In the face of camping charges ranging from 50 to 500 yuan, some consumers complained that the price is expensive, and the campsite said that "the cost is lost and the profit is made."
How does the "camping craze" last when the "poetic" experience requires a high price?
Industry insiders said that "Qianjing"'s vast camping economy needs to be stable and far-reaching, and it is necessary to tighten "standard tents"
Our reporter Li Guo
"Workers Daily" (July 20, 2022 Edition 04)
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With the "camping fever" quietly out of the circle, the camping economy has risen strongly.
In the face of camping charges, some consumers complain that the price is too expensive, and some consumers think "value for money".
Some campground leaders said that the charging standards are formed based on factors such as site construction, equipment maintenance, and personnel wages, and some campgrounds are still "making money at a loss."
The broad camping economy of "Qianjing" needs to be regulated and guided to be stable and far-reaching.
"The price of 199 yuan per person to participate in camping activities is definitely expensive in terms of cost-effectiveness, but it is also worthwhile for children to have a close contact with nature." This is Liu Jianhua (pseudonym), a resident of Jiulongpo District, Chongqing. The feeling after camping in Taisiya Forest Park in Shapingba District.
With the "camping fever" quietly out of the circle, the camping economy has also risen strongly.
The reporter visited and found that the different charging standards and the uneven facilities and service levels make tourists have mixed comments on the camping that is full of "poetic" but is closely related to money.
When the "poetic" experience requires payment, do tourists still buy it?
How can the booming camping economy run steadily and far?
It's a bit expensive to "play the floor" in the wild
"Since this year's 'May Day', I have always been able to read various camping news in the circle of friends, barbecue, starry sky, grass... This makes me yearn for it, and I also have the idea of taking my family to experience 'flooring' in the wild. "Liu Jianhua said that after a simple comparison, he decided to go to Taisiya Forest Park, and spent 398 yuan on the ticketing platform to buy 2 adult tickets for camping activities.
After arriving at the park, he spent another 99 yuan to buy a half-price ticket for his 6-year-old son.
After Liu Jianhua's family arrived at the campsite, they learned from other tourists that if they stayed in the park, they would have to spend an additional 199 yuan to rent a tent.
If you do not stay overnight in the park, you must leave at 9:30 p.m. at the latest.
If they don't bring their own ingredients, they have to buy ingredients at the standard of 80 yuan per adult and 40 yuan per child.
"At that time, I could only rent a tent and buy ingredients with the idea of 'if you come here, you can stay safe'." Liu Jianhua introduced that since he had no camping experience, when he came, he thought that the camping activities written on the ticketing platform would be eaten. , living and playing are all included, but when I arrived at the scene, I found that the ticket price of nearly 500 yuan only included the entrance ticket to the park, the tools and spices needed for the barbecue, and a tent for taking pictures.
"This time, it cost me nearly 900 yuan to 'play the floor' in the wild, which is really a bit expensive." He sighed.
Zhou Xiaoxiao, who has been in the tourism industry for 8 years, told reporters that at present, the per capita consumption of some popular charging campsites in Chongqing is between 50 yuan and 500 yuan.
Previously, when the campsites sold tickets to the outside world, they often used the banner of "camping activities", and did not explain the items included in the ticket price in detail, which gave tourists a certain misleading.
Nowadays, many campgrounds have changed "camping activities" to "picnic experience" and "outdoor barbecue" when selling tickets due to complaints from tourists.
In Zhou Xiaoxiao's view, with the rise of "camping wind" and the arrival of "summer heat", camps with higher altitudes will be "fired again", and tourists may spend more and more on camping.
Some campgrounds are still 'losing money'
"Post-80s" Zhang Yunhai took over a farmhouse in Fengsheng Town, Banan District, Chongqing at the beginning of this year, and after going through the relevant procedures, he built a campsite nearby to provide an exquisite camping experience that does not stay overnight.
"My place is not big, but the canopy, tents, retro lights, coffee machines, and stereos are all available." Zhang Yunhai introduced that he invested about 250,000 yuan from infrastructure to equipment. The camp provides self-service barbecue, singing and other services for a fee The standard is 180 yuan per person.
Since its opening in April this year, after deducting various costs, the net profit is only about 10,000 yuan.
"Even so, there are still many tourists who leave messages on some platforms that the price is too expensive."
During the visit, the reporter noticed that most of the paid campsites are located in the scenic spots, with relatively complete supporting facilities, special personnel to maintain the site environment, the geographical location is relatively remote, and most of them do not require tourists to bring their own tents, tables, chairs, benches and other camping equipment.
And some open campsites around the city, although free, but you need to bring your own equipment for camping, and some campsites also require no open flames.
"Our charging standards are formed based on factors such as site construction, equipment maintenance, and personnel wages. If the fees are too low, the camp will be difficult to maintain." The heads of several charging campsites in Chongqing stated frankly that compared with ordinary scenic spots, campsites The charging standard is indeed not low, and in the eyes of some tourists, it is very "burning money", but for some camping sites, it is still in a state of "losing money and shouting".
Campsite fees need to be standardized and guided
Is the camping fee of several hundred yuan worth it?
The reporter's investigation found that tourists who felt "value for money" said that they purchased camping equipment at least one or two thousand yuan, and as many as tens of thousands of yuan, and charging campsites can basically provide these equipment, allowing tourists to travel lightly.
At the same time, it can also avoid problems such as garbage cleaning and personal safety when camping.
Some tourists who think the charges are unreasonable say that the tickets purchased for entering the scenic spot include hygiene, safety and other matters. Camping equipment is a long-term use item and should not be charged too high.
And most camping enthusiasts have basically achieved "traceless camping", and the pricing standard for charging is obviously unreasonable.
Industry insiders believe that, from the exposed real problems, the different charging standards restrict the development of the camping economy.
How to solve this problem?
The relevant person in charge of Hongchiba Town, Wuxi County, Chongqing told reporters that riding the east wind of rural revitalization and "camping fever", the town government and Jiuping Village in the jurisdiction jointly built the Yunqi Valley Camping Base.
Before the base was put into construction, they found during the inspection that some existing camping bases are prone to vegetation damage, environmental pollution, hidden dangers of fire due to lack of standardized guidance, as well as problems such as opaque charges, inconsistent standards and insufficient infrastructure.
Therefore, after the town government "supported" the camping base, it "pulled a hand" in the operation and management to supervise the operation of the camping base and gradually improve the operation and management system.
"The government's participation in the construction of camping bases, the formulation of management systems and early operations can not only make up for the lack of standardization, but also provide 'after-sales service' for tourists, so that the camping bases can go further," said the person in charge.
"Qianjing"'s vast camping economy needs to be stable and far-reaching, and "standard tents" need to be tightened.
Industry insiders said that there are also some industry development problems behind the "camping fever", which requires "cold thinking". Administrative supervision, industry self-discipline, scenic spot services and tourist quality must keep up with the rapid development of the camping economy.