Young people are starting to "join good group deals" on Meituan to avoid being ripped off during travel.
Written by: Guobaoyou
01
This generation of young people are "piecing together" their vacations
Young people without summer vacations have started to piece together their own holidays.
By squeezing out two days from annual leave and sick leave and adding the weekend, they create a "mini summer vacation". The beaches of Qinhuangdao, Dalian, and Qingdao are crowded with young people watching the sea. Some "special forces travelers" even take short - haul international flights, and white - collar workers in Shanghai have turned Osaka and Tokyo into their backyards.
According to the "2025 Summer Hotspots and Trends Report" released by Meituan Travel, since July, the search volume for air tickets on the Meituan App has soared by 99% year - on - year. The search volume for hotel accommodation has increased by 48%, the search volume for surrounding tours has increased by 48%, and the search volume for tour groups has risen by 42%.
By moving their workstations to places without ceilings, young people on "unorthodox vacations" have come up with all sorts of ways to enjoy their holidays.
Liang Ying, a girl working in Hangzhou, took one day of annual leave on a Friday at the end of July and went on a three - day, two - night relaxing trip to Qujing, a summer resort in Yunnan. She woke up naturally in the hotel every day, rode an electric bike alone, went to the most beautiful Xinhua Bookstore to read or sat in a park to relax during the day, strolled around the old streets of Qujing and local cafes at night, and when she was hungry, she went to various small local restaurants to eat rice noodles and wild mushrooms. This short three - day summer - escape trip eventually became a healing journey.
Some people prefer a slow - paced vacation, while others pursue high - efficiency vacations. Some may take a four - day, three - night "special forces" trip to Xinjiang, not missing any of the meals they want to eat or any of the scenic spots they want to visit; others may take a red - eye flight to Bangkok, spend four days there eating Thai food and practicing Thai boxing, and then return early on a weekday, aiming to balance work and vacation.
This way of piecing together holidays has a general term on the Internet - "piecing together a good vacation". When the meager holidays meet the needs of workers to travel and relax, how to travel more frequently within the limited annual leave has become something that many workers need to plan and study besides their KPIs and OKRs.
CC, who has been working for four years, has a total of eight days of annual leave. As a travel enthusiast, CC meets with friends to travel and relax almost every quarter. However, due to the limited annual leave and not wanting to just casually visit places, CC and friends have to carefully study the legal holidays on the calendar each year, calculate the most cost - effective days to take leave in the gaps between holidays, and piece together holidays to travel.
During the New Year's Eve this year, CC and friends combined two weekends and one day of New Year's Day holiday to piece together a nine - day mini - vacation and went on a New Year's Eve trip within Yunnan Province. In September last year, under great work pressure, CC and friends took three days of leave on a weekend and started a five - day food - tasting trip in Guangdong and Hong Kong.
CC and friends in Yunnan
More and more young people are piecing together their holidays. For the upcoming National Day holiday, many young people have started planning early, thinking about how many days to take leave and where to go. There are even netizens on the Internet who have kindly shared strategies for workers to piece together holidays to travel abroad during the National Day. For example, by taking only three days of leave, you can have a 12 - day consecutive vacation. You can go on a maple - viewing trip along the east coast of Canada, or have a in - depth circular tour in Turkey, or even take a tour of two European countries that combines history and island romance... Inspired by these, CC plans to take two days of annual leave on the 9th and 10th, and go on a 10 - day trip to Indonesia, leaving on the 3rd and returning on the 12th. This way, CC can avoid the peak tourist flow and enjoy the holiday more.
Even though their destinations vary greatly, their purposes are quite similar. They long to piece together the most cost - effective holidays within the limited vacation time, and maximize their experience of different local customs, historical cultures, and escape from their work state.
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Don't be a travel fool
However, the pieced - together holidays are not always full of "poetry and the distant land". Although Liang Ying's solo trip was free, when she wanted to order some substantial dishes, she had to give up because she couldn't finish them, thus missing the opportunity to taste local specialties. Moreover, covering the accommodation and food expenses alone is less cost - effective than splitting the bill. CC and friends, as two "P - type" people, didn't make a careful travel plan, and accidentally visited several bad restaurants, which greatly reduced their travel experience. "God will punish every 'P - type' person who doesn't make a plan," she sighed. Even those who look for travel companions on the Internet may end up parting ways because of different travel rhythms, and a two - person trip may turn into a solo visit...
Even if you sign up for a tour group to save trouble, you may not have an ideal journey. A netizen signed up for a senior citizens' tour group, hoping to have a relaxing tour, but found that most of the people in the group in their 70s were in better shape than themselves. "Climbing mountains was a piece of cake, and altitude sickness was non - existent." The netizen felt more exhausted than a "special forces traveler" during those days. Another netizen signed up for a bus tour group for the sake of price, but they were just rushing from one place to another, sleeping on the bus and taking pictures when getting off. Sometimes, they had to get up at five in the morning to complete the itinerary and walked tens of thousands of steps every day. "I don't know if I'm here to take a vacation or to go on a military training," the netizen said.
In order to improve their travel experience and not be a travel fool, some young people who are proficient in "piecing together a good vacation" have started a new way of "piecing together" - small - group tours.
Compared with senior citizens' tour groups where you have to compete with the elderly in terms of physical strength and financial resources, and bus tour groups that rush from one popular check - in point to another, these small groups usually have no more than 10 people, mostly young people of the same age. In terms of route planning, they combine popular travel destinations and trendy check - in routes among young people on social media with young people's photo - taking needs, aiming for a relaxed, photo - worthy, free, and harmonious experience. In terms of itinerary arrangement, they focus on pure sightseeing without shopping, comfortable stay without early rising, and in - depth exploration instead of a hasty visit.
