Survival is a victory, tourism practitioners have transformed "fancy self-help"
"Part-time delivery is just a temporary transition"
From the freezing of the Spring Festival holiday to the gradual recovery of the Qingming, May 1st, and Dragon Boat holidays, the domestic tourism market is recovering in an orderly manner. However, the epidemic is not over yet, and the travel agency is still in the winter. Qilu Evening News and Qilu Yidian reporters surveyed a number of travel agencies in Jinan and found that they faced varying degrees of business reduction, loss of personnel, and even the test of being closed. Live streaming, cross-border sales, personal customization... They said that now they must "live".
Text / film Qilu Evening News, Qilu Yidian
Reporter Cheng Lingrun Yu Yue intern Dong Yiyang
The turnover is only more than 2000 yuan after resuming work
Dragon Boat Holiday order is 0
On June 29, Zhang Xiaoguo, chairman of Shandong Guoxin International Travel Service, was handling the matter alone in an office beside Jingshi Road. "There were more than 40 employees in March and April, and now there are only more than a dozen." Zhang Xiaoguo said that in order to survive, they leased an office of nearly 300 square meters, and the original plan to move into the new office was temporarily Shelved. It is understood that medium-sized travel agencies like them have lost nearly one million yuan.
Lu Zhongli, general manager of Shandong Ctrip Best Travel International Co., Ltd., also said that only intra-provincial tourism can be carried out now, "but the intra-provincial tourism unit price is low, and the transaction amount is basically not going."
"The epidemic is not over yet, people's willingness to travel is still not strong." Jia Li (pseudonym) on duty at a Jiefang Road store in a travel agency in Jinan said that in the past Dragon Boat Festival holidays, the store did not have an order, and the turnover after resumption was only 2000 Multiple. "The money is not enough to pay the water and electricity bills." Jia Li pointed to the air conditioner next to him and said that she would only turn on the fan on duty.
"From January 23 to now, we have only paid once." Jia Li said that compared with the decline in income, he was more worried about being cut by the travel agency.
"The Dragon Boat Festival just passed has nothing to do with our travel agency." The marketing manager of a large travel agency in Jinan said helplessly, because the tourism in the province and the surrounding tourism are the mainstay of holiday tourism, and due to the repeated epidemics in the recent period, business has appeared in the Dragon Boat Festival. When it is "0".
According to the data from Tianyan, there are 4,250 enterprises with "travel agency" in the registered name in Jinan. Affected by the epidemic, 82 of the 841 "travel agency" enterprises registered in the last two years have been cancelled. Among them, Shandong Leyou International Travel Agency Co., Ltd. cancelled 11 sales departments, Shandong Confucius International Travel Agency Co., Ltd. cancelled 7 business departments, and Nanjing Tuniu International Travel Agency Co., Ltd. cancelled 9 business departments.
"Find the transition with low threshold first"
Travel company manager to deliver food part-time
At 6 p.m. on June 30, 34-year-old Zhao Xiao rode on an electric car and began his work as a "rider" from the farmer's market in the star community of Jinan to Gilbeiyuan. He spent 30 minutes riding nearly 5 kilometers. Send a patty to the customer's home.
"This order can earn 7 yuan 4, usually the farther away the more money is given." After leaving the customer's house, Zhao Xiao swiped the phone to grab the next one and said. He has been working as a rider for more than two months. From the initial delivery of more than ten orders a day, to the present day, he can deliver more than thirty orders. But before becoming a takeaway rider, Zhao Xiao did a very different job.
"Actually, I am a business manager of a travel company." Zhao Xiao has been in the tourism industry since 2007 and it has been 13 years so far, but his recent experience forced him to start "transformation".
On January 22 this year, Zhao Xiao’s company’s business began to stagnate. “We’ve returned the tourists’ money, but the airline hasn’t refunded it to us. In order to help the company get through the difficulties, I’ve borrowed 70,000 Diversity, plus mortgages now pay more than 3,000 yuan per month."
The company where Zhao Xiao works has more than 20 employees, and now they are basically doing part-time jobs. "My wife used to work in finance at the company, but now she is also doing part-time jobs. Some have lower thresholds."
