When it comes to traveling, most people would choose to go with their families or friends. But now, many are choosing new travel. buddies--their pets. Zeng Qingbin is one such person. Over the past eight years, the 35-year- old from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, has traveled across the country with his dogs--a Shiba Inu named Chai Chai and a Labrador retriever called Ba Bao. In Zeng's eyes, these dogs are like his children. "I've always dreamed of letting them run freely on wide grasslands with snow-capped mountains in the background," Zeng said.
As-traveling with pets becomes more popular in China, related services are also growing.
Zhang Wei, who specializes (专门从事) in pet hiking, has organized about 180 pet trips since 2022. Each trip usually includes two to five professional guides for groups of up to 30 owners and their dogs. " ★ and all the guides are trained to deal with various emergencies (紧急情况) in the mountains," Zhang said. What's more, Zhang's team asks pet owners to fill out a form about their dogs to provide a better service before a trip.
At the same time, airlines have begun offering charter (包租) services for pet owners to travel across the country and even internationally.
On June 14, China's first outbound (出境的) charter flight allowing pets landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport after taking 60 tourists and 18 pet dogs to Thailand. There will be more trips to South Korea, Southeast Asia and Europe.
Though pet tourism is still in its early stages and faces many challenges in China, it is becoming a promising area for exploration in the tourism industry (行业), experts said.
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