Educational, leisure tours prove popular

Educational tours and leisure vacations are closely matched in winning the hearts of Chinese families this summer as the tourism market enters its peak period, which coincides with a two-month holiday for students.

Figures from travel portal Ly.com show that as of early July, educational tour bookings doubled year-on-year on the platform.

Leisure vacation destinations and amusement parks have also witnessed remarkable interest. According to online travel agency Tuniu, destinations such as Haikou in Hainan province, Xiamen in Fujian province, and Qingdao and Weihai in Shandong province have all registered impressive growth in July on its platform, with Haikou seeing tourist numbers surge 127 percent year-on-year in the month.

Qunar, also a travel portal, said its online bookings for leisure getaways such as hotels with water parks on-site or nearby have increased 30 percent on average since the start of the summer holiday.

"My daughter's wish is now the most important — whether it's taking a purely leisure trip or joining an educational tour with opportunities to explore top universities," said Wang Youli, 38, a resident of Beijing, who took her 10-year-old daughter to visit the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in July.

The mother said she used to be torn between the two tourism options that are poles apart, as she had wanted her daughter not to waste a minute of her summer holiday — usually July and August — and gain some new knowledge rather than just indulging in recreation.

"But I've changed my mind since last year, as my daughter complained that she wished to take a break from her studies and the very thought of acquiring knowledge during an outing made her stressful. She is still a little girl, so just having fun during summer time without learning any knowledge is no big deal," Wang said.

Qi Chunguang, vice-president of Tuniu, noted that many parents wish that their children could gain some knowledge or be inspired by educational tours. They want them to get involved in experience events rather than just getting a cursory glimpse of the destination.

He said the company's educational tours are mainly targeted at children in primary and middle schools, and that parents prefer those focused on Chinese traditional culture, nature, science and megastructures.

"For families seeking purely leisure vacations, the parents usually attach more importance to the traveling experience, relaxation and convenience during the trip. They may avoid red-eye flights for more comfortable and less hectic schedules," he said.

Qi added that educational tours to overseas destinations have shown muted growth this summer, which he attributed to safety concerns in some Southeast Asian countries and visa challenges in the United States.

Zhu Kezhao, 16, from Chengdu in Sichuan province, went on an educational tour to Hong Kong in June last year and a leisure family trip to Greece in July this year.

His mother, surnamed Wang, said these trips helped Zhu improve his English-speaking skills besides strengthening family relations. "We've always had the idea of trying our best to let the kids see the world — be it an educational tour or a trip just for leisure," said Wang.

Wei Changren, founder of btiii.com, a tourism-related financial news website, said the rising popularity of the two different tourism products — educational and leisure tours — shows parents' increasingly diversified traveling preferences for their children in recent years.

"Both ways of traveling show parents' wish to let the kids broaden their horizons and gain a fresh understanding of the world," Wei said, adding that travel agencies can keep enhancing their products to meet the needs of adults and children alike.

Zhang Wanbo contributed to this story.

chengsi@chinadaily.com.cn