Chinese entrepreneur cashes in on nouveau riche's wanderlust with one-off itineries
Entrepreneur believes he's on a winner with his tailor-made trips that offer the world on a plate
Chinese tourists spent US$102 billion overseas last year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. The mainland is the world's fastest-growing tourist market. One man hoping to cash in is Cai Mingdong from Ningbo, Zhejiang province. Cai, 36, used to be a financial journalist but now has a company that runs tailor-made trips for mainland tourists.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, every Chinese graduate thought studying at a famous overseas university was a great chance to see the world. After I graduated from Cardiff University's school of journalism in 2003 I came back to Ningbo and became a financial and property reporter. I interviewed many wealthy entrepreneurs and it was interesting to hear how they spent their money in their spare time. I built up my own import and export business in 2010 and got into the tourist sector in 2012 as I thought it would really develop.
I travelled a lot across Europe and North Africa when studying in the UK between 2002 and 2003. I was struck that there were so few Chinese tourists there. I was always mistaken for somebody Japanese. In 2005, while I was making trips across Asian countries, I started to come across young Chinese backpackers.
In 2010, when I was on a driving trip in New Zealand, I saw many Chinese tour groups. While I was having a break at a tourist attraction in New Zealand I was surrounded by dozens of tourists. They were really interested in my car trip, thinking it was much more interesting and adventurous than the organised trip they were on. Some even wanted to quit the tour group and join me. I suddenly thought I had found a way to sail into a "blue oceans'' market. People in China are getting rich and an overseas trip is an easy way for them to enjoy their wealth and happiness, but they are usually limited to a few boring tour routes. Also, the value of the renminbi was continuously rising and inflation was soaring. Increasingly, Chinese people in the cities think spending money on a trip and shopping overseas is a good deal. I knew it was the perfect time to start my business.