The National Day holiday ended yesterday (October 7). Preliminary statistics from the Ministry of Transport show that from October 1 to 7, the total cross-regional flow of people in society is expected to be about 2.008 billion, with an average daily increase of 4.1% year-on-year. This holiday, the consumer market has many highlights, with popular cities crowded with people and "treasure towns" continuing to break the circle. People travel further and have better fun, and rich cultural and tourism activities further drive the consumption boom.

The number of tourists received increased by 335% year-on-year

During the National Day holiday, the Xiaoxitian Scenic Area in Xi County, Shanxi Province, which became popular due to the game "Black Myth: Wukong", welcomed a large number of tourists. Compared with last year, the number of tourists received increased by 335%. Faced with a passenger flow that exceeded its carrying capacity, Xi County formulated a work plan to pool the strength of the entire county to ensure cultural and tourism services.

Xi County, located in the southwest of Shanxi Province and the northwest edge of Linfen City, is a small county with a population of only 91,000. It is also a key county for rural revitalization in the province. Xiaoxitian Scenic Area is a national cultural relic protection unit. There are nearly 2,000 Buddha statues in the 169-square-meter hall, and the visiting area can accommodate about 40 people. In addition to Xiaoxitian Scenic Area in Xi County, according to some data released by the tourism platform during this National Day holiday, the entire Shanxi Province is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.

In addition to the flow of people, what else has the booming tourism in Xi County brought?

Tourists and citizens followed the popularity of "Black Myth: Wukong" to check in at the scenic spot/Photo from Visual China

Lu Xuehui, deputy county magistrate of Xi County People's Government of Linfen City, Shanxi Province: First, it made many people know about Xi County and the Yu Lu pear; second, it brought direct economic benefits, including catering, accommodation, and pear sales, which have all seen a significant improvement; third, it brought hope and vitality to Xi County.

Transformation is never an easy thing. Xi County has two business cards, one is Xiaoxitian and the other is Xi County Yulu Pear. These two business cards give us the confidence to take the road of cultural tourism development.

Lu Xuehui said that in recent years, the Xi County government has proposed three major goals of building a pear and fruit demonstration county, a regional central city, and an ecological health care area. These goals are closely followed by implementation plans and project support. In terms of financial support, there are two main aspects: one is to take the path of attracting investment, and the other is to strive for special bonds and financial financing support.

Creative new gameplay and new "Treasure Town" continue to break the circle

During this National Day holiday, many people chose to take a 5-7 day medium- and long-distance tour. Big data from travel platforms show that out-of-town tours account for more than 60%. Judging from the overall booking volume of domestic air tickets and hotels, the average length of stay of tourists in traditional tourist cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou is more than 3 days.

Niche destinations are also popular. Travel platform search data shows that "niche" and "reverse" are the words with the highest increase in search popularity during the National Day holiday. The highest increase in hotel bookings during the holiday season is in small cities and county towns. County homestay bookings also maintained a high growth rate, with a year-on-year increase of more than 50%, and the platform's tourists have covered 1,393 counties.

Travel is more convenient this holiday, with many cities building new airports and adding new routes to provide more choices for tourists. Data from travel platforms show that during the holiday, the number of first-time air ticket purchases by residents in third-tier and lower cities and county towns increased by more than 50% year-on-year, and the number of outbound travel orders increased by nearly 3 times year-on-year.

During the National Day holiday, various regions have come up with new ideas and new ways of playing, creating more and more new scenes and new services. New formats and new models are accelerating integration, better meeting the quality and diversified needs of tourists and consumers.

Data from life service platforms show that during the National Day holiday, the number of tickets sold for scenic spots in popular cities increased three times compared to 2019, with theme parks, zoos, and parent-child parks being popular choices for tourists. National in-store consumption of life services increased by 41.2% year-on-year, and the average daily consumption of tourists increased by 69.6% compared to the previous holiday.

During the holidays, immersive experience projects created in various places have added new colors to the holidays. In Suzhou High-tech Zone, Jiangsu Province, various national trend programs were launched one after another, drone shows, more than 20 national style performances, and more than 50 amusement projects attracted tens of thousands of tourists.

Huzhou, Zhejiang, has continuously innovated its services to enhance the tourists' experience. Low-altitude tourism, intangible cultural heritage experience, rural markets and other unique new services and projects have attracted a large number of families and young people from surrounding cities to check in. During the holiday, the average daily number of tourists received exceeded one million, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%.

Sincerity, kindness and warmth are essential at all times. As the National Day holiday comes to an end, how will various regions respond to the ever-changing tourist hotspots and increasingly diverse consumer demands?

Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Academy: The government must play three roles well.

The first is the planner. We should not only look at what we have, but also what you need. The combination of the two is the real tourism resources. We should coordinate and plan these resources well, strengthen market research, and do a good job in tourism positioning.

The second is leaders. Party committees and governments at all levels should strengthen their leadership and improve their leadership capabilities in the process of tourism development.

The third is the coordinator. The government needs to work harder on coordination and truly cultivate a modern tourism system in order to build a strong tourism county.

As tourism in small cities and counties becomes popular, how can we take the initiative to develop our own tourism resources?

Dai Bin said that first, we should strengthen cultural confidence. As long as a place has a long history and culture and the local people have a good life, it will definitely attract foreign tourists. Second, we must grasp the basic laws of the development of the contemporary tourism economy. Third, sincerity, kindness and warmth are crucial at all times.

Source | CCTV.com Editor | Liu Xin Please indicate the source for reprinting