Ctrip has changed the way Chinese tourists travel. But how?

Probably, the greatest myth about China is that the land of the oriental has either insular people or those who seem only interested in activities that are rather robotic and mundane, directed only toward serious objectives or pursuits.

No matter who you are or what you do, there’s been a quiet sense of disenchantment about China that one comes to foster for no particular reason at all. It’s as if the feeling that China and its people are only about serious industrial, corporate, “means-to-an-end” endeavor (s) and that’s about it!

The land of the Great Wall, the home to the mythical dragon as also the greatest filmographic tribute to it- Bruce Lee- has, in the wake of the past few decades’ solid economic rise, come to depict a feeling of massive industrialization, hyper-infrastructure development with the GDP forever rising.

But is China only the land of a booming urbanity as exemplified by its familiar penchant for manufacturing, the uncanny ability to ‘second’ if not ‘replicate’- as often alleged- pretty much everything the world has on offer?

Could it be that the common allegation- There is Hollywood in the West, so China created one of its own and that there are massive amusement parks and leisure zones like the revered Disneyland elsewhere so China also created one- be stifled with an erroneous notion that that is all there’s to the Oriental-land?

Could it be that there’s more to China than meets the eye and even when it confronts its critics, is conveniently shrugged under the carpet?

Well, nothing could denounce the ill-advised notions one fosters about China as well as a clear bird’s eye view of its tourism industry.

In here lays the answer to understanding the Chinese-mindset; one that’s also engaged in discovering the world around it as much as being embroiled in controversies that link it to the greater world.

If you happen to have traveled anywhere, of late, whether it’s Taiwan or Vietnam in the East or Russia in Central Asia, whether it’s Prague in the heart of Central East Europe or Djibouti in North Africa, the one thing you can’t deny then it’s the presence of Chinese tourists.

You could actually call them anything you like: whether they are a conveyor of China’s meteoric rise in the west or an indication of its assertion that the country’s reach for global ascendancy is beyond doubt, incredible.

But what you can’t deny is that the Chinese aren’t into themselves; they believe in exploring the world they’ve come to inhabit. And implicit in the rise of this ideology is the tourism sector, currently being buoyed by agencies such as Ctrip.

Ctrip has actually redefined the way the Chinese tourists explore around. But just how is that.

China’s largest online travel agency, Ctrip, run by a lady entrepreneur- Jane Sun- is the living embodiment that China’s not even remotely primitive or lackadaisical to the electrifying global phenomenon: Gender equality with women taking on key leadership roles.

That at the helm of the affairs of Asia’s largest and among the world’s most used online travel firms is a steely woman should reaffirm the fact that China is being led well by women of the commitment of Jane Sun, named the most creative people of 2017 by Fast Company(www.fastcompany.com).

In a recent discussion with the said website, the Chinese leader said the following,

“We are not a traditional online tra­vel agency,” says Sun, who served previously as both chief operating officer and chief financial officer.”

So even at a time as Ctrip is making bigger investments, such as a purchase of a handful of Chinese-language U.S. tour operators in 2016, Ms. Sun always encourages staff to introduce smaller, stickier services and features on the platform. The app now offers everything from airport parking and luggage-concierge services to a currency-exchange program—all ideas that were incubated in-house.

To add further, Ctrip realizes the value of tapping into other markets, for instance, India where it bought off a stake of Make My Trip. In addition to its latest purchase, its CEO considers the market to be of particular importance to the country owing to its population, an eager youth market and culture that’s always willing to explore the world.