Dahe News Yu video reporter Du Qianwen
As soon as the bell rang, sophomore Xiao Liang and roommate Pony hurried back to the dormitory.
One of them is busy returning WeChat and phone calls, and the other is busy docking the details of the route of this week's "special forces tourism".
Like most students, Liang and Pony, who are studying e-commerce, have to travel to class and back to their dorm every day; Unlike other students, since March this year, the two of them have transformed from ordinary college students into "wind chasers" at the vent of student tourism development, turning the hot meme of "college student special forces tourism" into their own entrepreneurial projects.
When communicating with college students and a number of travel agencies, the reporter found that after the liberalization of epidemic prevention policies, student tourism has shown a spurt development trend, and shows a new development trend of tourism routes following the popularity of short video social media.
In this context, some college students use their free time to follow the popularity of the Internet and quickly check in the Internet celebrity city; Some college students see the business opportunities behind the Internet celebrity effect, organize travel with the help of travel agency resources, and become the "agent" of the travel agency to earn student travel dividends.
Some people in the tourism industry praised the vision and self-reliance of student organizers, but some lawyers warned that there are legal risks in this kind of "affiliation" of students using the qualifications of travel agencies.
Internet celebrity phenomenon, sophomores see business opportunities
"Initially, I paid attention to the craze of 'college students climbing Mount Tai at night' on the short video social platform, and my roommate and I also followed suit. After I went, I found that there were really many college students who traveled, which made me pay attention to the business opportunities of college student tourism. After returning to school, Xiao Liang, a post-00s student, discussed with his roommate Xiao Ma and quickly decided to start a business of organizing college student tours.
After the introduction of a high school classmate of Xiao Liang, Xiao Liang and Xiao Ma cooperated with a travel agency in Longzihu Campus by paying management fees every year, borrowed the business qualifications and tourism resources of travel agencies, and carried out in-depth cooperation by independently attracting customers, planning routes and arranging time.
"All our ways to attract tourists are online, through media platforms such as Douyin and WeChat, to attract the attention of surrounding college students." Xiao Liang said that from "climbing Mount Tai at night" in March to checking in Qinghai Rizhao on weekends, he can send 2~4 buses a week when he has a long source of customers, and he can also guarantee a trip a week when he is young.
From non-tourism majors to businessmen chasing student tourism, Xiao Liang and Pony face great challenges. "When we first led the team to Qingdao Rizhao, we encountered a 'difficult' ground pick-up guide." Xiao Liang said that perhaps because the consumption of college students in the local area did not meet expectations, the local pick-up tour guide changed his attitude towards the students, and also prevented the students from getting off the bus when they arrived at the attractions they should visit, in order to quickly cope with the task of receiving student tourists.
"Of course, I can't accept this situation, since I want to do this 'business', I rely on word of mouth among students. If this happens the first time I lead the team, it will be difficult for me to accumulate customers. Xiao Liang immediately communicated with the ground tour guide, striving to restore the original tourist route, and not let the students' travel experience be compromised.
Xiao Chen, a tourist who experienced this incident at the same time, told reporters: "Most of the tourists in the same car are the same age as Xiao Liang, no one complained about Xiao Liang when the incident happened, and all the classmates were patiently waiting for them to communicate." Xiao Chen said that Xiao Liang was also panicked and guilty after the incident, but as a classmate of the same age, she thought that Xiao Liang's courage to deal with emergencies at this age was very commendable and encouraging.
Xiao Liang said that as a semi-professional non-professional player, what he can do now is to personally lead the group to accumulate experience and communicate with customers to understand the needs of students. In addition, Xiao Liang and Xiao Ma also used part of the profits to purchase short video shooting equipment, "Our main focus in the future is to promote tour groups through self-media accounts, take advantage of the characteristics of college students who love to brush short videos, and spread our student tourism business through short videos on a large scale." ”
Which city is popular on the Internet, quickly do the group of this city
"At present, our main route is to go to Qingdao Rizhao, take the bus at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, and return to school before 9 p.m. on Sunday." Xiao Liang introduced that the line in Rizhao in Qingdao now has two prices, 299 yuan and 399 yuan, basically including bus fare, one night accommodation, a meal and breakfast, scenic spot tickets and the cost of taking a speedboat, "but most of the college student groups go to free admission attractions, so the consumption is low, and it is also in line with the consumption concept of college students." ”
In addition, in order to comply with the rule that the bus does not rush to the night, the bus will rest in the high-speed service area from 2 to 5 o'clock in the morning, and passengers on the bus can lower the seat backrest during this time period and take a short break.
"I saw Xiao Liang's short video and learned that he was organizing a student tour group, so I asked him to sign up." Xiao Chen, who is a sophomore, followed Xiao Liang's tour group with his friends in early April to Qingdao and Rizhao.
Talking about his travel experience, Xiao Chen felt very happy. In addition to the fact that most of her travel companions are the "channel" of the same age, Xiao Chen feels that the travel itinerary designed by Xiao Liang is very "appetizing" for students, which is the main reason why she is willing to participate in the tour group of the student tour organizer.
