350 km North of Chengdu (Sichuan Province) lies a spectacular valley known for its multi-level waterfalls, colorful lakes, and panoramic mountains.  Jiuzhaigou and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Jiuzhai Valley National Park is an overlooked natural gem in Southwestern China, which, despite its location in Sichuan Province, is mainly known for its nine Tibetan villages.

As a strong Tibetan influence has pervaded into the local cuisine, visitors to Jiuzhaigou have the opportunity to various traditional Tibetan dishes.  Butter tea (a soup-like mixture of butter, milk, walnut kernels, peanuts, sesame, egg, and salt) is always kept in a warm teapot, ready for drinking or for greeting guests, and Tibetan dishes such as zanba, and blood sausages are also available.  There is also Qingke Barley Liquor, the Tibetan beer.

Although the most ideal time to visit is between April and November, Jiuzhaigou’s valley can be viewed all year round, with each season presenting its own unique take on the breathtaking scenery.  In the spring, visitors are treated with stunning vistas of blooming flowers, sprouting shoots, and flowing waters, all with a spectacular backdrop of snowy peaks.  And while the summer offers sunny days and cool evenings, autumn allows one to savor the crisp multi-colored autumn landscapes.  Winter, however, isn’t without its charm, with its enchanting snowfalls and beautiful snowscapes.

Notable attractions
Mirror Lake: a lake located at the mouth of Ri Tse Valley, named for its mirror-like surface which reflects the surrounding grasslands, flowers, and distant mountains.

Wucai Chi, the Five-Colored Pond: this lake’s residing aquatic life forms have given it an impressive array color patches, from light green, bright yellow, milky white, to deep blue.

Wildlife
Aside from the painterly landscapes occupying every direction, Jiuzhai Valley National Park is also home to a number of endangered plant and animal species.  These include the giant panda, Sichuan takin, Sichuan golden monkey, as well as many orchids and rhododendrons.

It’s important to realize that China’s image as a must-see destination cannot only be improved through extensive marketing campaigns reaching out to all corners of the globe.  The fundamentals of infrastructure, communication and value need to be considered first and foremost, as only through fully operational venues will the clientele’s increasing luxury demands be met.

HOW TRAVEL CONSOLIDATORS CAN BRIDGE THE GAP

On-the-ground expertise of hotel suppliers’ and TOs, coupled with cultural understanding of customs and business practices throughout the entire country are what enable travel consolidators such as CLTN to bridge the gap, thus affording innovative travel packages that are personalized and value-priced.

The growing demand for superior service and personalized travel experiences requires in-depth knowledge of where the highest standards of hospitality can be found in every destination.  Along with extensive networking with the experts of a particular destination (which offer the most knowledgeable touring experience available), these travel consolidators need to guarantee the most optimum service for any given location in the country.  In addition, travel consolidators can monitor the constantly evolving inbound travel trends, and thereby create new travel itineraries, diversify travel themes and locations, as well as find the means to circumvent infrastructure gaps in less-traveled destinations.

Travel consolidators such as CLTN therefore serve as the facilitator between different suppliers, as well as between suppliers and agents, on top of standardizing service and quality between its members.  It’s a novel concept within the inbound travel industry in China, but one that is required in order to meet travelers’ growing demand in high-end China travel.

Aside from the fundamentals of infrastructure and communication, a range of different factors can also affect China inbound travel trends, and consequently, the travel industry’s current outlook:

Neglected travel themes

When it comes to reigning in visitors for specialized travel, another challenge stems from most travel agencies’ and DMCs’ near sole focus on sightseeing tours.  Inbound travelers – especially luxury inbound travelers — however tend to look for more personalized travel experiences.  In addition to visiting famous landmarks, visitors want to experience the local flavor firsthand, and wish to enrich the experience of setting foot in China by coupling it with special activities such cooking lessons, sports, ceremonies, etc.  To this day, major TOs mainly offer itineraries geared towards visits to architectural landmarks and certain cultural/historical artifacts.  Presently, first-hand visits to ethnic minority villages, traditional festivals, photography excursions, and activities promoting well-being comprise a very small piece of the pie.  These seem to be viewed as fringe itineraries when in fact they are not, as the aforementioned growing demand for different travel experiences clearly states otherwise.

Economic challenges from abroad

Europe and North American markets also pose a challenge to China inbound travel, as the economic recovery following the 2008 crisis has yet to fully stabilize.  This has and will inevitably influence prospective clients’ value-sensitive approach when shopping for a trip.  The issue is further compounded by the rise of the Chinese RMB and the nation’s inflation, which has negatively affected travel products’ competitive pricing.

Infrastructure and communication: a gap between different destinations

While cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and even Xi’an are presently well-suited to accommodate high-end travelers, the situation is very different in Tibet, Yunnan, Xinjiang, and Qinghai, areas which would otherwise provide travel experiences to rival all the previously well-established Chinese destinations.

Inconsistency between the major centers and other areas is mostly a reflection of the required infrastructure to transport clients to these locations, not to mention a communication gap.  Hotels and suppliers in these places may in fact provide a valuable product with a level of service to meet a high-end standard, but they lack the means to communicate their value and attract clientele.  It is either due to a lack of understanding of international languages and customs, or unfamiliarity with the international travel market.  Finding the means to reach out to the proper venues in order to get their brand name out is especially difficult considering the fairly limited number of major travel industry exhibitions.

The disparity between major hot spots and other destinations in China may in part be explained by the attention given by all the major TOs for inbound China travel.  Not only does the vast majority of travel packages include a stop in Beijing, Shanghai and/or Xi’an, when comparing all the tours currently available on the market, these three cities reoccur more often than all other cities combined.  This may indeed reflect travelers’ demand to visit “obligatory” sites during their visit to China (notably the first visit), but it neglects growing demand for other urban destinations as well as off-the-beaten-path locations.

It is estimated that China will become the world’s biggest travel destination as early as 2015.  In the first half of 2011 alone, 66 million people visited China; a number which only backs this claim.  However, amidst the growth, high-end inbound travel to China has only been developing for the last ten years.  China’s inbound travel marketing is no doubt burgeoning, but faces many challenges marked by its relatively early stages of development.

As reported in 2011 by the China Tourism Academy (CTA), inbound China travelers’ overall level of satisfaction has decreased in the past two quarters.  This is mainly due to the relatively slow increase in suppliers’ quality, as well as an insufficient number of locations with venues and service.  A clear indication that even though China offers a rich diversity of cultural and natural travel destinations across a vast geography, most areas have yet to provide the required infrastructure for leisure travel, much less high-end leisure travel.