With the upcoming implementation of the "Tourism Law," many travelers may find that group tour prices could rise significantly. Is this really the case? Will traveling abroad become very expensive? Certainly not. There is a group of "smart travelers" who fulfill their dreams of overseas trips on a shoestring budget. They book flights, accommodations, insurance, and visas all online, enjoying flexible itineraries and cost-effective travel. Sun Youjun is a very typical example among them.
Sun Youjun, 37 years old, has tens of thousands of followers on Weibo. He shares numerous travel deals with everyone every day and even has a well-known nickname — "Flight Killer." However, according to a Southern Daily reporter, three years ago he was just a "white donkey" (novice traveler), having traveled abroad for the first time only then...
Sun Youjun
(Weibo name: sun1975_Etravel)
Occupation: Founder of a travel website
Hobbies: Low-cost travel, photography, gourmet food
£7,000 British Adventure
In November 2009, by chance, he heard fellow travelers talking about cheap airfares online. After searching decisively, he found round-trip tickets from Tianjin to Kuala Lumpur for eight or nine months later, including taxes, for just 232 RMB. "Too cheap!" The price was even lower than a round-trip high-speed rail ticket from Beijing to Shijiazhuang. He immediately bought the incredibly good deal. Since then, he developed a strong interest in budget airline deals and began frequently following discount information from low-cost carriers like AirAsia, Cebu Pacific, and Tigerair — and he couldn’t stop. In 2010, he traveled to the UK using cheap tickets; in 2011, he went to Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, France, Switzerland, and Greece; in 2012, he visited Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. Recently, he just returned from an independent trip to New Zealand.
Some might ask, is this kind of travel considered budget travel? Is it tough? Youjun said his way of traveling isn’t really budget travel but should be called "low-cost travel" — that is, using certain methods to achieve the same travel products or routes at a much lower cost than others, without compromising the quality of the experience. For example, Sun Youjun’s first overseas trip was to the UK. He took a bus from Beijing to Tianjin, then flew from Tianjin via Kuala Lumpur to London. Many would consider this route a bit roundabout, but his personal experience proved it was well worth it. On this trip, he explored Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, saw the London Eye and Big Ben in London, walked across London Bridge, frequented various museums in London, and also visited Greenwich and his long-desired Cambridge... He stayed in a hotel for 1 penny (about 1 RMB cent), a dormitory for over 10 pounds, and rode intercity buses for 1 pound. After completing the whole journey, he calculated that his total expenses came to just over 7,000 RMB. But the travel experiences he gained were incomparable to a 20,000 RMB group tour.
600 RMB for 6 Flights
If that doesn’t seem especially great of a deal, the "600 RMB Six-Flight Trip to Malaysia" shocked many. In April 2011, Sun Youjun departed from Tianjin, flew to Kuala Lumpur, then to Kota Kinabalu (the capital of Sabah), next to Penang, then to Langkawi, and finally back to Kuala Lumpur before returning to Tianjin. With such a complex and far-flung itinerary, how much did he pay for the flights? Including taxes, the total was just 600 RMB.
Sun Youjun spent most of this trip in "Land Below the Wind" Sabah, which could be described as his favorite destination. "Kota Kinabalu is located in a tropical area, where sunshine and beaches are must-enjoy experiences for visitors. I love Tanjung Aru Beach the most. Diving in the waters of Kota Kinabalu is also something travelers yearn for — the South China Sea water is crystal clear, and the coral reefs are rich in an astonishing variety of corals that are truly eye-opening. The local mosques also have a strong cultural and historical feel." He said Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, is perfect for novice vacationers or family trips. Aside from the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, made up of five small islands, there is also Mount Kinabalu (Sacred Mountain), a holy grail for hikers. Because this mountain is still considered the resting place of the ancestral spirits of the Kadazan people, it is revered by locals as the "Sacred Mountain." It is the highest peak in Southeast Asia, reaching 4,095.2 meters at its summit, and it is still "growing," gaining about 5 millimeters in height each year. "Kinabalu (Kina)" in the local indigenous Kadazan language means "China," and "Balu" is said to mean "widow." In Sabah, many magical, poignant, and heroic tales are associated with this "Mountain of the Chinese Widow."
