Foreign tourists play on the Badaling Great Wall Photo by China Tourism News reporter Chen Chen.
Not long ago, a news that "the number of South Korean tourists going to China in January this year increased ninefold year-on-year" rushed to the major hot search lists, aroused the attention of the industry, and the warmth of the inbound tourism market came again. Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics released the Statistical Communiqué of the People's Republic of China on National Economic and Social Development in 2023. According to the communiqué, last year, there were 82.03 million inbound tourists from China, including 13.78 million foreigners. Since last year, favorable policies for inbound tourism have continued, and the market has continued to recover. After a year of adjustment, what is the situation of the inbound tourism market, what new trends and changes have emerged, and what are the industry players busy with? Recently, the reporter of this newspaper interviewed some operators.
1.There are differences in market recovery
Zhangjiajie Tianma International Travel Agency's inbound source countries mainly involve Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea. Li Fan, general manager of the agency's overseas center, told reporters: "At present, it is expected that the entire market will recover to 50 in 2019 this year, of which the business volume of the Southeast Asian market will exceed that of 2019, and the markets of South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore will recover quickly." ”
Europe, the Americas and Japan are our traditional source of visitors. Last year, the overall business volume only recovered to 10% of 2019 levels. The recovery of the inbound market this year is worth looking forward to, and so far, product bookings have increased compared to the same period in 2019. Wang Zheng, vice president of Shanghai Jinjiang Tourism Holdings, said.
Foreign tour groups visit Tiananmen Square Photo by Chen Chen, a reporter from China Tourism News.
We undertake the Xi'an ground business of large-scale inbound travel agencies from the first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and our market expectation this year is to recover to 50% in 2019. When the reporter contacted Yu Qiang, general manager of Xi'an International Travel Service Entry Center, he was in the United States to participate in the promotion. Yu Qiang told reporters that their main source of customers is the European and American markets. "Xi'an, as a must-have destination for European and American tourists, has a certain recovery speed. ”
Guilin Tianyuan International Travel Service, which has been deeply involved in the Guilin market for many years, has been working hard recently. "We have always been in the Japanese, Korean and Russian-speaking markets. This year, the Korean market is expected to recover to about 30%-40% of 2019 levels. The Russian-speaking market is expected to be a bit higher, with a recovery to 80 in 2019. Li Guixia, general manager of the agency, said.
Our advantageous source markets are mainly Europe and the United States, and at present, the United States is in a regular recovery, and Australia is recovering well. Because we have local branches, the European sector is also worth looking forward to, and it is our main source market. Zhou Xiaoguang, general manager of Guilin Tang Dynasty Travel Agency, said that this year's business volume is expected to recover to 30-40 in 2019.
The reporter combed through the interview and found that the recovery of the inbound tourism market was affected by the superposition of various factors, and the recovery speed of each source country showed a large difference. Affected by factors such as distance, visa-free policy, and flight convenience, short-haul markets such as Southeast Asia have recovered faster than long-haul markets such as Europe, the United States and Australia, and source markets with high entry convenience have recovered faster than other markets. Specific to each source country, the speed of its recovery also depends on the activity of market players such as travel agencies and the intensity of destination promotion.
Taking the recent South Korean market as an example, it has been reported that since January this year, more than 140,000 South Korean people have traveled to China, a year-on-year increase of 908. Among them, Zhangjiajie has become a popular destination. Data shows that in 2023, Zhangjiajie will receive 68 inbound tourists740,000 people, including more than 280,000 Korean tourists, accounting for 41. How did Zhangjiajie leverage the Korean market?
This is related to the continuous promotion of the Zhangjiajie competent authorities in the Korean market, and also related to the mature cooperation mechanism of Zhangjiajie**, scenic spots, and travel agencies. Li Fan told reporters, "South Korea and Southeast Asian market as Zhangjiajie traditional source of tourists, we have a lot of local promotion and publicity, travel agencies in South Korea and Southeast Asian market resident sales and marketing personnel are also a lot, basically our outreach staff will go once every two months, at least two weeks each time, in-depth development of the market." ”
At present, the recovery speed of the European market is also affected by the regularity of the sales cycle of local wholesalers, which is a problem that cannot be ignored. Zhang Qianying, deputy general manager of the entry department of China Travel Service, told reporters, "Local large-scale tourism wholesalers will generally stock up one year or six months in advance, which means that the products for this year's Spring Festival holiday will be ready in June 2023." It also depends on whether local wholesalers will prioritize the promotion and sale of relevant products in Chinese destinations. ”
In addition to factors such as the convenience of entry, the strength of wholesalers, retailers, and sales channels in the source countries determines the overall recovery speed of this market.
