In the past three years, under the impact of the weak global economic recovery and the impact of the new crown epidemic, the tourism industry has been severely challenged.
At present, my country implements "Class B and B Control" for new coronavirus infection, and the restart button is also pressed for outbound travel. Can the tourism industry get out of the haze and usher in spring?
Under the new situation, what is the development trend of China's tourism industry?
And how to achieve revitalization and prosperity?
The tourism industry will enter a new stage of normal development track and high-quality development by the end of this year
According to data from China Tourism Group, during the New Year's Day holiday this year, the number of domestic tourists in China recovered to 42% of the same period before the epidemic, and tourism revenue recovered to 35.1% of the same period.
However, just 20 days later, the number of tourists during the Spring Festival holiday has recovered to 88% of the same period before the epidemic, and tourism revenue has recovered to 73%.
"The Spring Festival in 2023 is the first public holiday after my country implemented the 'Class B and B Control' for the new crown virus infection. A total of 308 million people traveled during the 7 days of the Spring Festival holiday, and the tourism consumption was 375.8 billion yuan, making it the best tourism industry since 2020. The Spring Festival holiday.” Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Academy, said at the “World Tourism Alliance·Xianghu Dialogue” forum held by the World Tourism Alliance on February 24-25.
The exciting statistics don't stop there.
According to data from China Tourism Group, in January this year, the country received a total of 6.13 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 62%, and an increase of 5% over the same period before the epidemic; operating income increased by 26% year-on-year, exceeding the pre-epidemic level.
"The rebound momentum of China's tourism market is very strong." said Wang Haimin, director and general manager of China Tourism Group. The rate of recovery indicates that this year's 'May 1st', summer, '11' holiday tourism market is more worth looking forward to."
On February 6, travel agencies such as China Travel Service, Ctrip, GZL, Spring and Autumn, and Caesars organized a number of outbound tour groups. Chinese tourists were welcomed in the Philippines, Thailand and other places.
Dai Bin believes that this has greatly improved tourism consumption expectations and market confidence, and further laid the foundation for a market that will continue to grow steadily throughout the year and continue to recover.
Based on comprehensive research and judgment on leading indicators such as residents' willingness to travel, employee recruitment, and entrepreneurial confidence based on macro policies, Dai Bin believes that there are reasons to remain optimistic about China's tourism market in 2023. "We predict that the annual number of domestic tourists, Tourism consumption and the number of outbound tourists will recover to 85%, 75% and 40% of 2019 respectively, and will enter a new stage of normal development track and high-quality development by the end of the year.”
In addition, from the perspective of consumption potential, the future of China's tourism market is also worth looking forward to.
According to statistics, the number of middle-income families with an annual income of more than 160,000 yuan in China has reached 138 million, and by 2025 there will be 71 million new households.
Last year, Chinese household deposits increased by 17.80 trillion yuan, which is 1.8 times the amount of new deposits in 2021.
"These all show that China's consumption potential is huge. With the further recovery of consumer confidence, the willingness of Chinese consumers to travel and shop abroad will definitely promote the recovery of China's and the world's tourism market." Wang Haimin said.
"In 2019, China's tourism industry contributed 334 million jobs. We predict that in the next ten years, the tourism industry will continue to create 126 million jobs, and will promote the development of the global economy at a growth rate of 5.8%." World Said Wang Xiaoshi, Director of Asia, Tourism and Travel Industry Council.
Consumption and cognition lead the new trend of tourism development
The recovery of the tourism market will not happen overnight, and the recovery of the Chinese tourism market is not simply going back to the past.
In the past three years, the tourism market has been hit by an unprecedented impact, China's tourism consumption has shown new characteristics, and people's perception of tourism has also undergone major changes, which means that the recovery of China's tourism will experience inevitable twists and turns and challenges.
Dai Bin pointed out that in the past, people's perception of tourism was that the farther you go, the better, and the longer the time, the better.
Nowadays, people are more willing to appreciate the beautiful scenery around them and experience the beautiful daily life.
"Whenever you don't travel in life, China is full of scenery" will become the norm.
At the same time, outbound travel consumption will also tend to be rational.
Reverse tourism, "replacement" tourism, house vacation, micro-tourism, etc. seem to be "personality", but they are "rational" in nature, and the underlying logic will return to consumption choices under the cost-benefit framework.
Dai Bin further pointed out that China has entered a new stage of comprehensive development of mass tourism, which has two main features: first, the market is sinking.
According to the data of Qunar.com, among its customers, the main group of people who bought their first air tickets are between 20 and 25 years old, showing a downward trend, and covering 1,827 county-level cities.