"He knows that those of us who love to brush short videos love to check in places, and we go to places we like." Xiao Chen said that for current college students, it is not important where to go, the important thing is to be popular on the Internet, "Today's students and tourists like to follow the heat, even if it is a niche attraction, it doesn't matter, we just want to take pictures and check in." ”
Xiao Liang said that the idea he insisted on when doing student travel is to meet the wishes of students, so from route selection to time arrangement, he will constantly listen to the opinions of surrounding students and discuss the best plan with travel agencies.
Ms. Hou, an industry insider who has been engaged in student tourism in Zhengzhou for seven years, also said that today's college student tourism does show a new development trend of tourism routes following the popularity of short video social platforms, "Our routes are also adjusting at any time, which city is popular on the Internet, we will quickly do tour groups in this city." ”
This business is "involving" and profitable, earning enough tuition for a year a week
Xiao Liang's tour group was born under the popularity of "college students climbing Mount Tai at night" on the short video platform in March this year. According to Xiao Liang, he earns an average of 20 percent of the profit from the registration fee paid by each tourist. Since March, after deducting some expenses for the purchase of shooting equipment, he and his roommate have each had a profit deposit of several thousand yuan. "Starting from climbing Mount Tai on the night of March, 2~4 cars can be gathered during peak hours every week, and one bus per week can be guaranteed when it is small." Xiao Liang said that during the peak period of the March departure, he could earn enough for 3,700 yuan a year in tuition in a week.
Ms. Hou, an industry insider, said that the market for student tourism is very good now, and as far as she knows, in a certain week in March, there were 60 student group buses from Zhengzhou University Town to Taishan. "Now doing student tourism is also very 'involuted', in addition to travel agencies are doing, students are also spontaneously rushing to do it, and even some labor service companies have begun to do college student tourism in order to grab student resources, and they will also convert the student resources accumulated by tourism into human resources of 'holiday student workers' during the winter and summer vacations, killing two birds with one stone." Ms. Hou said.
In addition, Ms. Hou also said that nowadays, the form of cooperation between students and travel agencies to pull tourist resources is very common, and the most common form is to recruit student agents, that is, student agents help promote travel agencies and pull a customer to feedback a commission. The cooperation method between Xiao Liang and the travel agency belongs to the management fee type cooperation, that is, the travel agency lends him a fixed travel social management fee every year, and the travel agency lends him his qualifications to provide him with preferential resources such as buses, insurance, ground tour guides, and accommodation tickets.
A staff member of a travel agency said that the form of cooperation with management fees is more in-depth, "paying management fees is equivalent to a member of our travel agency, he is equivalent to our agents, can see our reserve price, and then accumulate customers according to their own ability to operate their own travel routes." It is understood that the annual management fee of a certain travel agency is 4,000 yuan, and it has to pay a deposit of 2,000 yuan, which will return when it decides to terminate the cooperation. A letter international travel agency told reporters that the annual management fee of their travel agency is 5,000 yuan.
"There are a lot of students who are acting as our student agents, most of them are working on a per capita basis, and a few are working together in the form of 'borrowing qualifications'." The staff of a letter international travel agency said that the first cooperation method is simpler, but if the students have enough time and sufficient tourist resources, the second cooperation method will earn more money.
Ms. Hou, an industry insider, said: "I think it is commendable that college students can have this kind of awareness and cooperate with travel agencies, in addition to making money, their accumulated ability and contacts cannot be ignored." ”
Lawyer reminds: There are legal risks in the act of "affiliation" by borrowing the qualification of travel agencies
When the reporter asked the operation department of a Fai travel agency whether it could pay management fees to become a student "agent", the travel agency refused: "Only by joining our offline stores and becoming an operator can we cooperate." But when the reporter asked a number of travel agencies near Longzihu University Town with the same question, he got an affirmative answer that "can cooperate".
When asked who is responsible for the accident during the group trip, as a student "agent", the staff of a travel agency said: "As long as we pay the management fee, sign the contract and buy insurance are connected with our travel agency, of course, the travel agency will be responsible." The staff of a letter international travel agency said that after becoming a student "agent", they will provide a platform for buying insurance, and the student "agent" will be responsible for buying insurance.
In this regard, Yao Kun, a lawyer at Beijing Kangda (Zhengzhou) Law Firm, said: "Individuals and companies engaged in the tourism industry need to apply for relevant qualifications according to law. In the absence of relevant qualifications, students pay management fees to travel agencies, and then borrow travel agency qualifications to carry out tourism business, which is generally speaking, this is an act of 'affiliation' and has already violated the law. ”
According to Article 30 of the Tourism Law, travel agencies shall not lease or lend the business license of a travel agency, or illegally transfer the business license of a travel agency in other forms. In addition, according to Article 27 of the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Regulations on Travel Agencies, permitting or acquiescing in other enterprises, groups or individuals to engage in the business activities of travel agencies in their own name, or allowing other enterprises, groups or individuals to operate travel agency business in the form of contracting or affiliation by departments or individuals, is an act of transferring, leasing or lending a travel agency business license.
In addition, lawyer Yao Kun said that the "affiliation" behavior itself is illegal, and it also brings great hidden dangers to consumers' rights and interests. In this case, if the consumer suffers personal injury or property damage during the tour, the affiliated party and the student, the affiliated party and the travel agency shall be liable for compensation.
Source: Dahe News Yu Video Editor: You Xiaopeng