In order to further promote the deep integration and innovative development of digital technology and the tourism industry, create new products, new formats and new scenarios for digital cultural tourism, and strengthen the new momentum of the cultural tourism economy, in August this year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the first batch of pilot projects for the cultivation of new spaces for immersive experience of smart tourism. Relying on tourist attractions, resorts, leisure blocks, industrial heritage, museums and other places or related spaces, the 24 pilot projects use digital technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and integrate cultural and creative elements, and allow tourists to deeply participate in and interact with each other through the integration of culture and tourism, virtual and real, etc., forming new tourism products and new consumption scenarios.
Policy guidance
Accelerate cultivation and development
New products, new formats, and new scenarios
Internet technology is booming, and technologies such as virtual reality technology, light and shadow technology, and digital technology have made immersive cultural tourism possible. At the same time, immersive cultural tourism projects can not only exist as incremental content, but also revitalize existing resources in a new way. In addition to the progress of technology, the implantation of content, and the depth of experience, the development background of immersive cultural tourism also includes factors such as policy promotion and cost constraints. Zeng Bowei, director of the China Tourism Economy and Policy Research Center of Beijing Union University and secretary-general of the Leisure and Resort Branch of the China Tourism Association, said.
Since 2014, the first has issued the "Several Opinions on Promoting the Reform and Development of the Tourism Industry", "The 13th Five-Year Plan" Tourism Development Plan, "The 14th Five-Year Plan" Tourism Development Plan and other documents, proposing to build a number of national smart tourism cities, smart tourism attractions, smart tourism enterprises, smart tourism villages, to create a number of smart tourism cities, tourist attractions, resorts, tourist blocks, cultivate a number of smart tourism innovation enterprises and key projects and develop digital experience products, the development of immersive interactive experience, New tourism services such as virtual display and smart guide.
Under the guidance and promotion of various policies and measures, smart tourism has become an indispensable part of the development of China's tourism industry.
The 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Tourism clearly proposes to accelerate the promotion of smart tourism characterized by digitalization, networking and intelligence, deepen the "Internet + tourism", and expand the application of new technology scenarios. This is the first time that the country has taken "expanding the application of new technology scenarios" as the construction direction of smart tourism.
The Department of Resource Development of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has carried out the national smart tourism construction project, issued the "Smart Tourism Scenario Application Guide (Trial)" with the Social Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, and jointly issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Collaborative Innovation and Development of 5G + Smart Tourism" with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It further clarifies the direction for the development of immersive cultural tourism.
The History Exhibition Hall of the Communist Party of China flies over the Chinese cinema (photo by Lu Xu) "Among the 24 pilot projects announced this time, there are 4 cultural and museum venues, 5 leisure blocks, 3 theme parks, 7 tourist attractions, 3 tourist resorts, and 2 industrial parks. It has effectively promoted the 'livening' of heavy cultural and tourism resources.
The relevant person in charge of the Resource Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said that the new space for the immersive experience of smart tourism in the country is of positive significance for promoting urban renewal, cultivating new products of "cultural tourism +" and extending the development radius, driving capacity and radiation space of cultural tourism formats and products. The heritage displayed on the vast land and the words written in ancient books are "moving", allowing people to feel the new charm of "technology + culture" in tourism.
Market reaction
Immersive experience drives new consumption of cultural tourism
Since the beginning of this year, China's cultural tourism market has accelerated its recovery, and the creation of new products and new scenarios for smart tourism has injected new momentum into the recovery and expansion of cultural tourism consumption, and has become a new economic growth point for the cultural tourism market. According to statistics, this summer, the consumption of 24 new spaces for smart tourism immersive experience increased by more than 200% year-on-year, with a total revenue of more than 100 million yuan and 3 million consumers.
