【Orange Tourism】All the way, a hundred industries prosperous. If the cultural tourism resources along the China-Laos Railway are compared to pearls, the China-Laos Railway is a "golden line" connecting these pearls.
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On April 13, the China-Laos Railway International Passenger Train officially started. The train has eight stops in Laos and Yunnan, China, most of which are tourist cities, such as Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang in Laos, Kunming and Xishuangbanna in Yunnan.
In the past, travel agencies could only formulate China-Laos travel routes based on the international routes that had been opened. The official opening of the China-Laos Railway international passenger train not only makes travel more convenient for the people of the two countries, but also makes the design of tourism route products more flexible.
How to seize the opportunity of the opening of the international passenger train of the China-Laos Railway, do a good job in the design of tourism products of the China-Laos Railway, build an international tourism brand, and let tourists become tourists and tourists become tourists, this is a problem that needs to be seriously considered under the new idea of "cross-border railway + tourism" to develop the cultural tourism market.
New business opportunities in outbound travel business
Since the beginning of this year, with the gradual resumption of China's outbound tourism business, Southeast Asian countries have become popular destinations for Chinese tourists to leave the country. According to data, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Laos from January to March 2023 reached a record high, reaching more than 7,000.
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At 8:08 a.m. Beijing time on April 13, train D887 left Kunming South Railway Station in China and headed south. An hour later, at 9:08 a.m. Beijing time, the D888 train left Vientiane Station in Laos and sped north. The China-Laos Railway international passenger train adopts the customs clearance mode of "two places and two inspections", and the whole travel time is 10 hours and 30 minutes, and the train between Kunming and Vientiane can be reached on the same day.
In order to better serve cross-border passengers, the China-Laos Railway International Passenger Train is equipped with Chinese and Lao standard power sockets under each group of seats, and passenger information display, broadcast and service signs are in three languages: Chinese, Lao and English.
In addition, the uniforms of the crew on the train have the theme of "Silk Road Flower Language", and the overall color is fresh peacock blue. The neckline, cuffs and waist are decorated with elements of peony flower, a traditional Chinese flower, and Champa flower, a traditional Lao flower, representing the long-standing friendship and harmony between China and Laos.
On the same day (April 13), the news of the operation of the China-Laos Railway international passenger train appeared on the hot search list of Baidu and Weibo.
Data from Mafengwo shows that from April 13 to 16, the popularity of searches for Laos on the platform increased by 80.8% compared with April 9-12.
According to Ctrip's data, since 2023, the age distribution of Chinese tourists to Laos has been 37% after 1980, 28% after 1990, 18% after 1970, 9% after 1960, 4% after 1950, and 3% after 2000. This also means that the group of Chinese tourists who travel to Laos is no longer dominated by the elderly, and more and more young Chinese tourists have begun to travel to Laos.
As the "Best Country to Visit in 2023" jointly recommended by National Geographic magazine and CNN, how will the Lao government attract more young Chinese tourists to visit Laos?
In this regard, the Lao Culture and Tourism Center (China) revealed that in 2023, the Lao Culture and Tourism Center (China) will launch a series of marketing and promotion activities "Let's Go, Laos" to promote Laos' cultural customs and tourism resources in a way that Chinese young people like to hear. At the same time, the Lao government will also adopt ways including improving the professional skills of tourism practitioners, improving tourism infrastructure construction, facilitating tourist visa applications, designing self-driving tour routes popular with young people, and promoting Lao tourism through new media to attract more young Chinese tourists to Laos.
Source: Lao Cultural and Tourism Center
The emergence of the above signals has also made the domestic tourism industry smell the new market brought by the opening of the international passenger train of the China-Laos Railway, and more and more tourism enterprises have begun to launch tourism products related to the China-Laos Railway.
In March 2023, travel agencies such as Kunming China International Travel Service Co., Ltd. and Yunnan Tiran International Travel Co., Ltd. have launched more than 10 "railway + tourism" routes for the Lao and Thai markets.
Tuniu Travel said that bookings for package tours in Laos for 8-9 day itineraries have continued to rise in the past month. This popular product is mainly based on 3 flights and 1 movement (domestic city-Kunming round-trip plane, Kunming-Vientiane aircraft, Boding-Kunming railway), and the return journey takes the China-Laos Railway, and does not go back.
Ctrip said that the most popular Laos tour products in the near future are Vientiane Laos 7 nights on the 8th, Laos 5 nights through Vientiane-Vang Vieng-Luang Prabang.
In addition, at present, the outbound travel products launched by various travel agencies in Kunming are mainly Southeast Asian countries, among which Thailand and Laos are the most popular. Wang Bing, general manager of Kunming Holiday International Travel Agency, said that traveling in Laos by high-speed train has become a product that travel agencies in Kunming are promoting.
Yang Jiechen, the person in charge of Thailand Onion Tourism Co., Ltd., believes that in the future, the China-Laos Railway to Laos and Thailand through the Mohan Port is expected to become a popular route.
