Insights & Inspirations | The Direction, Path, and Policy for China’s Tourism Development in the New Era

The Spring Festival of 2023 is the first public holiday after we adjusted our COVID-19 response by implementing measures designed for Class-B infectious diseases. After that holiday, a set of data attracted wide attention: 308 million! 308 million people went traveling during this seven-day public holiday, spending a total of RMB 375.8 billion, respectively nearly 90% and over 70% of the 2019 level, the best since 2020.

On February 6, China Tourism Group, Ctrip, GZL, Springtour, Caissa and some other tourism agencies organized first outbound tour groups, which were warmly welcomed in the Philippines, Thailand and other destinations, including with a grand water salute. This strongly boosted market confidence and turned up expectations, laying the foundation for a year of steady growth.

Based on leading indicators such as policies at the macro level, residents’ willingness to travel, recruitment, and entrepreneurs’ confidence, we have reasons to stay optimistic about the Chinese tourism market throughout 2023; specifically, the numbers of domestic tourists, outbound and inbound tourists are expected to get back to 85%, 75%, and 40% of the 2019 level respectively, moving onto the track of normal development and ushering in a new stage of high-quality development by the end of the year.

Over the past three years, the tourism market suffered heavy blows never seen before. People had changed the way they consume, and their general understanding of tourism had been altered too. Once they tended to believe that for tourism, it was better to go farther away and to stay there for longer. They were thinking about going to the Antarctica to see penguins or to the North Pole to find polar bears. They would not consider a day trip as a real tour and would rather keep traveling for perhaps a whole year. As for where to go, they would usually prefer “typical” tourism scenarios, like famous mountains and rivers, deep forests, vast grassland, or ancient towns.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, outbound tourism became basically impossible. People tended to choose destinations within 100 km from their home and after they arrived there, they would mostly travel within a radius of 15 to 5 km. Catering to this trend, some travel agencies launched new tour packages, such as Spring Tour’s “Read the Architecture: a Micro Tour of the City”, Mafengwo’s “Weekends on the Road”, and China Tourism Group’s “Tours for Foreigners in China”. People shifted their attention from faraway places and popular tourist destinations to places closer by, like theaters, wet markets, and more, rediscovering the charm of tourism.

People will gradually turn to believe that everyday life can be tours too and scenery is everywhere. Outbound tourism will also be taken more rationally. Trips to not-so-popular destinations, lower-cost tourism options, staycation, micro-tourism and the like may appear to be somewhat rebellious, but, in essence, they are manifestations of a more rational attitude towards tourism and a more cost-effective consumption choice.

Since the National Day holiday in 1999, China has been in the new development stage of mass tourism which generally shows two features: Tourism has reached out to more people at the grassroots level while consumption has been upgraded. According to statistics of qunar.com, people now tend to buy their first air ticket between 20 and 25 years old. In comparison, when I bought my first air ticket, I was already 35 years old. That is to say, people take flights earlier than before. Moreover, ticket buyers come from 1,827 county-level cities, which means more people are making trips to see sceneries away from home. This is why we can remain confident in tourism: People need it, and the government supports it. Tourism is bound to boom.

In addition, tourism consumption is being upgraded. Group tours used to be the mainstay, but now more people are planning their own trips, turning what used to be “standardized” to a “tailor-made” tour. This trend will surely bring about changes in what service providers have to offer and how the tourism industry will move forward, and produce an impact on industrial policies and rules.

On the macro level, as China has completed the building of a moderately prosperous society and started its new journey of socialist modernization, tourism will surely become part of the rigid demand in people’s pursuit of better lives. Meanwhile, the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation and the Chinese people’s pursuit for a happy life will open up new opportunities for tourism development.

Based on the above, China will continue to pursue the development of mass tourism in a people-centered approach. Everyone has the right to travel, and tourism is part of a good daily life. Therefore, China’s overall strategy for tourism development in the new era will be to ensure affordable, enjoyable and safe travels, thus contributing to China’s efforts to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Today, tourism has become an integral part of many people’s daily life. More urban and rural residents would like to and are able to make trips far away for different sceneries and a better life.