Since its opening at the end of last year, TeamLab has received about 400,000 visitors and generated more than 80 million yuan, including 1 during the Spring Festival alone70,000 people, and the average daily reception of summer tourists reaches 3,000. As a permanent digital art space, teamlab not only showcased more than 40 digital artworks that premiered in the world and Asia, but also creatively developed a series of derivative digital art spaces such as immersive tea houses, art restaurants, and painting factories. Wang Dong, CEO of Guangyu Wright and general manager of TeamLab Wuxiang Art Space, introduced that digital technology has played an important role in the space, for example, the workstation provides digital creation and editing tools for the design, production and debugging of artworks, the use of laser projectors can project artworks on various complex space surfaces, and sensor devices are used to capture the audience's movements or changes in the environment to realize the interaction between the audience and the artworks.
Wan Cheng, a visitor to teamlab Wuxiang Art Space (photo by Lu Xu), said after the experience: "The works created by teamLab in the exhibition space in Beijing have no physical boundaries and create a super immersive experience. "As the country's first immersive Tang City cultural life block, since its opening, the Chang'an 12 Hours Theme Block has received an average of 7,000 tourists per day, with a cumulative number of more than 1 million tourists, and a total of 7.5 billion times on the whole network.
Block passes in 2The 40,000-square-meter commercial space is infused with the IP of the TV series "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an" and Tang cultural elements, creating a new consumption scene integrating Tang space play, Tang style market experience, theme immersion interaction, Tang music singing and dancing performances, cultural social leisure, etc., reproducing the unique style of Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty. Lu Tao, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and general manager of Shaanxi Cultural Investment Group, introduced that the development of the 12 hours theme block in Chang'an follows the principles of cultural reproduction, economic release and immersive experience, and the block has built a visual operation and management platform from performing arts, scenes, NPC interactions, and the use of the Internet of Things, mobile Internet, artificial intelligence and big data, etc., to achieve intelligent and visual management.
The emergence of a new immersive experience space in the NPC Performing Arts Site of Chang'an Twelve Hours Theme Block has made the tourist attraction not only an area for viewing natural landscapes, historical sites and immovable cultural relics, but also a cultural and creative space for the pursuit of in-depth experience and a popular and fashionable consumer business district and platform entrance for travel photography, role-playing, and script killing under the new commercial format. Zhang Lingyun, a professor at Beijing Second International Chinese College and executive editor of the Tourism Journal, said.
Distinguishing features
Digital technology is deeply integrated with the cultural tourism space
The organic integration of digital technology and cultural tourism space is a significant feature of immersive cultural tourism.
According to Bu Xiting, deputy dean of the Institute of Cultural Development of Communication University of China, immersive tourism has achieved a deeper integration of culture and tourism through the reconstruction of space and scenes, which not only provides tourists with a richer perceptual experience, but also provides a better experience scene for the inheritance and dissemination of excellent traditional Chinese culture, so that more cultural heritage can be better protected and developed, and the traditional tourism space can be rejuvenated after superimposing technology and culture. 
Tourists immerse themselves in the experience of the ancient city of Pingyao, in Shanxi, the former site of the cotton weaving factory in Pingyao County transformed into the soreal Huanzhen Pingyao Science and Technology Art Museum uses extended reality, multi-professional interactive projection technology, anti-gravity fountain device and other scientific and technological means, combined with Pingyao's profound cultural heritage and rich cultural tourism resources, reproduces the grand occasion of the ancient city of Pingyao. 