In addition to food delivery, Zhao Xiao also tried to set up a stall. During the Dragon Boat Festival, he and his wife made some handmade desserts and sold them at the night market near the West Railway Station, but the results were not good. "I sold 200 yuan for three nights, but the cost was about 220 yuan, so I finally lost money." He said with a wry smile.
Recently, Zhao Xiao found another job in a construction consulting company, working there during the day, and then taking out food at night, but he is still full of confidence in his old bank, "I personally like to travel very much. To maintain my livelihood, it is only temporary. Transition."
Live introduction of attractions and bring goods
It is also recommended to sell grilled chicken Ejiao
"We set the tone of'survival' in March and April, because we can only prepare and develop when we survive. First of all, the company can't close down, and the second employee shouldn't be lost. Looking at survival now is the core theme. "Said Zhang Xiaoguo.
In order to get out of the predicament, Zhang Xiaoguo, chairman of Shandong Guoxin International Travel Service, made a new way out, that is, live streaming. Taking advantage of the familiarity of the resources, they conducted a "cloud explanation" online, and they also sold Texas Braised Chicken, Golden Silk Jujube, Dong Ejiao, etc.
"There are two purposes for live broadcasting. The first is to plant grass. The live broadcasting can stabilize the fans and customers; the second can bring goods and take Shandong's specialty products out of the way. Don't let people idle." In addition, Zhang Xiaoguo is also studying deep excavation Cultural travel resources, "Doing live broadcasts requires hotspots and novel things, which also drives us to dig deeper into the stories behind tourist attractions. Over two months of live broadcasts have harvested thousands of fans."
On the evening of July 1, Jiahua Travel Agency also conducted a special live broadcast. "We did the live broadcast in the Ruogu Mountain Scenic Area. The goods in the live broadcast room are a little special, not ordinary goods, but homestays." Zhao Ruxin, the marketing manager of the travel agency, said that the homestay products are very popular when the outing is the main force. Their travel agency and homestay hotel cooperate to carry live broadcasts and bring goods, which is also an industry self-help measure.
Beijing Zhongxin Youya International Travel Service Co., Ltd. Shandong Branch established an MCN company in February this year to specifically incubate live-streaming celebrities, invited several live-streaming celebrities, and regularly carry live broadcasts and short video platforms to internal employees. Training.
Some cross-border march into real estate
Explore future deep transformation
"Tourism is low-frequency consumption, but daily consumption is high-frequency. Travel agencies master high-quality goods and souvenirs at destinations, which can be purchased by tour guides, endorsed by travel agency brands, and sold online and in stores, which can enhance customer stickiness and broaden. Revenue channel." Zhang Ming, chairman of Shandong Jiahua Tourism, said that they are exploring a new "travel + life" tourism retail model, using travel agencies as a flow entrance, and turning travel agencies from people to life.
On February 8, the "Destination Selection Mall" developed by Jiahua Tourism was officially launched. The e-commerce platform mainly sells souvenirs from overseas and domestic tourist destinations. "We also help farmers sell slow-moving agricultural products, and the Biantang in Xiangxi Prefecture, Hunan Province, sold 200,000 jin in 2 days." Zhao Ruxin said, "Destination Select Mall" has reached more than 10,000 yuan in sales every day. At present, the e-commerce platform has more than 100 kinds of goods.
On May 27, Jiahua Travel entered the real estate industry again. In Zhang Ming's view, tourism can "graft" with all walks of life, he is very optimistic about real estate related business. "We have a team, and now there are hundreds of people who can do this." Zhang Ming said that their main business now is to sell real estate, and they are now selling a real estate in downtown Jinan.
Zhang Ming said that they want to use their customer resources to dig into the real estate industry and expand the profitability of the enterprise. At the same time, they also use this special period to carry out in-depth transformation. In the future, Jiahua Real Estate will also develop real estate.
"Cross-border tourism is also very worthy of promotion. We have also used this time to make up for the shortcomings of the past and integrate industrial tourism, agricultural tourism, rural tourism, and rural revitalization." Zhang Xiaoguo said that they are still trying to expand the travel agency's The business radius can not only be a tour group, but also be a marketing plan and publicity endorsement for scenic spots.
Change profit model and push niche routes
Forced myself out of the comfort zone
On May 1st, the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the outskirts of the province, the outskirts of the city, and the rural ecotourism became hot spots. Although there are not many tourists following the group, the travel agency still sees business opportunities, that is, there is a strong demand for personalized, high-quality and experiential tourism.
