Last night, I had an in-depth conversation with a friend from Japan. During the conversation, he inadvertently revealed shocking news: Japan regretted its plight in tourism, but it seemed too late.
He told me that since Japan** decided to discharge nuclear wastewater, the interest of Chinese tourists in traveling to Japan has dropped dramatically. This has had a huge impact on Japan's tourism industry, as Chinese tourists have always been an important pillar of Japan's tourism industry. According to him, the tourism industry in Japan is now in a state of extreme anxiety. As Chinese tourists decline, tourism from other Belt and Road countries has benefited. For example, tourism in the ancient capital of Laos has boomed because of the arrival of Chinese tourists.
According to 2019 data, Japan received nearly 30 million foreign tourists, of which Chinese mainland tourists accounted for nearly a third. The bold style of Chinese tourists buying luxury goods in Tokyo, Japan, has been praised by the Japanese ** as "generous". Today, however, the absence of these tourists has deserted the once bustling tourist attractions. Japan** also stressed that the Chinese market remains key to the future of Japan's tourism industry.
It is understood that Chinese tourists have not only reduced their travel to Japan, but also their interest in traveling to Europe and the United States is gradually decreasing. Just a few days ago, the United States** also lamented that although China has liberalized its outbound tourism policy for more than a year, Chinese tourists have not returned as expected, which has directly led to a global tourism loss of up to $129 billion.
In an effort to attract Chinese tourists, some airlines have even reduced flights from Shanghai to Japan and South Korea** to zero yuan. At the same time, countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are also continuing to extend the validity of their visa-free policies, and various means are emerging one after another, and the competition is fierce. People may wonder why people are not as keen to travel to Europe, America, Japan and South Korea as they used to. From the current situation, there are two main reasons:
First of all, people no longer blindly worship those developed countries. In the past, people liked to travel to Europe, America, Japan and South Korea, mainly because they felt that life there was very good, and they could buy a lot of cheap luxury goods, which made them feel very face-saving. But nowadays, many people have been there and found that the real situation of those places is not as perfect as imagined, and the cost performance and enthusiasm of scenic spots are even less than Harbin, Zibo and other places in China. On the contrary, those countries along the "Belt and Road" are very enthusiastic about Chinese tourists, and the local consumption level is relatively moderate.
Secondly, the self-confidence of Chinese culture has been enhanced, and the rise of national tide brands has defeated foreign culture. For quite some time in the past, traveling and studying abroad was considered a very "face-saving" thing. But now, more and more young Chinese are no longer blindly pursuing foreign cultures, but are showing their cultural identity by wearing national fashion brands and using domestic goods.
Taking this year's Chinese New Year as an example, some experts ** The fertility rate will rise sharply this year, because many people hope to have a dragon baby. Or look at the "New Year's Festival" on Douyin and Vipshop during this time, the growth momentum of Guochao-related products is rapid. Only at the special sale e-commerce Vipshop, the sales of sports sweatshirts with the theme of the Year of the Dragon increased by more than 3 times month-on-month, and the sales of a variety of national tide gift boxes also ushered in explosive growth, and consumers are mainly young people.
These changes in Chinese tourists fully reflect people's increasingly confident, rational and pragmatic consumption concepts. Now, many people have a clearer understanding that instead of traveling abroad in a hurry, it is better to visit those mountains and rivers that have not been set foot in China first, and learn more about human history and folk customs. During this time, everyone is busy preparing for the New Year's goods and happily welcoming the arrival of the new year!