Visitors can immerse themselves in the transformation of the ancient city of Pingyao in seven theme exhibition halls such as "Walking Cloud Bridge", "Four Seasons of Light and Shadow" and "Surabaya Returning to the Hall", through the comprehensive application of special-shaped projection, virtual reality, spatial audio, lidar capture and other technologies, to achieve the leap of time and space; In the dome light show area, 16 projectors are integrated into a single picture through fusion software, which is projected onto the hemispherical giant screen wall, with stereoscopic surround sound, and the immersive effect is remarkable. "SOREAL Pingyao Science and Technology Art Museum enhances the sense of immersion, participation and experience of visitors in an all-round way, and further promotes the ancient city of Pingyao to the world. Hao Juan, head of Soreal Huanzhen Pingyao Science and Technology Art Museum, said. Only Henan Drama Fantasy City integrates hashtags such as "5,000 years of Chinese civilization", "hometown Henan's root culture" and "Zhengzhou's railway culture" into each drama, showing the Yellow River civilization and interpreting the Central Plains culture in three dimensions. Through the rotating lifting platform as the main carrier, the Phantom City Theater outlines the unique architectural form of the "Phantom City". The intelligent flap of the railway station theater is combined with the mechanical wheat ear boom to present a magnificent rolling wheat wave through intelligent control. The Light of Civilization laser projection show uses laser projection technology, with rammed earth walls, projection equipment, supplemented by laser lights, wheat field fog and other equipment. A thousand years ago, the "Qingming Riverside Map" and "Thousands of Miles of Rivers and Mountains" reappeared in front of us, forming a huge picture scroll of history. 
There are only stills from the performance of Henan Drama Fantasy City Kuntai.
Only Henan Drama Fantasy City is the "engine" of the cultural tourism industry in Henan Zhengbianluo Tourism Belt, and its opening performance has an important demonstration effect on accelerating the structural adjustment and upgrading of Henan's regional cultural tourism industry and realizing the goal of building a strong cultural province. The relevant person in charge of Jianye Group said that the selection of the national pilot project for the cultivation of new spaces for immersive experience of smart tourism will further encourage only Henan Drama Fantasy City to deeply explore the cultural connotation of the Central Plains, promote the high-quality development of Henan's culture and tourism, and tell the stories of the Central Plains, the Yellow River and China.
The organic integration of digital technology and cultural tourism space can tangibly, sensibly and effectively promote scenic spots, resorts and leisure blocks to make full use of new technologies and new means to enrich new business formats, transform and upgrade, improve quality and efficiency, and is also an important way to promote urban renewal, strengthen cultural empowerment, and cultivate new formats and scenarios of "cultural tourism +".
Shanghai Disney Resort's Soaring Horizon project transforms players into a thunderbird through 4D giant screen projection technology and super weightless spray** flight, taking off from Adventure Island for a round-the-world flight that takes you across 13 of the world's most iconic attractions, visiting every continent and ocean to iconic landmarks, cities, and natural wonders around the world.
The Grand Canal Museum of China, located in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, uses diversified display methods and differentiated advanced scientific and technological means to display the culture of the Grand Canal in multiple dimensions, showing the history and culture of the Grand Canal in the whole basin, at all times and in an all-round way. The space widely applies electronic sand table, ring screen, projection, naked-eye 3D, infrared technology and other advanced technologies to build an experience space that combines modern display and performance with ancient immersive scenes, and through the construction of game-based education mode, the audience can get a personalized cultural and educational experience, and explore a new path to create a digital immersive experience project in the cultural park. "Tourist attractions are spaces with beautiful natural ecological and cultural landscapes or profound cultural heritage, full of historical legends and legendary backgrounds and atmospheres, but the most valuable thing for future tourist attractions is not only the resource endowment, but the resource-based self-created IP of scenic spots and more than millions of online and offline private domain traffic. According to Zhang Lingyun's analysis, this will become a new track for the development of smart tourism, and it is also the significance of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to launch a pilot project for the cultivation of a new space for immersive experience of smart tourism.
The relevant person in charge of the Resource Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said that the next step will be to continue to make efforts in project cultivation, talent training, exchange and cooperation, publicity and promotion, etc., to accelerate the exploration of a new digital cultural tourism product development path that conforms to the development law of modern tourism and has significant characteristics of digital technology, so as to better promote the deep integration and development of the digital economy and the tourism economy, and cultivate and expand the scale of the digital cultural tourism economy.