Second, consumption is upgrading.
The "geose catch" type of tourism is becoming a thing of the past, more and more individual tourists have replaced group tourists, and standardized services are changing to personalized services.
"Such tourism behavior will inevitably affect the innovation of commercial supply and industrial momentum, which in turn will affect the adjustment of industrial policies and rule systems."
Wang Xiaoshi sees that business travel and leisure travel are becoming more and more closely integrated with each other, and many people will stay for a few days to travel while on a business trip.
Thanks to the advancement of technology and the impact of the epidemic, people are becoming more and more accustomed to telecommuting, and even a group of young people who choose a new way of life have been born. They work remotely through the Internet while traveling. Digital nomads".
In January of this year, Spain began to issue "digital nomad" visas, allowing foreign tourists to come to Spain and work remotely while traveling.
The new changes in consumption habits are numerous.
Wang Haimin pointed out that before the epidemic, the development of online travel platforms (OTA) had brought a huge impact on traditional travel agencies. However, during the epidemic, the rise of short video live broadcast platforms such as Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu caused a diversion to OTAs. , so that scenic spots, tourist destinations, hotels, travel agencies, and tourism retail on the traditional tourism resource side have new opportunities, and can directly connect with consumers through live broadcast channels.
The digital development of the tourism industry has become a must-answer question
Huang Shunhua, former chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association and member of the executive council, introduced that today's world is already a digital world.
AI, mixed reality, Metaverse, and the recently hotly discussed ChatGPT, the rapid development of digital technology is staggering.
What does digitalization mean for the development of the tourism industry?
How to bring personalized service support to the tourism industry through digital tools?
According to Song Yingqiao, general manager of the MNC Key Account Department of Alibaba Cloud Intelligent International Business Department, there are three key words to empower the tourism industry with digitalization: global, intelligence and experience.
Digitization should cover all aspects of tourists, scenic spots, and supervision. It should be fully realized at all stages before, during, and after the tour. From electronic tickets to personalized recommendations to sales of collections, all links must be Realize intelligence.
Digitalization has built a global and intelligent tourism state, allowing tourists to have an immersive experience.
Fang Tengfei, vice president of Tencent Cloud and general manager of the cultural travel industry, believes that the grafting of general AI capabilities such as ChatGPT and the cultural travel industry will help improve social benefits and bring about changes in production methods.
First of all, in the next 2 to 5 years, the existence form of OTA and Open Telecommunications Platform (OTP) may change. People plan to travel and no longer need to log in to the OTA platform. They only need to describe their needs through a voice portal. General AI The ability can give travel advice based on scientific decision-making models.
Secondly, with the changes in the entrance of travel consultation and reservation services, the form of tourism products will also change accordingly, from standardization to customization.
Provide more personalized solutions in a cost-effective manner.
Thirdly, the delivery form of tourism services will also change, and services such as tour guides, tour guides, and shopping guides will most likely be replaced by general-purpose AI assistants.
In museums, art galleries, scenic spots and other places, general-purpose AI assistants can provide rigorous and interesting tour guide services, and can even conduct in-depth dialogues with tourists and provide more in-depth information.
"It can be expected that assisting customers to interactively complete travel plans and product reservations will become a new channel for attracting traffic. The combination of traditional tourism and new technology channels will make tourists more direct, reliable, effective and accessible to high-quality tourism resources. "Wang Haimin said.
New areas, new tracks, new kinetic energy, and new advantages promote the high-quality development of the tourism industry
Dai Bin said that the tourism development model of "people mountain and sea to eat dividends, and travel around mountains and rivers to collect tickets" has passed.
The contemporary needs of self-living, self-driving, personalization, and diversity require the Internet, artificial intelligence, 5G communications, and modern finance to create more consumption scenarios.
A new era of promoting the construction of modern tourism and high-quality development has arrived.
With the rise of the Internet, smart tourism driven by the demand side has entered a new stage of consumption scene construction, and will move towards a modern tourism industry driven by the supply side in the future.
In Dai Bin's view, modern tourism means the deepening of industrial division of labor and the extension of the industrial chain.
The development of large enterprises, the professional operation of small and medium-sized enterprises and the collaborative innovation of small and micro enterprises will jointly constitute the ecology of the industrial system.
"In the face of competition in the global tourism industry, we must clearly realize that technology is the primary productive force, talents are the primary resource, and innovation is the primary driving force. New fields, new tracks, new kinetic energy, and new advantages are the key to driving It is the only way for the high-quality development of the tourism industry."
China Youth Daily China Youth Daily reporter Xia Jin Source: China Youth Daily