With the easing of the epidemic and the arrival of the summer vacation, the tourism industry is showing signs of recovery, and the emerging high-end train tour is also quietly emerging in China. From Urumqi to Turpan Ring Road "New Oriental Express" and from Hulunbuir to Harbin "Hulunbuir", two tourist trains occupy the western and eastern parts of northern China... Different from the general green-skinned train, the two tourist trains belong to the "one-price all-inclusive" high-end tourism products, including accommodation, meals, full follow-up photography and ground travel bus services. Although the price is not low, the attendance rate has always been at a high level, and even a ticket is difficult to find.
The 5-day and 4-night itinerary of the Hulunbuir has two routes to choose from, namely the "Hailar- Yakeshi-Genhe-Mohe-Harbin" china's far north tour, and the "Harbin-Bei'an-Yakeshi-Hulunbuir-Hailar" grassland forest tour. At present, the two lines are divided into regular shifts, summer shifts and National Day shifts, with single fares ranging from 18999 yuan to 27999 yuan, and the fare of each shift varies from 1000 yuan to 2000 yuan due to the different class of the room.
Rare is it "expensive"? Hulunbuir National Day stall highest price room type is difficult to find a ticket
On the afternoon of August 1, the Beijing News shell financial reporter dialed a dealer phone, staff manager Wang revealed that the current National Day file "Far North Tour" elegant gold landscape room, elegant platinum landscape room, supreme purple gold landscape room three room types of tickets, the price of the relatively low gold room there are still some remaining tickets, purple gold room as early as July sale has been sold out. Manager Wang introduced that the three shifts of the Hulunbuir tourist train all have more expensive seats that sell better.
When the reporter consulted the booking situation of the New Oriental Express number from Urumqi and traveling around the north and south of Xinjiang for 16 days, another staff member, Manager Cao, said that the special train only had 8 golden diamond carriages, and the tickets were in short supply, "The price of the golden diamond carriage was 40,000 yuan to 60,000 yuan, and it was 'sold out' after it was sold in early March." ”
The ticket for high-end train travel is often tens of thousands of yuan, which has aroused widespread concern, and many consumers have called "too expensive", "not as good as self-driving travel", "poverty limits my imagination". So, why does a train ticket sell so expensive? Why do seats with higher prices "break the head"?
Immerse yourself in the "Moving Castle of Hal" and subvert the traditional train impression
Nubi and her husband were the first to board the Hulunbuir tourist train, which was a honeymoon trip, born and raised in Guangdong, and she has long longed for the scenery of the northern country. According to her, "Hulunbuir" is a luxury train renovated by the old train, different from the traditional "green car", the appearance of the Hulunbuir body is upgraded to the color block design of Chinese red and grassland green, and the logo is sprayed. "Before boarding, the train butler will also give us a customized 'tourist passport' for this trip."
Hulunbuir customized "tourist passport". Photo/Courtesy of respondent
According to reports, the Hulunbuir train has a total of 12 cars, 22 rooms, and only 44 seats with a full load. There are 20 holiday butlers on the train who are available 24 hours a day, and the ratio of butlers to guests is 1:1.1.
Hulunbuir Supreme Purple Gold Landscape Room can be adjusted according to the preference of bed type. Photo/Courtesy of respondent
Nubi stays in the largest Supreme Purple Gold View Room, at the rear of the train, with an area of 12 square meters. According to her recollection, the carriage uses walnut to hang the wall, as if in an old-fashioned movie, which is very emotional. "Guests staying in the Grand Zijin View Room also enjoy more courtesy services, such as personal meal preferences before the trip, bed preferences, and pick-up at the departure destination." After boarding the train, the train butler will also ask passengers in more detail about their choice of sleeping pillow (cassia pillow or latex pillow) and provide a welcome wine, 6 cups of special cocktails or whiskeys that can be enjoyed during the journey, meal times and dishes are also prioritized, and accommodation in a superior room is also arranged when staying overnight at the destination of the train.
Lying on the bed in the room made Nubi look forward to where she would wake up. Photo/Courtesy of respondent
Nubi said that not only the purple gold landscape room, each car room has a large landscape window, and the placement of the bed is also consistent with the direction of the train, which will not affect the rest because of the shaking of the train. "I loved lying in bed after breakfast and admiring the slowly moving view from the window." In her opinion, the Hulunbuir is not an ordinary train, and the comfort of the carriage has also subverted the impression that she once took a green-skinned train back to her hometown during the Spring Festival. "The Hulunbuir is more like 'Hal's moving castle', whether it is mountains or lakes and seas, it is like a movie in front of my eyes, which makes me look forward to where I will wake up."
