The restoration of inter-provincial travel has finally brought hope to travel agencies hit by the epidemic in the summer.
On July 14th, the General Office of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a notice on "Relevant Matters Concerning the Promotion of Expansion and Reinstatement of Tourism Enterprises", requesting the resumption of cross-provincial (regional, municipal) group tourism and "air ticket + hotel".
"I was looking forward to this before, and finally I waited for the news. The entire circle of friends was swiped. As soon as the policy came out, it was indeed an injection of'heart booster' for each of us." Wang Yankun, Chairman and CEO of Wolf Totem Travel Excited to the surging news.
On July 15, on the first day of the official "resumption of work" of travel agencies, Peng Mei News (www.thepaper.com) interviewed some travel agencies and learned that during the suspension period of the tourism industry in the past six months, some travel agencies were not affected by live broadcast promotion. Although some have limited incomes, they have been actively preparing for wars and making efforts to transform and upgrade. The introduction of the latest policy injects a recovery agent into the travel agency, but market feedback still needs time to test.
After excitement
On July 14, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Relevant Matters for Promoting the Expansion and Resumption of Tourism Enterprises" and the "Guidelines on Prevention and Control Measures for the Orderly Resumption of Business Operations of Travel Agencies", which clarified that all regions are doing a good job in epidemic prevention Under the premise of control, it is possible to resume the operation of cross-provincial team travel and "air ticket + hotel" business of travel agencies and online travel companies.
As soon as the news came out, the search for air tickets and vacation categories on the Flying Pig platform has been climbing. After the launch of the "willful flying" package on the 15th, there were nearly 2 million influxes in an instant. Cui Yupeng, deputy general manager of Flying Pig Domestic Travel Ecology Business Department, said that there was such good news at the beginning of the summer vacation, which was a great advantage for the tourism industry. The summer season is the peak season throughout the year. Due to the epidemic situation at the beginning of the year, the peak season is basically deserted. Now that the summer peak season is not missed, I believe it will bring back many tourist businesses.
Hou Cangzhou, director of the product department of CYTS Shanghai Travel Agency Co., Ltd. admitted that from January 24 to the present, travel agencies have been closed for nearly half a year. "Our travel agencies depend on airline tickets, hotels, product packaging and some other projects. This policy We are definitely happy to introduce the new release, because there will be income soon, and there will be no income in the past six months."
In addition, he said to the surging news that after the excitement, it was calm, and even a little uneasy. "We have been thinking about the content of this document. Although it is open, we still need the local government's consent to do it. The news is about the entire tourism. The industry is certainly exciting and good news, but in terms of market feedback, there is still a period of adaptation."
Wang Yankun also said that he still needs to observe the current market situation. "The recovery of consumers' mentality in tourism may still require a process and take some time. In addition, the entire economic situation has also fluctuated, and the tourism industry wants to recover to the previous one. The state is not realistic in the short term."
Prepare early to welcome the "Spring Breeze"
"Although we were closed during the epidemic, we did not stop, and we have already started preparations." Hou Cangzhou told the surging news that the CYTS Tour Shanghai started management meetings twice a week in early March. 70% of the labor day Employees have returned to normal work.
They used the vacancies during the epidemic to develop some new special tourism projects, such as focusing on digging deep into the history and culture of Shanghai, helping foreigners and "new Shanghainese" have a deeper understanding of Shanghai, and preparing to launch after the epidemic.
In addition, considering the impact of the epidemic, everyone will have higher requirements for the safety and privacy of travel in the future. CYTS Travel Shanghai also launched a RV tour. The 3-5 car is equipped with a professional RV butler. In addition to driving, cleaning and maintaining the RV, it will also provide tourists with intimate services such as guidance, organization of activities, and travel photography. At present, the project has just started and is in the stage of marketing.
Unlike CYTS Travel Shanghai, Wolf Totem is a travel company specializing in RV tours. As people's demands for privacy increase, their business has not stalled. According to Wang Yankun, the company has resumed work since March 2. During the epidemic, the Wolf Totem’s main RV rental business has achieved good results. Tourism consulting and route planning have not stopped. Many old customers will ask them "if you can go now" Is Xinjiang?" "Can I go to Tibet now?" As soon as the official news was released on the 14th, the number of online visitors and consultations increased significantly.
Hu Xiangdong, the chairman of Guangdong Roaming International Travel Agency, the first batch of domestic tourism companies to try live broadcasting, said that the travel ban during the epidemic had little impact on the company. They resumed work early on the eighth day of the new year and have remained normal for several months. Working status. Due to the epidemic, everyone’s time at home increased. They helped the promotion of scenic spots, resorts, and hotels attract a lot of “viewers,” but instead helped boost the company’s business. Profits also increased by 130% year-on-year. As an innovator in the tourism industry, he was very grateful for his original choice and also felt the importance of reform and innovation under the epidemic.
Innovate ideas and embrace change
"After the epidemic, the habits, mentality and needs of tourists have undergone tremendous changes. As tourism practitioners can no longer follow the old rules, they should provide products that can meet the needs of current consumers." Wang Yankun said, privacy, security, These degrees of freedom will be magnified after the epidemic, so the strategy for group tours and product development and design will change accordingly.
Wolf Totem's next step is to summarize the experience accumulated over the past two years, and then vigorously promote the RV market. In addition, it will also focus on advancing the research and development and strategic layout of autumn tourism products one or two months later or even winter tourism products a few months later.
Hou Cangzhou said that tourism is an industry that is particularly affected by politics, nature, and climate. It should be diversified, and the tourism industry must be independent, strong, and resilient to fight risks. "The whole society is popular and cross-border, and we are also trying." At present, they are developing a variety of special tourism projects such as parent-child travel, study tours, and fitness, hoping to explore a new path.
Although the notice issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on July 14 further relaxed the regulations and approved cross-provincial travel, it was still a dangerous choice to hope for “retaliatory consumption” and fall into joy too early. The interviewees stated frankly that “revengeful consumption” requires economic support, and now it is not only that the economy is not enough to support, but also because people’s psychological trauma in the later stage of the epidemic still needs time to heal. Get new.
"The tourism industry is very important. Tourism itself is an emotional experience. What we have to do is to make everyone have a unique experience and feel the emotional comfort." Hu Xiangdong, Chairman of Roaming China Travel said, "The market will always exist, but times A group of people who stick to the rules will be eliminated. We must have the courage to embrace change."
Surging journalist Zhang Chengjie School of Journalism, Fudan University Lin Xisheng Wang Min Xie Sijin Cai Xintong