The Chinese are generally known to be frugal and modest, so it’s quite a surprise to hear that a 66-day luxury trip around the world sold out in just 13 SECONDS! The trip costs [a mere] RMB 660,000 – over $100,000 USD. The 11-person tour is organized by Ctrip – a Chinese travel agency conglomerate. (Tip: book airline tickets through them when you’re in China – they’re much cheaper than the usual travel agencies/airlines).
The “world tour”, China claims, is the “ultimate travel experience.” The itinerary looks something like this:
Australia + 24 days in South America + a cruise to Antarctica + North Africa + Europe + a 10-day cruise through the Med + Paris + Finland + Dubai + India + Hong Kong.
They’re flying first-class to all of their destinations, staying at the most high-end and posh hotels, and only participating in luxury-related activities. Read the article at CNN Go here.
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I think this type of “tour” is an embarrassment for China. Not only is it ridiculously expensive given that the price tag is 8-10x that of the average annual Chinese salary, but I think it’s extremely homogenous, limited, and narrow-minded. Don’t get me wrong, people are absolutely free to travel however they please and by whatever means they desire but don’t call this the “ultimate travel experience” globetrotting tour of of the world when you’re only going to a fraction of it. (These are my personal thoughts only and do not reflect those of CNN Go or Ctrip.)
This is not how I want to travel. I like the idea of being small, self sufficient, and determining what types of activities I do myself. And so expensive…