In the past two years, domestic tourism and peripheral tourism have risen, and outdoor leisure has gradually evolved from niche groups to mass consumption. Frisbee, paddle board, camping, etc. have become popular items.
Changes in tourism and leisure needs and concepts have also brought new trends and new products. At the same time, many problems have arisen, such as the lack of safety in Internet celebrity attractions and the homogenization of campsites.
The Beijing News Shell Finance Roundtable invited Yang Yang, general manager of Beijing Spring and Autumn Travel Agency, Chen Hui, senior vice president of Mafengwo, Gu Yue, a global travel explorer and founder of Guyue Travel Club, and Yang Songbai, general manager of RV Life Home. In-depth discussions were conducted on topics such as the supervision of red scenic spots, the gap between the public’s outdoor needs and the status quo, and new trends in outdoor business formats.
In recent years, outdoor leisure has gradually been welcomed by the public. What do you think of the development of domestic outdoor leisure business?
Chen Hui: The epidemic has caused people to slow down their long-distance travel and turn to discover new ways to play around them. The outdoor field has become a key exploration direction.
"Outdoor leisure" has been given a new connotation - from a small group of people's outdoor professional sports to a new way of playing that everyone is willing to participate in.
The "outdoor sports" that once meant traveling long distances and breaking the limit has entered the "era of all people".
Camping and picnics in the suburbs, exploring and biking in the city, and hiking on park greenways can all become a perfect outdoor experience. Outdoor sports in the new era can easily be integrated into every holiday, every weekend, and even every day.
The "Outdoor Leisure Popularity Report" released by Mafengwo shows that first-tier and new first-tier cities are the "birthplaces" of many outdoor trend projects, and the two lead the trend of outdoor leisure with 65% of the total.
Second-tier and third- and fourth-tier cities have grown significantly in recent years, accounting for 35% of the total.
After camping, hiking and biking are the new stars of the outdoors this year, and both pros and beginners can find satisfaction.
In addition, more and more niche outdoor projects are going to the public, and the activity scene is also expanding.
Young people use fly fishing and other "aggressive" lure fishing methods to turn the "static" activity of fishing into an intense full-body exercise.
Paddleboard has also become one of the outdoor games that will be popular on social networks in 2022, and the rivers around you can become young people's "paddling" venues.
Surfing no longer means having to go to the beach. The "Land Chong" (land surfing) originated from skateboarding allows young people to enjoy the pleasure of "flying on the waves" at their doorstep.
Yang Yang: First, I think outdoor tourism and leisure will be good for a long time. No matter whether the epidemic exists or not, people's demand for outdoor will continue to exist; Refined development cannot be homogeneous, large and comprehensive, and not the same for everyone; third, the core competitiveness of outdoor leisure development in the future is still service - including high-quality service, creative service and comfortable service , only service first can lasting victory.
Yang Songbai: After the outbreak of the epidemic, tourists' time has become more and more fragmented, and there are fewer opportunities for groups of people to travel together.
Before the outbreak, everyone drove for a long time or a long distance, such as 300 kilometers or 500 kilometers.
After the outbreak of the epidemic, inter-provincial travel has been restricted, and the distance of RV travel is getting shorter and shorter. Users may choose to travel back and forth by themselves in one day, which will lead to a decrease in the simple surrounding RV rental business.
But through the platform, there has been growth in products that organize users to drive RVs to campsites for recreation.
For example, we will organize some recreational activities in suitable locations in the suburbs to attract tourists to drive their RVs.
What is the gap between the current outdoor demand of the public and the current market situation?
Chen Hui: "Micro-vacation" makes the outdoor scenes fully utilized.
In the past, paddle boards, which could only be played by going to the seaside or in professional training waters, have now become a landscape in the surrounding rivers.
Camping tents have also been set up from forests, deserts, and grasslands to parks around the city and even in the city.
The continuous expansion of outdoor scenes will bring great opportunities and challenges to the outdoor leisure market.
How to develop unlimited fresh gameplay in the limited space around you, and how to attract more zero-based sports "Xiaobai" to actively participate in outdoor activities are the directions that tourism practitioners need to focus on exploring and constantly improving solutions in the future.
Yang Yang: The reason why tourists choose the form of "outdoor leisure" is to obtain a relaxing, comfortable, warm and innovative experience.
Generally speaking, at present, there are more than enough outdoor leisure products in China, but not many high-quality products.
In fact, domestic outdoor tourism resources are very advantageous, but tourism companies are still too rough in the design and service of related products, and the degree of refinement is not enough to meet the needs of people's refined life.