Dine in the Bayar dining car. Photo/Courtesy of respondent
On this calm and extraordinary train journey, Nubi looks forward to eating in the Bayar dining car every day. The train route is close to the border, so three meals a day bring together Russian, Chinese, Mongolian, Western and other dishes, but Nubi believes that as a southerner, not every meal is very suitable for her appetite, "If you can add some light dishes to choose from, it would be better." ”
During the five-day, four-night trip, Nubi and her husband stayed in the car for two nights and stayed at a local hotel for two nights. "First night in Genhe, the hotel set up a honeymoon room for us. The floor was covered with flowers, and beautiful flowers were placed at the head of the bed. This was arranged in advance by the holiday ambassador and we were not aware of it. And what she calls a holiday ambassador will also be responsible for the activity experience after arriving at the destination.
The holiday ambassador prepared a Mongolian wedding costume for Nubi, and the two took photos at the northernmost point in China. Photo/Courtesy of respondent
In the Evenk reindeer tribe, the holiday ambassador prepared a Mongolian newlywed costume for Nubi. Her most memorable stop was Mohe Station in China, where Nubi's husband was a retired special forces soldier, and he was deeply touched by the northernmost outpost and the northernmost point where the party emblem shone.
For some netizens, "Is the train ticket value of more than 20,000 yuan per capita?" Nubi also gave the answer to the question." Personally, I think it is acceptable to choose the most expensive room type as a honeymoon trip, but if it is a family trip, a graduation trip, or a train trip, the golden room type is enough. And whatever the gear, the cost covers accommodation, meals and local travel experiences. She also said that if the trip is 10 out of 10, she can give 8 points." The ground itinerary of the Hulunbuir's Trip to the Far North also needs to be optimized, such as the need to visit traditional attractions and the professional astronomical interpretation service when watching the stars in the Arctic Village. In addition, Nubi also believes that if the itinerary includes round-trip tickets, it will be more attractive, so that it is truly "all-inclusive".
Bookings in second- and third-tier cities have increased significantly, with 60% of travelers over the age of 40
According to public information, the Hulunbuir tourist train was jointly completed by Hulunbuir Cultural Tourism Investment (Group) Co., Ltd., CRRC Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co., Ltd., and China Railway Harbin Bureau Group Co., Ltd., with a cost of nearly 100 million yuan and delivered in 2019. In the summer of 2020, the Hulunbuir first met with public tourists, when the train was full of 132 passengers, much higher than the number of 44 passengers this year.
In addition, at that time, the train was designed with a total of 16 cars and 10 kinds of seats, such as commercial cars, high-class commercial vehicles, high-class soft-seat cars, and children's theme cars, which were not very consistent with the current layout. These changes come from the new operator, Starview Travel Train Travel Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Starview Tourism"), a subsidiary of Fosun International.
The highlights of the modification are mainly in four aspects, one is that the room type is spacious and comfortable, the second is that the itinerary is private and avoidant, the third is to experience the three cultures of China, Mongolia and Russia, and the fourth is that the service is intimate throughout the process, and even the whole process provides follow-up service. In this regard, industry insiders said that compared with last year, this year's Hulunbuir feels like a new level, different from the past for the middle class, whether it is the taste of the operator or the modification of hardware and software, more in line with the needs of high-end people.
Dai Yu, brand marketing director of Ctrip-Honghu Yiyou, said in an interview with the Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter: "Judging from the product user portraits, the departure places are mostly concentrated in East China, including Shanghai, Hangzhou and other places, and there are also significant increases in booking customers in second- and third-tier cities (Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Nantong). Over 40 years of age make up 60% of travelers, mostly by families. In this year's summer trip, the Far North tour is basically sold out, and there are still a very small number of grassland trips. In her opinion, the reason why high-end boxes are more popular with consumers is that they are more space, more comfortable, and guests can also enjoy more benefits.
In fact, the per capita price of more than 20,000 yuan still makes the market discuss. In this regard, Dai Yu said that the market education of domestic high-end train travel still needs time, but providing consumers with a more exquisite holiday consumption experience is the general trend of domestic train tourism. "In the future, train travel will become an important way for Chinese people to experience the beauty of China." At the same time, she also believes that there is more room for improvement in the product experience of high-end train travel, such as the experience of the destination, the customized individual needs of guests, and the length and planning of train routes. "Trains are not just a means of transportation for customers to get from point A to point B, nor is it just a resting place for hotels, but should become a resort lifestyle that integrates folk customs and humanistic experience along the route."
Beijing News shell financial reporter Yu Meng'er
Edited by Li Zheng
Proofread by Zhao Lin