Chinese tourists’ Antarctica tour problems highlight market warming to off-the-beaten-path travel
- Some 120 wealthy Chinese tourists have had their Antarctica expeditions put on ice after a Canadian tour company said it was facing financial difficulties
- A significant number of rich Chinese are opting for more off-the-beaten-path travel experiences like the polar regions, Mount Everest and the Amazon rainforest
It was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime to one of the world’s most remote and pristine continents, but Kent Cai now faces the prospect of being thousands of dollars out of pocket with little to show for it.
Cai is among at least 120 wealthy Chinese who have been left hanging after a Canadian tour company that charges more than US$14,000 for a single trip to Antarctica announced it had encountered financial difficulties last week.
One Ocean Expeditions has not responded to calls and emails from customers amid reports that two of its three ships have been recalled by their Russian owners, at least one trip has been cancelled, and staff are owed thousands in unpaid wages. The company did not reply to a request for comment from the South China Morning Post.
“Only four months of each year are available for tourists to go to Antarctic Peninsula, and just a few vessels can make land there. We just couldn’t wait to do the trip,” said Cai, a veteran traveller and entrepreneur from Zhejiang, one of China’s richest provinces.
At least 10 friends have already gone to Antarctica in the past couple years. Most of them are successful entrepreneurs, so of course I have to experience it as soon as possible
Cai and many other Chinese customers are furious and disappointed, but the incident has also highlighted the increasing appetite among affluent Chinese for off-the-beaten-path travel experiences – and the amount they are willing to pay for it.