Why are group tours so cheap?

On the one hand, there are many people and the prices of air tickets and accommodation tickets are low. In addition, there are some designated shopping activities with rebates from tour guides.

There are two main reasons for the low price: 1. When the cost of group tours is low, the time to visit attractions is limited, or the number of groups is not enough, there will be special offers; 2. Shopping during travel is serious, resulting in secondary consumption.

Current location: On May Day this year, I went to the Three Gorges. Let me calculate the specific costs for self-guided tours and group tours.

1. Self-guided tour 1

Take myself as an example. As a poor student, I don't have a lot of money. At the same time, I lacked travel experience, so I chose a self-guided tour. I feel like my overhead is extremely low. Our school is in Huangshi and the Three Gorges is in Yichang. In order to save time and money, my classmates and I chose to take the night train, which costs 69 yuan from 11pm to 6:30am, so it costs 69 yuan to come back. We went to two attractions, one was the Three Gorges Family, the entrance fee was 150 yuan, the entrance fee was 30 yuan, and a hat was 20 yuan. Because I brought my student ID card, it cost 105 yuan per night. Because the scenic spot is relatively far from the city, we have to take a bus for nearly an hour, and the round-trip fare starts at 30 yuan. In the evening, because it was the last day of the May Day holiday, the hotel was relatively cheap. Two people stayed in a standard room for 89 yuan, and each person only spent 45 yuan. The next day we went to another room. The round-trip ticket is about the same as 14 yuan, snacks are 8 yuan, and scenic spot tickets are 127 yuan. We bought student tickets, which cost 64 yuan per person. We also played several tourist projects there, renting raincoats, rowing boats for 10 yuan, buying small fish for 15 yuan, buying small fish for 10 yuan, fishing nets for 5 yuan, and cherries for 14 yuan = 54 yuan. In addition, we almost ate 5221098=44 yuan. All in all, the total cost of tickets plus tickets is 6969105306414=351 yuan. Including miscellaneous items, the total cost is 6969201054530148645444=522 yuan. If it is not the student price, it will cost about 5227564=661 yuan.

2. Self-guided tour 2

This second self-guided tour is the way to travel, and many families choose to drive by themselves. According to the route we just took, it is about 412 kilometers from Huangshi to Yichang, plus about 40 kilometers from Yichang city to the Three Gorges Scenic Area, plus about 40 kilometers to drive to the Three Gorges Falls the next day, for a total of about 500 kilometers. Including the journey back, it's about 1,000 kilometers. Calculated for a normal car, the gas fee plus highway tolls will cost about 1,000 yuan. Including the tickets for the two attractions, the total cost is at least 1000180127=1307 yuan. This is obviously incomparable to a poor travel like me.

3. Group travel

Personally, I think group travel should be much cheaper than self-driving travel, but it is still a little more expensive than a poor student like me. If you don't like it, let me show it to you. Don't believe me. According to online prices, it costs about 570 yuan to travel from Huangshi to the Three Gorges Scenic Area, the Three Gorges Dam and Qu Yuan's hometown attractions, including all tolls. To be honest, this one has more attractions than mine. If I wasn't a student, this would definitely be cheaper.

To sum up, except for poor students like us, for ordinary families, I think the cost of self-guided travel will be higher.

Which is more expensive, self-guided tour or group tour? Personally, I think traveling in a group is cheaper because there are many benefits to traveling in a group. Most of the scenic spots you take with you are purchased by the hotel at group purchase prices, which will save you a considerable amount of money. Of course, the tour guide on a group tour will inevitably have to take a commission, but this does not change the fact that it is cheaper than a self-driving tour. Of course, there may be many travel companies that will arrange shopping time for tourists, but we should look at these shopping situations rationally. So let’s talk about how to choose a good travel agency. I personally think that when we choose a travel agency, we should not choose the one with a lower price. Travel agencies with lower prices often have defects of one kind or another, and there is a phenomenon of forced buying and selling. Never sign up for an irregular travel agency just because you are greedy for petty advantages. Most travel agencies with lower prices will exist, and they will suddenly increase their charges midway, add shopping venues, and squeeze the value out of consumers. Sometimes, if a business fails, life-threatening events can occur. This kind of thing is common in a major news outlet. The local tourism bureau has severely cracked down on this kind of behavior, but there are still some lawless people who take risks, challenge authority, and make huge profits. When encountering this situation, you must stay calm and consider how to safeguard your rights and interests after protecting your own safety. Of course, this does not mean that when we choose a tour group, the more expensive the better. We should make appropriate choices. When the price is high, we might as well choose self-guided tours, because self-guided tours are more convenient, freer, and can achieve the effect of relaxing yourself. Hope my answer can be useful to you.