Screenshot of "Polar Island Forest", source: Internet
There will be no experience of "spending money to suffer" or the illusion of "wasting the leave", small - group tours can help young people understand local customs and historical cultures more deeply and also meet their needs for personalized social interaction with peers.
In May this year, Miranda, who was having a hard time at work, urgently wanted to take a trip to change her mood. She worked as an executor and planner in an advertising company. Due to the different ideas of her boss and clients, Miranda, as the executor, often had to mediate between them. Exhausted, she decided to take a look at nature during the gap between projects. Since the travel plan was sudden, Miranda couldn't find a suitable travel companion and didn't want to visit a strange city alone, so she signed up for a small - group tour in Xinjiang on social media.
Miranda joined a "3 + 2+1" group, which included a family of three, two girlfriends, and herself. Before departure, Miranda was worried about being with a group of strangers for six days and five nights. However, on the first day of meeting the group members, all her fears disappeared - the tour guide took extra care of her during meals, the girlfriends offered to take pictures of her, and the family of three shared local snacks with her. When traveling by bus, to pass the time, they shared workplace gossips and discussed workplace experiences. When they learned that Miranda wanted to quit her job because of work problems, the group members didn't tell her like her parents to "just keep working, it's hard to find a job now", but encouraged her to "try more when you're young".
Miranda at Sayram Lake in Xinjiang
Originally, Miranda signed up for the small - group tour for "safety and convenience", but it gave her unexpected surprises. During the five - day trip, Miranda and the group members hiked, went shopping, drove around the lake, took pictures of each other, and complimented each other like "Your dress looks so nice" and "This photo is so beautiful". Miranda felt that she was not only healed by the scenery but also by the emotional support from the group members.
Obviously, small - group tours have become a popular travel choice for more and more young people. Some people value the convenience of small - group tours, believing that the detailed services of travel agencies can save every "P - type" person who doesn't want to make a plan. Some people value the social aspect and hope to meet like - minded friends in a few days. Others value the "blind - box" - like additional features of small - group tours, experiencing the unique feeling of "starting a new life with new people in a new environment". "You don't need to discuss or make decisions with anyone, and there are no trivial matters or troubles. You just enjoy the journey every day."
The emergence of small - group tours has made the precious holidays that young people carefully piece together more effective and valuable.
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Love to "piece together" and you will win
The demand for small - group tours among young people is increasing, and a wide variety of small - group tour projects have emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
Searching for "group - piecing tours" on social media, you can find various small - group tour plans. The routes, itineraries, and prices are quite similar, making it difficult to choose. This trend of group - piecing tours has also led to new competition among merchants. Some travel bloggers have launched exclusive tour groups for their fans, some travel agencies have launched interest - based social tour groups for different circles of enthusiasts, and even ordinary travelers have privately customized small - group trips with tour guides.
Although these group - piecing tours can bring blind - box - like surprises, for young people, as there are more and more homogeneous travel products, the unknown and uncertainty behind random selection still make young people worried and fearful. They may even ask three consecutive questions: Is it reliable? Is it safe? Can it work?
At this time, a well - known and officially - endorsed tour group may bring a sense of security to young people. Recently, Meituan Travel has launched a service guarantee plan for small - group tours.
The route options cover a wide range of areas. You can take a "7 - day, 6 - night grand loop tour of Northern Xinjiang's Altay and Yili" to immerse yourself in the magnificent scenery of Northern Xinjiang, experience the "four seasons in one day" on the Duku Highway, taste authentic Xinjiang food at the Altay Night Market, and enjoy horse - riding and local dance performances in the popular Hemu Village. You can also take a "6 - day, 5 - night pure - play small - group tour in Gansu and Qinghai" to deeply experience the cultural charm of the northwest, admire the vast glaciers of the Qilian Mountains, explore the Dunhuang Flying Apsaras in the Mogao Caves, join the carnival at the Mingsha Mountain, and wait for the beautiful sunset in Dunhuang. You can also take a "6 - day tour of the whole of Tibet" to explore the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon and admire the majestic Mount Everest...
Compared with similar group - piecing products on the market, Meituan's small - group tours not only select these popular routes but also control the prices through the platform, ensuring the cost - effectiveness of the products. At the same time, the itineraries of these small - group tours are not completely fixed and can be slightly adjusted according to the requirements of the group members, saving the trouble of making your own plan and retaining the space for exploring the city.
Moreover, small - group tour routes selected as "Meituan Good Products" support free cancellation and modification before 6 p.m. one day before departure, and there is a dedicated customer service that responds within 30 seconds. In case of forced consumption or forced shopping, Meituan Travel will initiate a trust - based compensation without waiting for the merchant's confirmation to protect consumers.
Of course, if you want to experience the local life more deeply, you can also easily unlock a one - stop travel experience of eating, drinking, playing, and shopping on Meituan - you can taste local food, search for authentic flavors according to the "Must - Eat List" and learn about food culture, and even order food delivery to your door to taste local specialties without going out. You can also experience the local lifestyle, whether it's sitting in a coffee shop or a bar for a day or booking a relaxing massage, and easily find good places for leisure nearby. All aspects of travel, including eating, accommodation, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment, can be achieved in one app.
From carefully planning their holidays, to carefully selecting travel companions, and then to comparing travel routes every day, young people are taking back the initiative of their lives outside of their busy and trivial work.
What they carefully plan is not only their holidays and itineraries but also their yearning and love for life. They use the highest cost - effectiveness to create infinite experiences with limited resources, turn every travel moment into real happiness, and maximize their enjoyment of every moment of life.