Meanwhile, we must also be aware that before COVID-19, Chinese people made only 4.3 trips on average, spent only 7.82 days a year on tourism and merely RMB 940, or a little over USD 100, per person per trip. In comparison, people in developed countries spent an average of 14-16 days on tourism and Chinese tourists spent over USD 1,000 per person during each overseas trip. The gap is clearly large. No tourism development strategy would be viable if it goes against the basic demand for mass tourism; while any innovation in business model and any industrial policy that serve people’s desire for a better life would be well-received and bring long-term progress. Therefore, China will accelerate the development of modernization-oriented smart tourism.

It is outdated to merely gather visitors to tourism resorts and rake in profits by selling admission tickets. Tourists now prefer to finding places to stay, driving their own cars, and making tailored tours that meet their diverse needs. This requires the Internet, AI, 5G telecommunications, and modern finance to help create more consumption scenarios so as to develop modern tourism and pursue high-quality development. As the Internet rises, smart tourism driven by the demand side has now entered a new stage of creating consumption scenarios, and it will soon proceed to the stage of modern tourism driven by the supply side.

What is modern tourism? It involves increasingly sophisticated division of labor and longer industrial chains. Growth of large enterprises, specialization of small and medium-sized enterprises and collaborative innovation of micro and small businesses will be defining features of the tourism ecosystem. We need flagship enterprises like China Tourism Group, but we also need many more small and micro companies in the industry.

Faced with the international competition in the tourism industry, we must be clearly aware that science and technology is the primary productive force, talent is the top resource, and innovation is the No. 1 driving force. New fields, new competing tracks, new drivers and new advantages must be created to achieve high-quality development of the tourism industry. China will, in line with the principle of building a sound ecological civilization, pursue green tourism development featuring respect for, adaptation to, and protection of the nature. This is an innate requirement of China’s efforts to fully build itself into a modern socialist country, and a principle we must follow in tourism development in the new era. Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. Ice and snow are also invaluable assets. Mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts are all part of our community with a shared future and community of life.

Guided by the efforts to build an ecological civilization, China will build a number of green tourism demonstration zones and the concept of green development will be adhered to during the entire processes of resource development, investment and construction, industrial R&D, business operation, and marketing. Also, we will do more to promote code of conduct for tourists to help them stay in harmony with nature, contribute to the protection of cultural heritage, and communicate with residents in tourist destinations on an equal footing. China will pursue open and shared tourism development as tourism is a way to inherit and create culture and it represents an innate requirement of modernization of the Chinese style.

Reading and traveling are of equal importance in traditional Chinese belief. Outbound tourism has been what many Chinese people longed for. China will work to implement the Asia tourism promotion plan proposed by President Xi Jinping, promote multilateral mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and APEC, launch bilateral tourism years, and encourage international organizations and industrial organizations like the WTA to fully play their roles, thus allowing countries and regions around the world to share the opportunities brought about by China’s outbound tourism.

In developing outbound tourism, I believe the Chinese government will pay more attention to tourists’ safety and the service quality. I was asked by the media just now when China would fully open its outbound tourism, I think this depends on what Chinese tourists think about the destinations in terms of safety and service quality and then the Chinese government will take actions accordingly.

Trade must be kept smooth and mutual at any time and with any country. We will also launch programs to promote inbound tourism on the national level. Specifically, we will polish China’s image as a good host and join hands with foreign affairs, port administration, customs, finance, culture and other authorities to make it easier to get visas, complete border checks, make payments, and use logistics services with relevant policies. In addition, more will be done to develop tourism programs within China such as creating better tourism products and providing improved public services, so that inbound visitors can have more enjoyable experience when staying in China. I believe many people share this dream with me: People from different countries and regions, with different skin colors, and from different backgrounds will be able to travel without barrier and communicate on an equal footing on our beloved blue planet.

We welcome more international visitors to China to enjoy its spectacular landscape from Mount Huangshan to the Yellow River; feel the Chinese culture by reading classic literature from the Book of Songs to the Dream of the Red Mansions. Also, we hope more people can come to see China today on its way to national rejuvenation, represented by the Beijing Daxing International Airport and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge; and to see China as a place where people enjoy their lives: There are joyful square dances, fantastic self-driving trips, and much more. I believe as long as tourism enterprises and the government can do what is conducive to meeting people’s desire for a better life, tourism in China is bound to have a brilliant future.

Thank you all.