"Besides these, you can also join many short trips, such as mangrove tours, proboscis monkey watching, firefly viewing, rafting, getting a massage, shopping, and so on. If you don’t want to do anything, you can also enjoy the most beautiful sunset clouds. Kota Kinabalu’s sunsets are known as one of the world’s top three sunset-viewing spots. This is because its coastline faces west, and several islands dot the western sea level, making crimson sunsets visible on most evenings throughout the year."
Low-Cost Travel with Insurance Backup
Of course, "you can’t walk by the river without getting your feet wet." Sun Youjun’s amazing low-cost travels haven’t been without trouble. During the 2011 National Day holiday, he traveled to Europe. His original return route was Athens → Paris → Kuala Lumpur → Hong Kong → Shenzhen → Beijing, but due to a sudden strike by airline staff, the flight from Athens to Paris was delayed by two days. This caused him to miss all subsequent connections in Paris, leaving him with no choice but to scrap that part of the plan. He had no option but to buy a direct Air China flight from Paris to Beijing.
Yes, this ticket was expensive, but Sun Youjun suffered almost no financial loss. Why? It turned out that before his departure, he had purchased AIG Travel Guard’s "Round the World Silver Plan." Delays or itinerary changes due to airline employee strikes were covered under the insurance, and he was compensated 6,800 RMB just for those two issues. Additionally, the airline covered over 100 euros in accommodation and meals in Athens. This kind of experience is itself quite interesting and becomes a rare personal adventure during travel. Sun Youjun said, "Only when you go out and immerse yourself in this big world will you encounter all kinds of unexpected wonders."
His recent trip to New Zealand was Sun Youjun’s first time flying "flat bed" — business class the entire way, with a round-trip price of only 3,200 RMB. He traveled from Beijing to Auckland via Guangzhou, with the Guangzhou–Auckland leg in full-flat business class, and the return Guangzhou–Beijing leg enjoyed even more premium A380 first-class service. Recalling the dreamlike scenery of New Zealand, Sun Youjun remains excited. "Flocks of cattle and sheep, vast grasslands, snow-white mountains, and blue lakes... If I get the chance, I’ll visit again."
Founding a Website to Share Deals
Life is endless, and so is travel. Sun Youjun says his goal is to travel the world and let more people know about and practice the concept of low-cost travel, enabling them to visit many places and appreciate the unimaginable beauty of this world.
Sun Youjun thought this and truly did it. Nowadays, there is actually a lot of promotional information online, but individuals often find it hard to keep track of all of it in real time. So what to do? As a seasoned "IT tech guy," Sun Youjun used his spare time to create a community dedicated to sharing travel deal information. It is reported to be one of the earliest online communities of its kind. His idea was to provide an open platform where netizens could share various deals, which would then be disseminated to even more people through Weibo, WeChat, apps, QQ groups, and other channels. Today, his online community has hundreds of thousands of forum, Weibo, and WeChat users, and many have embarked on low-cost travel journeys because of it. Sun Youjun himself has officially transformed from a "white donkey" into a true "travel expert" in style.
99 RMB? Yes, you read that right — just 99 RMB. Can’t afford a house, can’t buy a car, can’t get a fancy meal. But Sun Youjun bought himself a few days in Jeju Island, round-trip from Beijing to South Korea’s Jeju Island. The 99 RMB included airfare with taxes, accommodation, and three meals a day. This came from another travel website flash sale event. Moreover, thanks to his promotion on his own travel community, over 100 fellow travelers successfully snapped up the deal. These "lucky folks" enjoyed the sea in Jeju, Korean cuisine, cosmetics shopping, and had a blast together...