"Traditional tourist routes and grouping modes are becoming more and more unpredictable, but small package groups and private customizations are on the rise." Zhang Ming analyzed that family and friends travel together freely, and travel agencies need to work hard in this regard to improve R & D capabilities, continue to expand market share.
"We have now developed a self-driving tour project." Zhao Ruxin explained, specifically, that is to provide self-driving tourists with ticket booking, hotel booking, explanation and other services.
In addition, Jiahua Tourism has also developed a new homestay business. "In the past, the homestay was combined with a tour group, but now it has been developed separately. The transportation problem is solved by the tourists themselves." Zhao Ruxin said that this personalized service is more suitable for young people.
"The epidemic has exposed the weakness of offline stores in the field of non-following group travel, which is where we are currently trying to innovate." Lu Zhongli, general manager of Shandong Ctrip Best Travel International Co., Ltd., said that their travel agency launched a large number of non-following group travel, half Free travel, Jingjiu packages and other products to increase transaction volume.
"This is also an opportunity to force us out of the'comfort circle' and we will also practice'internal strength', waiting for the rebound in tourism demand." Du Zhengtai, vice president of Beijing Zhongxin Youya International Travel Agency Co., Ltd., believes that the travel agency should be in the epidemic period Practicing "inner skills" and improving business capabilities to deal with "blowout" tourism after the outbreak.
The days are getting tighter and not tighter
The epidemic situation accelerates the reshuffle of the industry, and now the government, society and enterprises are needed
As one of the industries most affected by the epidemic, travel agencies have become "difficult households to resume work." In the absence of cross-provincial travel and outbound travel, travel agencies in the "half-recovery" state are still clinging to their teeth, but the dilemma of continuing to make ends meet makes travel agencies confused.
So, how big is the impact of the epidemic on travel agencies? How to save travel agencies? What are the development trends of travel agencies in the future?
Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point
Reporter Cheng Lingrun Yu Yue
Group development of large travel agencies
Small and medium-sized travel agencies made "specialized stores"
"The key to the survival and development of travel agencies lies in the upgrading of products and services." Zhang Ming, chairman of Shandong Jiahua Culture International Travel Agency Co., Ltd., said that the situation of travel agencies getting tighter and tighter was not caused by one day, nor did it appear this year, but because of the new crown pneumonia. It is becoming more and more obvious that travel agencies should study the market demand in a down-to-earth manner, and provide in-depth products and services with temperature to attract customers with stickiness.
"At present, the domestic travel agency market is still immature, scattered, small, and weak. After a period of severe winter, it will accelerate integration." Zhang Ming analyzed that the new crown pneumonia epidemic will make the industry "shuffle", and large travel agencies should report to the group In order to develop in the direction of development and increase the industrial chain, small and medium-sized travel agencies must develop in the direction of specialization and become "specialized stores". Small travel agencies can consider becoming distributors of large and medium-sized travel agencies to save warranty money, rent, and labor costs. The brands, products and management of big travel agencies can get more customers, and the business and income are more guaranteed.
Zhang Ming said that the integration of travel agencies can make the market relatively concentrated, more standardized and orderly, can reduce zero negative group fees, forced shopping and other phenomena; small travel agencies that are unwilling to join large and medium-sized travel agencies can also freely combine to form a law firm-like Partner structure. At the same time, travel agencies need to introduce partners to solve the cash flow problem. The most important thing is to choose partners who have both capital and resources.
"Establishment of enterprise product cooperation as the basis, industry chain cooperation as the way, and reasonable distribution of benefits as the leading co-construction, sharing, cooperation and win-win development." Secretary of the Party Committee of Shandong Tourism Vocational College Chen Guozhong believes that the internal industry chain of tourism enterprises and industries should be explored Cooperation model.
"Forming an innovation chain of tourism industry led by intelligence and technology, combining makers and entrepreneurship to form a leader in new fashion, the originator of new products, and the manufacturer of new consumption." Chen Guozhong suggested that through technical collaboration, market Synergy and capital collaboration to form a cross-industry and cross-factor enterprise development model, such as hotel + finance + pension real estate, hotel + scenic spot + hospital, forming a cultural tourism enterprise group's ability to penetrate industry levels and integrate resources across borders to achieve a strong comprehensive Competitiveness.
