Guo Wei takes a trip in Alaska.

Guo Wei travels to the Himalaya Mountains. Photos: Courtesy of W Travel

While large travel companies are busy catering to the average tourists in return for high revenues and large customer flow, the concept of customized tourism is offering smaller startup travel companies a chance for development.

Unlike traditional group travel, a custom tour agency sets up a travel plan where everything is designed for the demands of individual tourists. One such company is W Travel, which was established by 26-year-old backpacker Guo Wei.

Before he started his business in July 2014, Guo studied abroad for five years, during which he spent most of his holidays backpacking through a total of 51 countries across five continents.

"Throughout the trip, I came to understand that the intrinsic desire to explore the wild is part of our nature," he said.

Like those who were born in the 1980s, Guo feels passionate about travel where he can witness the things that urban life cannot offer him.

"When you stand in the highlands of Patagonia in South America, listening to the sound of cracking icebergs, you will be touched by a scene that you will never see in a city," he said.

After one year of effort, his business is now on track with a steady stream of clients, who mostly found out about his business through word of mouth. They spend tens of thousands of yuan per trip, and almost all of the tourists who chose W Travel said they would do it again.

Because custom travel is more individual-orientated, it is more costly. For example, a trip of 12 to 18 days to Chile is 76,000 yuan ($12,243) per person minimum. The trip would include some exclusive experiences, such as hanging out with guanacos at the Torres del Paine National Park or observing blue whales on the Chiloé Island. Horseback riding, canoeing and ice climbing are also recommended parts of the trip.

Yet most of the time, customized tourism is not an easy business. Recently, the company received a request from a senior client who has polio, but loves to travel. He wants to do high-altitude jumping on his trip to Hawaii, and Guo and his team took his request. The challenges of planning this trip include getting the approval of the local extreme sports service provider, and finding a professional instructor to jump with the client.

"We cannot ignore any need of the tourists, no matter how difficult it might be," Guo said.

Throughout the year, Guo spent more than half of his time abroad, playing the role of both tour guide and CEO of his company. He said what impressed him the most was that there are an increasing amount of Chinese travelers who are less focused on traveling to shop and more focused on traveling to seek out new adventures.

As more and more tourists come to Guo seeking an adventure, W Travel has captured the attention of capital investors. Yet Guo has rejected them all.

"I still wish to keep my business free from all the possible restrictions and intervention of the shareholders so that I can be more focused on creating a better product and a better team," said Guo, adding that their wish is to serve their limited amount of clients and serve them well.