Why is the "just go" RV travel so popular
What is it like to travel in a motorhome? You can park your car on the grasslands and the seaside, away from the crowds and hustle and bustle of the city, and sleep with the stars and insects; you can also cook and set up a tent to enjoy a sumptuous dinner in the inaccessible niches; Stop and go, enjoy the scenery along the way...
RVs are not the luxury people imagined. At present, the price of RVs is more affordable, and the minimum price of self-propelled RVs is only about 100,000 yuan. A few days ago, the revised "Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses" was officially implemented. The newly added light-duty tow-trailer type (C6) allows more people to travel on the road through private cars and trailers, and the market demand for RV travel will further increase. freed.
How hot is RV travel right now? Why can fire out of the circle? What problems still need to be solved in the development?
1 Traveling by car, RV camping, all kinds of RV travel methods are very popular
For more than a year, RV travel blogger Yang Xu has traveled around the country in a RV for more than a year. During his trip, Yang Xu has walked a large loop line covering a map of China. On his way to Dunhuang, Gansu, he visited the ruins of the Great Wall of Han, and he visited Gannan in Jiangxi. Yangjiao Castle has also arrived at Dengloujiao, the southernmost tip of mainland my country, and RV travel has brought him many unique experiences.
Like Yang Xu, in recent years, more and more people drive RVs and start a journey to all parts of the country.
"First time driving an RV out to play", "Travel life in RV", "Beautiful scenery from the rear window of the RV"... On some social media platforms, many RV owners have shared their experiences of driving RV travel.
The beautiful scenery witnessed during the journey, the RV life experience, and the practical RV travel strategy have attracted many users' attention or started to try RV travel.
In addition to traveling by RV, RV camping around the city has also become another way for people to experience RV travel.
Make an appointment with three or five friends, set up a tent beside the RV, have a barbecue together, enjoy the fun of hands-on cooking, sit on the lawn and watch the clouds and clouds, feel the breath of nature... This year's May Day holiday and Dragon Boat Festival holiday, such as The way of camping has swept the "circle of friends" of many people.
During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, many RV camps on the outskirts of Beijing are hotly booked.
"During the Dragon Boat Festival, there is only one RV that can be booked on the 3rd, which can meet the camping and leisure needs of about 10 tourists. It was fully booked on the 4th and 5th." Before the festival, the person in charge of a RV camp in Chaoyang District, Beijing Ms. Wu told reporters.
In the RV campsite, camping equipment such as RVs, tents, tables and chairs, and canopies are arranged on the outdoor lawn, which can meet the needs of tourists for relaxation, barbecue and dining.
In addition, there are beds, refrigerators, and toilets in the RV, which can supply water, electricity, and showers, providing tourists with a space similar to home rest.
"The campground is large, and the tourists are not crowded, and the camping equipment and entertainment facilities are relatively complete. It is suitable for taking pictures of camping, and it is also suitable for bringing children to play. It is more comfortable and convenient than tent camping." Tang Min, a tourist from Beijing, said.
Data shows that during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday this year, the bookings of camping equipment on the Qunar platform have more than doubled year-on-year; RV camping has become a new trend in camping, and the bookings of RV campsites have increased by 60% compared with the same period last year.
Some online travel platforms have also launched related travel products such as "private RV tours" and "RV self-driving tours".
Since the beginning of this year, the bookings of travel products including RVs have increased year-on-year.
The heating up of the RV sales market also reflects the popularity of RV tourism.
According to data released by the China Automobile Dealers Association, in 2021, the annual sales of domestic self-propelled RVs will reach 12,582 units, a year-on-year increase of 43.2%, and the average monthly sales will exceed 1,000 units; 3,543 units of trailer RVs will be traded.
In the first quarter of 2022, a total of 2,425 RVs were sold, a year-on-year increase of 17%, and the sales volume was the highest in the same period in the past five years.
"Compared to the nearly 20 million RVs in North America and Europe, there is still huge room for development in my country's RV ownership and the RV market." Li, Executive Dean of the Capital Institute of Culture and Tourism Development, Beijing International Studies University Xinjian pointed out that data shows that the number of RVs in my country is roughly 200,000, and the scale of domestic tourism in my country in 2019 was 6.01 billion.
Compared with the huge tourism market in my country, the current proportion of RV tours is still relatively low, and it is still a niche consumption method.
