2023 is coming to an end, and China's tourism industry has accelerated its recovery this year. Since the beginning of the year, all localities have regarded tourism as an important industry to expand domestic demand and boost consumption, introduced supportive policies, launched measures to benefit the people, and carried out rich activities.
We select a set of data related to domestic tourism, Chinese tourism and inbound tourism on the world stage to "paint" a "portrait" of China's tourism industry and outline the development of China's tourism industry. From this, we have not only witnessed the steady development of China's tourism, but also looked forward to the development prospects of China's tourism.
In the first three quarters, tourism revenue was 37 trillion yuan.
On December 14, the ** Information Office held a series of press conferences on the theme of "Authoritative Departments Talk about the Beginning". According to statistics, in the first three quarters of this year, the total number of domestic tourists was 36700 million, to achieve tourism income of 37 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of %. Residents' demand for tourism has been released in a concentrated manner, and residents' travel has increased substantially. While driving the expansion of related consumption, it has also promoted economic recovery. In response to a reporter's question, Du Jiang, vice minister of culture and tourism, said that this year's tourism market can be described as "hot".
"Popular" is also the personal feeling of Zhang Xu, a tourist from Beijing, who has traveled several times this year. During the Spring Festival holiday, he originally planned to go to Hainan with his family for the New Year, "because the reservation was a little late, and the homestay was full, so I had to give up." Zhang Xu recalled. During the National Day holiday, Zhang Xu's family flew from Beijing to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and then rented a car to start a self-driving tour, slowly visiting the Mozhigrad River, Erguna Wetland, Mordoga National Forest Park, Murowei Port and other places. "Along the way, we met a lot of tourists from all over the country, either as families or with friends. Zhang Xu introduced that many hotels along the self-driving tour are "hard to find", and they often need to wait for more than 1 hour for dinner.
The hot tourism consumption is inseparable from the sufficient supply of tourism products. Since the beginning of the year, various localities have actively developed new forms of tourism and launched new tourism products, and many places have ushered in a steady stream of tourists, and many places "are the peak tourist season all year round". According to statistics, there are currently 1 A-level scenic spots in the countryThere are 490,000, more than 700 national and provincial tourist resorts, 111 national tourism and leisure blocks, 243 national night culture and tourism consumption clusters, and 142 national industrial tourism demonstration bases. Du Jiang introduced that this year, 10 Yangtze River-themed national tourism routes, more than 400 "Rural Four Seasons Good Scenery" national rural tourism boutique routes, as well as "Reading Li Bai and Traveling to China" theme tourism routes, Chinese tea culture theme tourism routes, etc.
The China Tourism Academy (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism) recently released the "China Tourism Group Development Report (2023)", and the number of domestic tourists in 2023 will reach 540.7 billion, domestic tourism revenue will reach 52 trillion yuan, recovering to 90% and 91% of 2019 levels, respectively. Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said that after a year of rapid recovery, the tourism economy is about to usher in a new stage of prosperity and development.
With the upcoming New Year's Day holiday, the tourism market is expected to usher in a "good start" in 2024. According to Ctrip data, the overall travel orders for the New Year's Day holiday in 2024 will increase by more than 3 times year-on-year, with Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Harbin, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Chongqing becoming popular destination cities. Tongcheng travel data shows that skiing, hot springs, chasing the aurora, ** performances, outdoor mountaineering, islands, cruises, hotels and watching fireworks are the most concerned travel themes for tourists during the New Year's Day holiday.
Eight villages were selected as "Best Tourist Villages" by the United Nations World Tourism Organization
Not long ago, Huangling Village in Jiangxi, Xiajiang Village in Zhejiang, Zhagana Village in Gansu Province and Zhujiawan Village in Shaanxi Province were selected into the 2023 United Nations World Tourism Organization "Best Tourism Villages" list, and together with the previously selected Yucun Village in Zhejiang, Xidi Village in Anhui, Dazhai Village in Guangxi and Jingzhu Village in Chongqing, the total number of villages selected in China has reached 8, ranking first in the world. These villages on the world stage have become the epitome of rural tourism to promote rural development, and they are also a window to show the new look of China's beautiful countryside with good ecology, good industry and beautiful life.