Our UK FIT market is recovering well in 2023. This is because our UK partner is very supportive and has been actively selling and recommending relevant products from China. Last year's business volume was basically back to 30% of 2019 levels, and from the current point of view, this year's bookings are also good. Zhang Qianying said for example.
Foreign tourists celebrate the Spring Festival in China Photo by Chen Chen, a reporter from China Tourism News.
We are familiar with the source markets of France and Italy, and have been working with travel agencies and travel wholesalers in both source countries for 18 years. Shi Qingjun, chairman of Beijing New World International Travel Service, told reporters that they had begun preparations for market recovery at the end of 2022. "We expect the French market to recover to 45 in 2019 this year, and the Italian market to 60 in 2019. ”
2.The influence of social ** increases
When communicating with the industry, the reporter found that many people were studying abroad. In the past six months, Zhou Xiaoguang and his colleagues have made 5 trips to the source markets and participated in many exhibitions and exchange meetings. They are on the front line and deeply feel the changes from the market.
Some time ago, we received a group of customized needs from inbound tourists, and they mentioned a scenic spot called Shangrao Wangxian Valley, and wanted us to add a trip. Li Guixia sighed, "Overseas tourists even know such a niche place, which shows how deep the impact of social ** on the source market is." ”
Li Guixia's experience is not an isolated case, social ** is influencing and changing the travel preferences and travel choices of inbound tourists.
Li Fan had a similar experience. "Some of the orders I receive are that tourists will clearly propose to stay in a homestay instead of a hotel, or even name a certain brand of homestay. They see a lot of interesting destinations and interesting experiences through social networks, and they will ask to join the itinerary, which has not been done before. ”
Yu Qiang also lamented that under the influence of social **, tourists are becoming more and more new and curious. "What they find interesting or items will be added to the itinerary, especially the intangible cultural heritage experience projects. For example, tourists will ask to watch a shadow puppet show, listen to a Qin dialect, and also ask to be more integrated into local life in terms of catering, and ask to go shopping in major business districts. ”
In terms of travel choice, customization, fragmentation, and theme are one of the new changes in the inbound tourism market. Zhang Qianying told reporters that the number of series of large groups has decreased, and the demand for small group customization, family travel, and small package groups has begun to rise. The trend of large teams developing to small-scale customization and boutique small package groups is still relatively obvious.
Tourists' demand for fragmented services is increasing. Shi Qingjun said, "It is very common to book a room, a car, and a ticket. At present, the proportion of fragmented products and packaged products in the travel agency market is about 30% and 70% respectively. Among them, all-inclusive products may account for 65, but with the change of market demand, the proportion of fragmented and packaged products may change, and enterprises will develop more fragmented and modular products to meet the individual needs of tourists. ”
Many inbound tourists to China are no longer purely sightseeing tours, but have begun to turn to in-depth cultural experience tours and theme tours. Tan Qiuxin, general manager of Guilin Kanghui International Travel Agency, said that many foreign tourists to China will choose to go to Guizhou, Yunnan and Northwest China and other areas where ethnic minority culture is rich. In addition, some light adventure theme tours are also more popular, such as hiking, cave exploration, cycling, self-driving, skiing, etc.
In general, first, there have been changes in the source of tourists in the inbound tourism market, with tourists from Middle Eastern countries and countries jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative beginning to increase, and the number of tourists from South America has also increased. Second, more and more emerging destinations are beginning to attract the attention of tourists. Wang Zheng concluded, "The reason for this is that the continuous expansion of tourist source destinations is related to our comprehensive deepening of opening up and the continuous expansion of our circle of friends." More and more new destinations are attracting attention, which is related to the vigorous development of China's all-for-one tourism and the abundance of tourism products. A rich product system means that our supply is more abundant, and the choices of inbound tourists will be more abundant. ”
We have witnessed the diversification of the inbound tourism market. Traditional travel agencies have become more resilient after experiencing shocks and challenges, while emerging market players such as educational institutions, civil society organizations and independent tour guides have also begun to emerge. These entities provide inbound visitors with a unique cultural experience, thereby enriching products and services. Liu Bing, general manager of Xiamen C&D International Travel Service Group Entry Company, said, "We have noticed the development trend of product personalization and quality. This is not only reflected in the improvement of infrastructure, such as convenient transport and comfortable accommodation, but also in the application of digital technologies in tourism services. In addition, the innovation of the domestic tourism market also provides a useful reference for the high-quality development of the inbound tourism market. ”
3.Optimistic expectations continue to invest
If in 2023, some companies are waiting and waiting, then this interview made the reporter deeply feel the confidence and more active attitude of the industry in the inbound tourism market, and they began to try to break through with real money.
