Bespoke, unusual and luxury trips become flavor of the day

"For example, they would like to stay in rooms in the middle of the ocean, or on the sand or among the trees, go camping, or stay at hotels in castles or in English houses with real fireplaces."

With more suppliers entering the market and competing with each other, the prices of tailored trips are going down noticeably. Last year, the average spending on domestic tailored tours was 3,200 yuan, down a hefty 20 percent on the previous year, while the average spending on a trip abroad was 7,800 yuan, dipping 8.2 percent year-on-year, Ctrip found.

In 2017, Ctrip's tailored holidays platform received more than 1 million orders, and its sales surged more than 200 percent year-on-year. Most of those making bookings came from major cities, but the growth rate of those from second and third-tier cities topped that of the major cities.

During the Spring Festival break in February, Ctrip received more than 70,000 orders, and their traveling destinations covered over 100 countries. The longest trip was a 23-day tour of South America, and the order with the largest number of travelers was a tour to Sanya, Hainan province with a group of 100 people, it found.

Ctrip added that last year, those born in the 1990s accounted for 30.82 percent of people making bespoke bookings, followed by those born in the 1980s, who made up for 30.65 percent of the total.