come to China without a guide due to the language barrier and the completely different culture. Planning a trip to China can be a real challenge and they tend to go through by global travel agencies with good reputations, like Thomas Cook.
Credit: Pixabay
However, I found this has been changed. An Italian friend of mine traveled to China on her own for 20 days. She booked a flight package on Thomas Cook and for those destinations she booked on Chinese local OTAs by herself, which enabled her to save a sum of money. She told me that China was probably the safest country that she had visited and almost everyone (except the aged) in big cities could speak English.
Now more and more travelers aim to look for a flexible and unique experience with a good price. The brands need to reach consumer's values and goals.
For most of travel agencies, they are functional brands rather than symbolic brands. To meet the target audiences' core needs and understand the changeable market trends are very important for their brand strategies.
However, the package tour is still a choice if you only have one or two weeks as you won’t waste time on planning. Being taken good care of is not a bad thing, that’s also the reason why the aged prefer to choose tour rather than an independent trip.
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