Rural tourism is a tourism activity that occurs in rural areas, and it is a spatial concept relative to urban tourism, and all the activities such as sightseeing, leisure, health care, summer vacation, and entertainment participated in in rural areas and all the consumption behaviors generated belong to the category of rural tourism. Since the early 80s of the last century, China's rural tourism has gone through 40 years of development. In recent years, with the continuous advancement of rural revitalization in various places, rural tourism has made great progress. Song Rui, director of the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that various localities have excavated rural characteristic resources and built the whole industrial chain of rural tourism. Rural tourism has become an important way for urban residents to relax and vacation. According to statistics, at present, there are 1,597 key villages and towns in rural tourism across the country, which have become important destinations for people's rural tourism.
According to data from the Ctrip platform, in the first three quarters of 2023, the domestic rural tourism order volume has recovered to 264% of the same period in 2019, with a strong recovery momentum. The change in the number of homestays is the best reflection of the market's expectations for the future of rural tourism, and the recently released "Ctrip Rural Tourism Revitalization *** 2023)" shows that in 2023, the supply of rural homestays on the Ctrip platform will create the highest growth in five years, and the total number will reach a historical peak of 330,000. In addition, among the rural tourism crowd in 2023, the post-00 population from first- and second-tier cities will increase by 164% year-on-year, becoming the fastest growing tourist group. The young customers also brought fire to the rural play methods such as hiking, camping, parent-child study tours, farming research, rural adoption, and pastoral photography. In 2023, more than 500 new types of rural tourism products will be added to Ctrip's platform, with an average of 14 new rural tour products launched.
The vigorous development of rural tourism has not only allowed the people to serve a "golden rice bowl", but also made the countryside look new, and many of these villages have also "gone to sea" and "paired" to provide foreign countries with tourism poverty alleviation experience. These villages have become a window to "understand China".
The number of countries eligible for China's 72,144-hour transit visa-free policy has increased to 54.
Inbound tourism, domestic tourism and outbound tourism together constitute China's three major tourism markets, and it is also an important way to show the international community a real, three-dimensional and comprehensive China.
On March 31, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a notice to resume the operation of foreign inbound group tours and "air ticket + hotel" business by national travel agencies and ** tourism enterprises from now on, and China's inbound tourism market has fully recovered, and many foreign tourists have come to China to see the scenery and taste the culture.
In order to further promote the development of inbound tourism, in September this year, the General Office issued the "Several Measures to Release the Potential of Tourism Consumption to Promote the High-quality Development of Tourism", proposing to strengthen the work of inbound tourism, implement the inbound tourism promotion plan, optimize visa and customs clearance policies, restore and increase international flights, improve inbound tourism services, optimize departure tax refund services, and play the role of tourism carriers. Du Jiang said at a series of press conferences on the theme of "Authoritative Departments Talk about the Beginning" that the "Inbound Tourism Promotion Plan" is being actively introduced, which is a three-year plan that will provide more high-quality tourism products and more convenient services for inbound tourists.
Since November 17, China has implemented a 72,144-hour transit visa-free policy for Norwegian citizens. So far, the number of countries applicable to China's 72,144-hour transit visa-free policy has increased to 54. At present, three cities, including Changsha, Harbin and Guilin, have implemented a 72-hour transit visa-free policy, and 20 cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai and Nanjing, have implemented a 144-hour transit visa-free policy. Citizens of 54 countries can transit through the above-mentioned cities to a third country (region) without a visa on a valid international travel document and a connecting ticket with a confirmed date and seat within a limited time, and can stay in the specified area for no more than 72 hours or 144 hours without a visa, during which they can engage in short-term activities such as tourism and temporary business visits. According to the relevant person in charge of the National Immigration Administration, the implementation of the transit visa-free policy is a practical measure to serve and ensure the country's high-level opening up, facilitate personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries, and promote foreign exchanges and cooperation. Since China implemented the 72,144-hour transit visa-free policy in January 2013, more than 500,000 foreigners have benefited from the policy.
Starting from December 1, China has implemented a unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. On December 16, 45 Malaysian passengers who enjoyed the visa-free policy arrived at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, which is the largest tour group in Chengdu to receive foreign tourists at a time since the implementation of China's visa-free entry policy for six countries. Tourism companies are also optimistic about the prospects of the inbound tourism market. Ctrip has launched measures such as the inbound tourism e-commerce support program, talent training in the field of inbound tourism, and the launch of 10 major inbound tourism routes, aiming to increase the number of inbound tourists served by Ctrip by 150% in 2024 compared to 2019.