Developing two "tourism circles"
Laos is located in the center of Southeast Asia, surrounded by Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. Since the opening of the China-Laos Railway, cross-border freight trains have covered Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Singapore and other countries. After the opening of the China-Laos Railway International Passenger Train, the upgrading of this industry will have a comprehensive impact on the cultural tourism industry.
According to Meng Rui, president of Yunnan Tourism Planning and Research Institute, since the opening of the China-Laos Railway, it has brought opportunities to enterprises and people in China, Laos and neighboring ASEAN countries - with the China-Laos Railway as the axis, it can leverage a larger market through the development of the Lancang-Mekong tourism circle and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar tourism circle.
Source: Lao Cultural and Tourism Center
The Laos Culture and Tourism Center (China) said that the opening of the China-Laos Railway international passenger train will not only bring China and Laos closer to each other, but also directly radiate Southeast Asia. After taking the high-speed rail to Laos, it will be more convenient to extend to Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.
According to the Bank's previous estimates, more Lao people and tourists from ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam will take the China-Laos Railway after the epidemic. And Thailand's keen to use rail links to Laos' anticipated tourism has begun to show spillover effects.
"After arriving in Vientiane, Laos via the China-Laos Railway, tourists can easily travel to northeast Thailand and further explore the islands and major cities." Su Hong, Director of the Kunming Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand, said, "I believe that in the near future, we will be able to rely on the China-Laos Railway to organize cross-border tourism trains, allowing tourists to travel from Kunming to China, Laos and Thailand." ”
In addition, more Chinese tourists go to ASEAN countries through the China-Laos Railway, and correspondingly more tourists from ASEAN countries will enter China. If in the past, the vast majority of overseas tourists entered China from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities, after the operation of the China-Laos Railway international passenger train, Yunnan will become the first stop for many overseas tourists to enter China, and Yunnan has also changed from the downstream of the inbound tourism market industry chain to the upstream.
It is understood that the first inbound tourism group from Thailand arrived in Kunming on April 8. The tour group took the China-Laos Railway train through Xishuangbanna and left the country from Mohan Port on the China-Laos border. From May, a series of 200-300 Thai inbound groups will enter Yunnan every week.
Regarding how to help tourists from Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and other ASEAN countries enter China for tourism with the help of the China-Laos Railway international passenger train, the Lao Culture and Tourism Center (China) said that the Lao government firstly strengthens top-level design, ensures tourism safety, promotes customs clearance facilitation, secondly strengthens the development of tourism resources and releases tourism vitality, and third, strengthens tourism product development and publicity to meet the diversified needs of the tourism market.
In China, as early as 2021, Yunnan Province has carried out activities such as the China-Laos Railway Cultural and Creative Competition, cross-border tourism product planning and route design of the China-Laos Economic Corridor. In 2022, Yunnan Province will also hold the "MUST GO" activity along the China-Laos Railway for online celebrities to check in, and well-known bloggers at home and abroad will experience the style along the China-Laos Railway and "plant grass" for global tourists to "plant" the beautiful scenery and food of the China-Laos Railway.
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At the beginning of 2023, Yunnan Province proposed to accelerate the development of 50 major projects along the China-Laos Railway, and promote the organic connection of the "Lancang-Mekong Express" with China-Europe Express and Lancang-Mekong international shipping. AT THE SAME TIME, THE BOKEO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, WHICH IS PLANNED AND BUILT IN ACCORDANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL 4C STANDARDS, IS ALSO ABOUT TO BE COMPLETED, AND THE MAIN TERMINAL IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED AND OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS IN MID-2023. The effective combination of airport + high-speed rail + shipping will promote the development of tourism, trade, finance and other industries in neighboring countries and regions.
Why focus on rail tourism? According to Shi Peihua, director of the Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Tourism Development of Nankai University, the first is the need for mass tourism, and the railway has the unique advantages of large transportation and large passenger flow; Secondly, there are successful international experiences, such as Switzerland and other famous world tourist destinations, railways and tourist trains are all blood meridians that show the charm of tourism in an all-round way; Moreover, the mainland has entered the era of high-speed rail, and railway tourism is coming.
Nowadays, how to give full play to the advantages of domestic and foreign tourist exchange, realize tourism policy communication, tourism route co-construction, tourist resource sharing, tourism market reciprocity, and tourism information sharing in cities along the China-Laos Railway as soon as possible, and truly form a three-dimensional tourism market that integrates domestic, outbound and inbound tourism, is a problem that the tourism industry of China and Laos needs to think about together.
Du Tingting, head of Kunming Railway Bureau Group International Tourism Service Co., Ltd., suggested that the special train with special characteristics that is not limited by region and season should be opened, highlight the drainage effect of "line string points, point and surface integration", accelerate the "cultural and tourism integration" of the railway industry, and promote the in-depth integration of railway culture and popular culture.
Kong Zhijian, deputy director of the Laos Research Institute of the China (Kunming) Institute of South Asia and Southeast Asia, suggested that tourism enterprises in China and Laos should deepen cooperation and develop diversified tourism methods such as "railway + self-driving" to bring tourists a richer and more convenient experience. (Orange Travel Jack)