China is now flying douchey tourists to Antarctica
- 6 years ago
HONG KONG, CHINA — China claims it has flown its first commercial flight to Antarctica carrying 22 tourists.
The trip consisted of a 15-hour flight from Hong Kong to South Africa, refueling in Cape Town and then another 5.5 hours to Antarctica.
After reaching Antarctica, it was another five to six hours to the South Pole, where the plane landed on a 1.5-mile long runway carved into the ice, the BBC reported.
The Chinese tour operator claims Chinese tourists no longer have to book through foreign agencies.
Although the trip from Cape Town onwards is actually organized and run by tour operator White Desert. White Desert regularly flies trips to the pole.
So in reality, the Chinese are running the tours in cooperation with other foreign agencies.
Chinese tourists now make up the second largest group of tourists to the eighth continent, second only to U.S. tourists.
The number of Chinese tourists in Antarctica has grown from 100 in 2008 to 3,944 in 2016.
The trip consisted of a 15-hour flight from Hong Kong to South Africa, refueling in Cape Town and then another 5.5 hours to Antarctica.
After reaching Antarctica, it was another five to six hours to the South Pole, where the plane landed on a 1.5-mile long runway carved into the ice, the BBC reported.
The Chinese tour operator claims Chinese tourists no longer have to book through foreign agencies.
Although the trip from Cape Town onwards is actually organized and run by tour operator White Desert. White Desert regularly flies trips to the pole.
So in reality, the Chinese are running the tours in cooperation with other foreign agencies.
Chinese tourists now make up the second largest group of tourists to the eighth continent, second only to U.S. tourists.
The number of Chinese tourists in Antarctica has grown from 100 in 2008 to 3,944 in 2016.