Taking camping as an example, the most prominent problems of camping products on the market are serious homogeneity, lack of market segmentation and themes, and most importantly, lack of services-a considerable number of camping operators simply sell resources rudely, with basically no services. Arguably.
In general, domestic tourism products, including outdoor leisure, are not lacking in quantity and scenic resources, but they lack high-quality products.
It can be seen that whichever destination in China has more boutiques, whichever destination is more popular, such as Gubei Water Town in Beijing and Nianhuawan Town in Wuxi, are the boutiques that everyone talks about.
Yang Songbai: At present, domestic RV tourism is still in the initial stage of development, and the public does not know enough about RV tourism.
There are few consumer groups and lack of experience, so it is difficult for consumers to clearly and clearly express their needs for the design and equipment of RVs.
RV travel is a kind of travel method that requires tourists' hands-on ability, such as manually adding water, cleaning toilets, cooking and cleaning, etc. All these must be done by yourself, which is also the fun of fully experiencing RV travel.
However, domestic tourists are often more inclined to be "served" than to do it themselves.
Additionally, RV trips tend to take longer to fully experience, which the current vacation regime struggles to meet.
Gu Yue: The domestic outdoor leisure market is developing rapidly. Taking camping as an example, whether it is camps, equipment or products, it is very rich now.
However, for the experiencer, I feel that some outdoor common sense and skill support are needed.
For example, many people do not know what is more important in the wild, they bring a lot of food, but they are not prepared enough in clothing and equipment.
The weather in the wild is ever-changing, and hypothermia is the biggest danger. I always bring a raincoat or a windbreaker, as well as some more warm clothes, so that there is no danger of being hungry for a few meals.
In addition, you must be responsible for yourself, especially in areas where there is no mobile phone signal. Before departure, you must notify relatives and friends in advance, ask the locals about the hiking route, bring good equipment, and go home safely is the primary purpose of every outdoor enthusiast.
Do you have any suggestions for the development and supervision of "hot" Internet celebrity attractions?
Yang Yang: With the development of platforms such as Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Kuaishou, a new phenomenon of "grass-growing tourism" has emerged, which is actually a good thing.
Today, a new attraction is formed in better conditions than before - in the past, it may have taken longer and more publicity to make a new attraction impress in the minds of tourists.
Now, with these grass-growing or social platforms, with one or two internet celebrity elements, attractions can quickly become popular.
It can be said that grass-growing tourism provides favorable conditions for new scenic spots and entrepreneurs with innovative spirits.
From a certain point of view, the birth of Internet celebrity attractions has also shortened the distance between consumers and scenic spots.
However, it is not easy for a scenic spot to continue to develop from "net red" to "long red".
As the operator of the scenic spot, you can attract tourists by planting grass or Internet celebrities, but you cannot conquer the world with one move. To gain a good reputation and develop continuously, you must carry out comprehensive and systematic management and operation, including hardware and service levels. overall improvement.
In addition, for the development and management of online celebrity attractions, there is another point that needs special attention, that is, security issues.
The more "net red", the more exciting and fresh it will be, and the more security risks there will be.
Therefore, both managers and consumers must put safety first when planting grass and Internet celebrity attractions.
Gu Yue: For outdoor enthusiasts, this is a contradiction.
On the one hand, the management of scenic spots is standardized, but in the eyes of those who like to pursue wild fun, there may be too many traces of artificial carving; on the other hand, the natural environment of non-scenic scenic spots is better, but there are potential safety hazards. Once it becomes an Internet celebrity attraction, there will be many people who go there, and there will be garbage everywhere.
Those undeveloped Internet celebrity scenic spots do have potential safety hazards, but I think the management of scenic spots should not simply be one-size-fits-all, surrounded by fences, and forbidden to enter.
You may wish to invite professionals to inspect and evaluate, and give a more scientific and comprehensive management plan, and the signs can also be more accurate.
For example, considering the safety of different seasons, if July and August are the flood season, it will be closed during this period and open at other times.
Any kind of leisure and entertainment will attract all kinds of enthusiasts, some are professional, some are for socializing, some are taking pictures and punching cards, camping is the same, surfing, skiing and other outdoor projects are also the same.
I think everyone loves to take pictures and share them on the Internet. There is nothing wrong with them, they are all the way they like, and they should be tolerant.
More importantly, whether it is to enjoy nature or to send Xiaohongshu for taking pictures, one thing in common is to take away all rubbish (including cigarette butts and toilet paper), do not harm the natural environment, and do not feed wild animals, yes. Responsible for your own personal safety, this is the most basic code.
Written in this edition / Photos provided by interviewees from Beijing News Shell Finance reporters Qu Xiaoyi, Wang Zhenzhen, and Zheng Yijia
(The Beijing News, October 12, 2022, version B08)