During the interview, the reporter learned that the industry has new attempts in products, marketing promotion, business models, etc.
In terms of products, the industry continues to launch more experiential and fragmented products.
In product development, we have put forward the concept of 'integration', so that tourists can better integrate into the local area, and provide tourists with more differentiated experiential products, such as learning to write calligraphy and experiencing intangible cultural heritage items. "In addition, we are also trying to launch more fragmented products." At the same time, it is also normalizing marketing activities, such as launching a themed destination every quarter, to promote the rapid return of Chinese tourism products to the eyes of global tourists. ”
We try to add more new resources and experiences to the classic routes and destination products to increase the attractiveness of the products. For example, the combination of Beijing's traditional scenic spots and Winter Olympics resources. Zhang Qianying told reporters, "In addition, we are also trying to open a wider range of marketing and promotion activities, inviting more customers to China to step on the line and experience our products and services." ”
We are sourcing resources and doing a good job of ground business. Yu Qiang revealed, "Cooperate with the group companies in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, do a good job in the research and development of new products in Xi'an, and look for more cost-effective experience projects." For example, we have launched the tea brewing around the hearth on the city wall of Xi'an, the experience of boat riding on the moat, and the experience of making terracotta warriors and horses. ”
Xiamen C&D International Travel Service Group has strengthened its efforts to "go out, please come in" and strengthened overseas market publicity and precision marketing. "The short-range market takes Southeast Asia, Japan and other countries as the core, increases the density of overseas marketing, and establishes a normalized, precise and serialized tourism marketing system. The remote market cooperates with wholesalers in popular inbound destinations such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, and Guilin to horizontally develop the Fujian extension business of the European and American inbound markets. Liu Bing shared.
There are also attempts to move the sales module forward. Since last year, Wang Zheng has moved the sales center to Europe, set up a branch there, and recruited staff who are familiar with the local market. "We moved the sales center forward, but also hope to better integrate into the local market, grasp more initiative, and the domestic company exists as an operation center. In addition, we are also increasing the layout of the TOC market, hoping to directly reach consumers through the Internet. Wang Zheng said, "In order to distinguish the sales network of service wholesalers and avoid conflicts, we distinguish between the two channels in terms of products and customer groups. Use the Internet to serve young tourists and provide more fragmented products. ”
At present, we are mainly increasing online investment and speeding up the update of our ** content. Tan Qiuxin told reporters, "Seek to cooperate with larger Internet platforms to cover more traffic entrances." ”
Our plan is to establish branches and permanent staff in our source destinations. The first resident staff will depart for Malaysia on March 10 to take charge of day-to-day communication with the Southeast Asian market. Li Fan said.
There are also industry players who are making bolder attempts in their business models, proposing the concept of "Asian tourism experts" to expand their local business to Asia.
From the perspective of market demand, many long-distance tourists come to China and have extended travel needs, such as visiting China and then going to Thailand. Zhou Xiaoguang told reporters that they have been trying this business, "At present, our cross-border tourism business has covered more than 10 destinations." ”
Layout of cross-border tourism market, Shanghai Jinjiang Tourism is also trying. "In the past, we proposed to be a Chinese tourism expert, but now we are trying to be an Asian tourism expert, and only in this way can we increase the repurchase rate of tourists. Wang Zheng revealed that they are taking advantage of the convenient routes around them, combined with China's 72 144-hour transit visa-free policy, trying to launch more Asian connection products.
Since the beginning of this year, the relevant policies of the inbound tourism market have continued to be released, and the industry has more optimistic expectations. "We hope that relevant policies such as visa-free travel will continue to inject 'living water' into the recovery of the inbound tourism market. Some people in the industry said. (Reporter: China Tourism News reporter Zhang Yu; Editor: Song Yuqiu).