Li Xinjian said that whether the scale of the RV tour market can continue to grow is closely related to the construction of the entire industrial ecosystem.
The RV industry includes many aspects such as the construction of RV rental network, related traffic policies for RV traffic, RV camp service network, RV camp land use policy, RV travel standards and regulations, and RV navigation systems. Continue to grow.
2 Self-arrangement and in-depth experience, RV travel meets new market demands
Under the influence of the epidemic, people's travel methods have changed, and they are more pursuing the tourism scene of "small gatherings and large spaces". RV travel, camping and other methods have adapted to people's current travel needs.
The survey report "China's RVs: a niche market ready to go" shows that in recent years, self-driving travel has become a high-frequency behavior, and RV travel has the attribute of "going to go", which is increasingly favored by the market, and the epidemic has also promoted more Many people choose RV tours.
There are multiple reasons behind the popularity of RV tours.
As for why he chose to travel in an RV, Yang Xu said that a few years ago, he was deeply impressed by the trip to Yuhu in Xinjiang with his family.
"Vehicle space for self-driving travel is small, long-distance travel is not comfortable enough, and food and accommodation will be limited, which brings many limitations to travel and play. If you have an RV, you can not only cook, but also live near the scenic spot and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I will be happier." Yang Xu said.
"Many unique landscapes require tourists to explore freely. For tourists with personal preferences, RV travel provides a free and flexible way for people to explore more inconvenient and niche attractions." Yang Xu suggested that if the travel time is relatively short In short, it is more economical to choose a hotel, and if you travel abroad 100 days a year, it is more suitable to choose an RV.
For many people who choose RVs to travel, RVs meet everyone's multiple expectations for travel - "An RV is equivalent to a home, with bedrooms, kitchens, and toilets, which can meet the needs of a day's daily living" "Driving a RV It’s a rare life experience to go to a long-cherished destination and put your home there temporarily.” “If a family travels with many people, renting an RV to drive to the destination is more expensive than the cost of air tickets and hotels. Affordable”…
Compared with other travel methods, RV travel has more obvious advantages such as freedom and randomness, and also brings more immersive feelings to people.
Li Xinjian pointed out that RV tours are a way of self-driving tours. Therefore, the self-arrangement and freedom of self-driving tours are also very obvious in RV tours.
Unlike traditional self-driving travel, RVs have more comprehensive functions, reducing the dependence on travel needs such as accommodation and dining, and can better meet the needs of staying and visiting anytime, anywhere.
In addition, the RV tour emphasizes "feeling the road instead of rushing", which is more convenient for tourists to immerse themselves in the scenery.
In the beautiful natural environment, under the starry sky, breathing fresh air, bringing tourists a more in-depth travel experience.
In addition, relevant industry insiders pointed out that in recent years, the number of domestic RV brands has increased, various RV models have been continuously released, and the prices have become increasingly close to the people.
Among them, the lowest price of self-propelled RV is about 100,000 yuan, which has attracted many people to join the ranks of RV tourism.
Regarding the current situation of the rising popularity of RV travel, Li Xinjian analyzed that in recent years, RV travel has developed from slow development to accelerated out of the circle. There are many reasons for this.
First, my country's tourism development plan and local policies have given more support to the new format of RV tours, and various problems that restricted the development of RV tours in the past have been gradually solved to varying degrees; More and more, travel needs are becoming more and more personalized, and the demand for free travel is increasing, and RV travel can just meet this part of needs; third, affected by the epidemic, RV travel can reduce contact with strangers as much as possible. To a certain extent, it has promoted the popularity of RV tours.
3 Parking is difficult, facilities are not perfect, and more protection is needed for RV travel
"It was already evening when we arrived at the scenic spot, and we only found out when we needed to park. Due to the height limit, many ordinary parking lot RVs could not enter. We found a parking lot that could be entered temporarily, and the environment at night was not good." shared by Xibao, a tourist from Zhejiang What happened to me on my first RV trip.
On the way to travel, many tourists find that it is not easy to park in RV camps. Due to the free travel routes of RVs and random destinations, RVs can only find ordinary parking lots in most cases, and the number of RV camps is relatively small. , still immature.