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Sun’s Secrets to Low-Cost Travel
1. How to Find Deal Information
In Sun Youjun’s view, the methods to achieve discounted travel aren’t complicated. The most common ones include the following:
1. Promotions by airlines and hotels. To attract attention, many airlines and hotel groups run promotions. For example, AirAsia holds four major sales per year, and round-trip flights from Guangzhou to Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, or Bangkok, including taxes, often cost just around 500 RMB. Cebu Pacific’s big promotions also offer many round-trips from Guangzhou to Manila for under 500 RMB. Aside from these major promotions, there are weekly smaller ones, and round-trips to Southeast Asia for a few hundred RMB are common.
2. Travel agency leftovers. Many travel agencies reserve a certain number of seats from airlines half a year or even a year in advance, but for various reasons, they sometimes can’t fill all the spots. In such cases, agencies sell these leftovers at extremely low prices. Not long ago, there were round-trip tickets from Hong Kong to the Maldives for 1,999 RMB including taxes, Guangzhou to Phuket or Singapore for over 1,000 RMB, and even a few hundred RMB is common.
3. Flash sales. Flash sales are also a form of promotion, but with even fewer tickets available and even better prices. Examples include 0 RMB tickets, 9 RMB visas, and Southeast Asia trips for a few hundred RMB.
4. Group buying. Group buying refers to multiple people purchasing the same product together to enjoy a certain discount. For example, platforms like Air China Group Buying Network and Qunar.com frequently offer group deals on flights and hotels.
5. Lucky draws. In today’s highly digital world, many airlines, hotel groups, and even some travel agencies often use online or offline lucky draws to attract consumers. For instance, last year Liby Group organized a major “Send You Home” lucky draw campaign, during which someone won a domestic round-trip ticket on any route every day.
6. Second-hand transactions. Some consumers, after purchasing travel products such as flights or hotels, are unable to travel due to certain special circumstances, creating a need to transfer their bookings. Purchasing these products can often come with significant price advantages. In some cases, due to airline restrictions (such as non-transferable tickets), people even give away their tickets for free to others with the same name.
II. How to Snag Special Deals
Once you have information about special travel deals, snagging the limited offers is also a skill. Sun Youjun says that to secure these deals, one needs to be “sharp-eyed, quick-handed, and thoughtful.”
To help people grab flight deals faster, Sun Youjun, a “tech guy,” specially developed two flight deal-snatching tools: an annual price chart for the four major low-cost carriers and an AirAsia ticket-snatching tool.
For someone with a background in mathematics, these software tools are essentially price comparison applications—not overly complicated. The highlight of the annual price chart for the four major low-cost carriers is the creation of a price database linked to these airlines. It functions like an annual price list, using price and time as coordinates to clearly display a price index, making it easy for users to understand at a glance. With a simple interface and user-friendly experience, comparing prices becomes effortless and convenient. Based on the annual price trends, travelers can easily determine their optimal travel times. Additionally, the tool supports queries for connecting flight prices. It’s reported that this software has been visited by hundreds of thousands of netizens. Sun Youjun was also invited to participate in multiple AirAsia events because of this tool, such as the offline event at Beijing 798 in 2010. Moreover, in June 2010, he was invited as an AirAsia guest to London, UK, to cover the Moto GP World Championship it sponsored.
The AirAsia ticket-snatching tool focuses on the fact that AirAsia holds four major promotions each year, each releasing around one million ultra-low-price tickets. During these promotions, netizens from many countries around the world rush to book flights at the same time, inevitably leading to a sharp increase in the load on AirAsia’s servers. So, how can one bypass certain restrictions and snatch tickets faster? Sun Youjun, along with forum moderators, leveraged their expertise to develop several versions of the AirAsia ticket-snatching tool, including a web version and an app version, and continuously upgraded them. When it comes to the AirAsia ticket-snatching tool, netizens speak highly of it—even AirAsia staff have used it to help when they couldn’t snag tickets themselves.