Travel agencies must not only save themselves
You need to work together
Wang Chenguang, a professor at the School of Economics at Shandong University and director of the Cultural and Tourism Research Center at Shandong University, believes that under the current situation, not only travel agencies need to save themselves, but also social assistance and government assistance. "Because there is no market now, this industry cannot rely on pure enterprise self-rescue to survive. If people still value the value of the tourism industry, to a greater extent, it should be government and social assistance, plus industry companies' own assistance. Three parties combined."
In response to the cold winter, Jinan's relevant departments have also taken many powerful measures, such as large-scale return of travel agency security. "If the impact time is relatively short, only a few months to half a year, the government uses the refund security to solve the basic capital flow of the enterprise, which can temporarily maintain the balance of the enterprise itself. But the impact of this outbreak is far from In more than a few months, if you miss the peak tourist season, it is not a problem that can be solved by the guarantee money. Perhaps a large number of travel agencies will face difficulties in survival."
Wang Chenguang believes that from the perspective of the overall regulation of the tourism industry, the government needs to introduce some new policies, "including taxation, bank loans, etc., the government gives more support. From a social perspective, because many travel agencies now have It is renting a house, can you appeal to upstream and downstream companies to give travel agencies some buffer time." In general, the government still needs a package of policies to give the tourism industry a higher level of attention and more substantial assistance and support.
However, experts also believe that the dilemma facing the tourism industry is also an opportunity to rethink and transform. "Although the current side effects are large, they also have a positive effect in the long run, and will stimulate the re-aggregation of social forces, which is helpful to the transformation and upgrading of the industry." Wang Chenguang said, for example, after the SARS in 2003, the entire travel agency New changes have taken place in the industry, and online travel agencies have quickly replaced physical travel agencies to dominate. This time, there are similar signs.
From the establishment of Thomas Cook Travel Agency in 1845 to the present, the travel agency has a history of nearly 200 years. Wang Chenguang believes that the tourism industry has vitality and will certainly not disappear. But in the long run, the influence of scientific and technological factors on travel agencies will be greater and greater. "Twenty years ago, a telephone and fax machine might be able to open a travel agency. Now if you don't have a website or a customer management system, it may be difficult for the travel agency to survive and operate."
Family travel themed tourism has become a trend
Artificial intelligence will be widely used
Regarding the future of tourism development, Zhang Xiaoguo, chairman of Shandong Guoxin International Travel Agency, believes that the prospects for tourism are still broad. "From the perspective of social development laws, people's pursuit of material has a ceiling, but their pursuit of spiritual life is unlimited. Tourism provides this spiritual nourishment to people, which is why it has become the world's largest industry."
"The tourism industry is also very fragile. A little change in the outside world will affect tourism in the first place." Zhang Xiaoguo also believes that it is impossible to focus on the current situation affected by the epidemic. "During this time, people's living conditions have changed, including consumer psychology, consumption methods, and travel methods. A new form of consumption has been formed. If tourism still maintains the previous state, it cannot adapt to the status quo, so changes must be made."
"A variety of new media methods, such as contactless access control systems, contactless tour guides, driverless sightseeing cars in the scenic area, self-selected self-service systems for tourist goods, and online booking, will lead to traditional tour guides from booking to travel, from physical space management to Intelligent space management, from manned management to unmanned management and self-service management has become a new service method." Chen Guozhong said that tourism companies can build product development and production, process service provision, and community market through digitalization, intelligence, and community groups. New development methods for direct sales and community marketing.
Zhang Xiaoguo believes that in the future, tourism individualization will be further enhanced, small groups and family travel will become the main form of organization, theme tourism will be greatly increased, and people will pay more attention to emotion and family. It will have a profound influence on the choice of future tourist destinations and the choice of process, to pursue in-depth cultural tourism. Characteristic and in-depth cultural tours will become the mainstream of the future.
Chen Guozhong suggested that research and development, health tourism, sports tourism and other key products should be strengthened in research and development and upgrading, so as to adapt to the new changes in market demand after the epidemic.
Wang Chenguang believes that the next step in the use of artificial intelligence in the travel industry will become an important aspect, including its degree of understanding of the market, and its ability to serve customers will also increasingly change the status and ability of travel agency services. "This will promote the development of the entire industry."