In addition, some car owners reported that they will encounter difficulties such as insufficient supply, inconvenient traffic, and poor signal coverage during RV travel: "Because the RV water tank is small, and there is a lack of RV campsites along the way, it is impossible to replenish water every day, so the RV is seriously insufficient." "In some RV camps, there are few charging sockets, and if the power is insufficient, high-power electrical appliances such as air conditioners, washing machines, and water heaters cannot be supplied." "Because the RV body is too high, many roads have limited high poles, so you can only choose to detour"...
The survey report "China's RVs: A Niche Market Ready to Go" pointed out that the construction of "going big and fast" has made the quality of camps uneven.
Problems such as unreasonable planning and imperfect basic functions have been repeatedly criticized by consumers.
Among them, the number of charging piles in some camps is limited, the supply of drinking water and food is insufficient, there are few gas stations and car maintenance services, and the problems of drainage and sewage are relatively prominent, which significantly reduces the satisfaction of RV owners camping.
At present, for the orderly development of my country's RV tourism market, more policies and infrastructure construction guarantees are needed.
In response to the problems faced in the development of RV tours, Li Xinjian said that to better develop RV tours, it is more important to optimize the management system and enhance development awareness.
In terms of management, it is necessary to clarify the focal point and reduce the development restriction caused by multi-head management.
It is necessary to give priority to the promotion of RV development pilot areas in areas with suitable conditions, and actively explore experience in management and operation. For example, in areas rich in natural resources such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, Hainan and other countries have the advantages of pioneering policies and the natural advantages of developing self-driving tours. Tourism development area, Yangtze River Delta and other areas with large-scale market demand.
In terms of understanding, we must pay attention to the positive effect of RV tourism on natural experience and natural education, accelerate the construction of basic and comprehensive, perennial and seasonal, government-based and market-based camp systems, and optimize supporting facilities around camps. Improve the product system of "Camp +", enrich the leisure tourism activities during the stay of the RV in the camp, and make the camp a comprehensive leisure and vacation space, import "traffic" with the RV, carry the "retention" with the camp, and expand the "sales volume" with the surrounding area. ”, to jointly promote the RV tour and the overall development of the surrounding area centered on the RV camp.
In order to promote the development of the RV tourism industry, a series of related policies have been introduced successively this year.
On January 20, the State Council issued the "14th Five-Year" Tourism Development Plan, proposing to promote self-driving car travel, implement the self-driving travel promotion plan, and form a networked camp service system and a relatively complete self-driving car travel industry. Chain, launched a group of self-driving car camps and tourist inns, and reasonably determined the epidemic prevention and control responsibilities of the camps and inns.
In addition, the revised "Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driving Licenses" came into effect on April 1 this year, and a new light-duty tractor-trailer type (C6) is added to the motor vehicle driving license. Those who meet the conditions can apply for additional driving of C6 driving. The certificate provides a guarantee for the light-duty trailer RV to go on the road.
【expert's point】
What bottlenecks still need to be overcome in RV travel
Liao Hongbin, President of Beijing RV Camping and Self-Driving Tourism Association and initiator of the China Self-driving Tour and Camping RV Conference:
Self-driving RV camping has experienced more than 10 years of development. develop.
However, the development of this tourism industry has never reached the scale and speed expected by people, which is mainly due to the lag in the construction of camping camps and other infrastructure.
Liu Hanqi, Secretary General of the Self-Driving and Camping RV Branch of China Tourist Vehicle and Boat Association:
As the infrastructure and public services such as camps, post stations, and RV travel navigation in China are not yet perfect, the supply of RV travel routes cannot meet the needs of RV travel. Many phenomena that are not smooth enough exist, forming a bottleneck for RV consumption to some extent.
Zhang Mingyang, senior researcher of Tongcheng Research Institute:
The healthy development of the RV tourism industry requires not only the continuous promotion and guidance of relevant departments, but also the formation of a complete industrial chain. It also requires the joint efforts of all parties in the society to improve the cycle utilization rate of RV travel.
The development of RV tourism in China needs to introduce more standards, management methods, and incentive policies, which should be formulated based on tourists' consumption habits and coordinated development of equipment manufacturing and camp construction.
Yang Songbai, General Manager of RV Life Home Technology Co., Ltd.:
At present, the supporting facilities and services of RV campsites have been upgraded, but there are still a few campsites that can provide convenient services for RVs in China. Nowhere to park and other troubles, and the state's management policy for RVs is still in a vague state, which has also become a bottleneck for the development of RV tourism.
(Organized by Yao Yaqi)
(Our reporter Yao Yaqi)