Develop the elderly version interface, support family and friends booking, elderly tourists enter without reservation, set up one-click help...

Seniors can also enjoy smart tourism

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In order to improve the travel experience of the elderly group, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism released a demonstration case of smart tourism suitable for aging, showing the typical practices of smart tourism to facilitate the travel of the elderly, and providing guidance for promoting the development of smart tourism, effectively solving the difficulties of the elderly in using smart technology, and facilitating the travel of the elderly.

Dressed in casual clothes, holding a selfie stick, taking elegant photos with various attractions, and being as energetic as young people... In the recovery of tourism, the figure of silver-haired people has also increased.

In fact, in recent years, the elderly who are healthy, rich and idle are becoming one of the main forces of tourism consumption in China. In the face of a huge elderly customer base, how can scenic spots do a good job in ageing and improve tourists' travel experience?

Professionals suggest that the difficulty of using smart technology for the elderly should be solved, starting from the work scene, considering the needs and experiences of diversified groups, so that smart tourism can better serve the elderly.

The elderly group is enthusiastic about tourism consumption

"Will Yunnan and Dali go on the 13th?" In March, the spring blossoms, 58-year-old Ms. Qi, is looking for travel companions in the WeChat group of dance lovers. Not long after the news was sent, it received an enthusiastic response from the old sisters.

Ms. Qi told reporters that since retiring, she and her wife have traveled several times a year and have traveled all over the country. "Now it is more and more convenient to go out, let the child buy a ticket in advance, an ID card can take the car and enter the scenic spot, mobile phone scanning code, map guide and audio explanation."

According to the Annual Report on China's Domestic Tourism Development (2022-2023) released by the China Tourism Research Institute, in 2021, a total of 45.11 billion middle-aged and elderly tourists over the age of 94 traveled, accounting for 36.81% of the domestic tourism source market.

The reporter saw on some tourism platform websites that there are various types of tourism products such as "parents' tours", "sunset special trains" and "exclusive trips for the elderly", with sales ranging from hundreds to thousands.

After his retirement, Mr. Han, who lives in Beijing's Haidian District, traveled to and from the city and surrounding scenic spots almost every day. "Now many scenic spots implement the 'one-card', after applying for the annual pass, there is no need to queue to buy tickets, you can enter the park directly by swiping the card or scanning your face at the scenic turnstile, and the elderly can play for free at most attractions in the city."

Avoid older tourists being held out by "digital thresholds"

While smart services bring convenience to tourists, many elderly people are blocked by the "digital threshold". 73-year-old Uncle Zhang has never tried to travel by himself, "his eyes are a little presbyopia, many operations will not be used, sometimes the action of swiping the card when entering the door is slow, and he is worried about affecting the people in the queue behind." ”

A few years ago, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism released the top ten smart tourism aging demonstration cases in 2022, showing typical practices of smart tourism to facilitate the travel of the elderly, and providing guidance for promoting the development of smart tourism, effectively solving the difficulties of the elderly in using smart technology, and facilitating the travel of the elderly.

For example, the "Leyou Shanghai" Mini Program has developed an elderly version of the interface to solve the problem of small icons and small font sizes for the elderly to obtain cultural and tourism information, and also supports family and friends booking, as well as reservation-free entry for seniors over 65 years old. The "Water Yun Jiangsu" digital travel card loads the travel products and services purchased and reserved online into the third-generation personal social security card, solving the problems of the elderly who need to carry multiple cards when going out, and it is easy to forget, bring less, and bring wrong.

In view of the difficulty of online appointment for the elderly, Yangzhou Slender West Lake Scenic Area has a consultation window for the elderly over 60 years old and under 70 years old with half-price discounts, cash and online payment ticket vending machines, and the elderly can complete the ticket purchase with the assistance of the staff.

The safety issues that the elderly are most worried about have also been initially solved in major demonstration cases. "Changyou Pingtan" has added early warning of the risk of toileting for the elderly to the functional module of smart toilets. Quanzhou Qingyuan Mountain by installing one-key SOS alarm devices in light poles, garbage cans and toilets in the scenic area, the elderly can press the one-key emergency button for help, report the police situation to the monitoring center, and the management personnel will rescue according to the positioning of functional facilities when they receive the alarm information.

It is recommended that all types of ratings take into account the ageing aspects

"A mobile phone can realize many services such as eating, traveling, traveling, shopping, housing, and entertainment in scenic spots, and official information does not have to worry about being deceived." The tour guide function of many scenic spots is very comprehensive, and you can find any travel information if you want to know, and you can also call the elderly hotline to solve the problem if you encounter difficulties. "Today, Ms. Qi is more proficient in using the small programs of scenic spots than young people.

Deng Ning, deputy dean and professor of the School of Tourism Science of Beijing Second Foreign Chinese University, said in an interview with the reporter of "Workers' Daily" that from the selection results, the area where the smart tourism and tourism market is relatively mature is also an area with a high maturity of smart services suitable for aging. "Compared with other regions, it is highlighted in the practicality and innovation of its age-appropriate services, and more reflects the ability to combine online and offline to solve the actual pain points and problems of the elderly."

You can enter the park by brushing your face, the social security card is universal, and the online guide has a variety of functions... Nowadays, smart tourism to help the aging is becoming the "standard" of some tourist attractions. Dunning suggested that next, innovation, trial and error in mature areas should be strengthened, and they should be encouraged to try first; On the other hand, it also encourages enterprises and industries to learn advanced and mature experience and promote it to other regions, lowering the threshold for the popularization of age-appropriate services.

Deng Ning said that in terms of policy, more substantial encouragement should be given to destinations and scenic spots that provide intelligent services for the elderly, such as various ratings and assessment that take into account the content of ageing.

"In terms of scenic spots and industries, they should start more from their own work scenes and tourists, participate in the research and product development of age-appropriate services, and truly attach importance to and propose effective solutions; In terms of technology enterprises, while providing smart tourism services, they consciously reflect the age-appropriate design, and the product development process takes more into account the use needs and experience of diversified groups. Dunning said. (Reporter Zhou Ziyuan)