Source: Qianjiang Evening News
"The principal spoke so well."
"I listened to Xiaozhuang's lecture again and was taught."
"Teacher Xiaozhuang speaks really vividly and transmits positive energy."
"The principal spoke in detail, as if he had followed the principal around."
......
This small "class" that has been widely praised by fans,
In fact, it is an explanation of the attractions of Putuo Mountain.
The guy in the video who talks eloquently,
It is the Internet celebrity tour guide in Putuo Town - Xiaozhuang.
Because I like to tell stories and reason in videos,
Xiaozhuang has gained a lot of fans who love to learn,
Everyone affectionately called him "Principal".
Xiaozhuang is an ordinary tour guide, but there is something special.
For three years,
He shared the story and scenery of Putuo Mountain on Douyin.
But with its own insistence:
He always believed that travel has temperature,
It's like an old friend meeting.
Today, he has gained more than 5.18 million followers,
Many people went straight to Putuo Mountain after watching his video.
After receiving tens of thousands of tourists from Douyin,
Xiaozhuang keenly discovered:
This group of tourists, mainly young people,
Prefer to clock in and reject routines.
So, he began to change:
Re-plan your itinerary, adjust your itinerary, update your explainer...
From the body of "Putuo Mountain Villa",
We see the digital transformation of a tour guide for more than a decade,
We are also seeing practitioners in mature tourism areas using new tools
Constantly adapt to the market, update and iterate.
A bold attempt
TikTok came true in a group
Xiaozhuang is a tourism major, after graduation rooted in the tour guide industry, he has been working for more than ten years, and he has also installed his home in Zhoushan.
Special Spring Festival 2020, Xiaozhuang spent the festival at home for the first time. Every year around the Spring Festival is the peak tourist season of Putuo Mountain, and it is also his busiest time, often staying on the island for most of the month. Now he stays at home from the first day of junior high to fifteen, and from fifteen to February.
There are few tourists in Putuo Mountain, but the tour guides, including Xiaozhuang, dare not relax. Filming videos and telling the familiar scenery of Putuo Mountain and the story and culture behind it to the camera seems to be the only way for the "small villagers" to change the status quo.
Xiaozhuang is good at storytelling, and likes to integrate Buddhism into life and the little things happening around him. In a matter of months, he amassed 100,000 followers.
At this time, he made an important decision: reopen the group! Unlike before, this group is completely from TikTok.
The video on August 18, 2020 is a little different, Xiaozhuang sent out an invitation to the group for the first time in the video: 4 days later, everyone is welcome to register.
The video content may seem ordinary, but those who know Putuo Mountain tourism know that this approach is a bit bold: it is equivalent to completely departing from the traditional route and relying purely on short videos to form a group. And at that time, Putuoshan tourism had not yet resumed, how many tourists were willing to sign up in this form?
Xiao Zhuang didn't have a bottom in his heart, "But even if there are only five or six people, you have to bring it, this is the first step to go out, and you can't be afraid of the number of guests." He said.
On the 21st, the day before the official group, when he saw the registration data of 24 people in the background, Xiaozhuang was a little excited. The first "TikTok group" became a new door for him, bringing a new possibility.
"TikTok Group" appointments are hot
Tourists are getting younger, and the way they are served has changed
"TikTok Regiment" is on fire! More and more tourists are willing to form groups directly through Douyin. In the past 2022, Xiaozhuang's Xinyu Travel Agency received 20,000 tourists, all from Douyin. This year's bookings also continue to be hot, "The tour in June is full in mid-May!" Xiaozhuang said: "Now we have to make an appointment a month in advance. ”
In the process of contacting tourists, Xiaozhuang, who has been in the industry for 17 years, keenly found that these tourists from Douyin are slightly different: they are younger, like to share on social platforms, like to check in at Internet celebrity attractions and restaurants, and are keen on niche attractions. The popularity of an obscure monastery on Putuo Mountain is a typical testimony. The temple is not conspicuous or even included in the guided tour, but its popularity has skyrocketed because it is constantly shared by young people on social platforms.
For many young people, entering the monastery is not to light a few incense sticks and kowtow a few heads. More and more young people are entering monasteries in search of spiritual dependence and spiritual comfort. "Some people think it's good to hear the bells." Xiaozhuang said.
The change in crowds and perceptions also made Xiaozhuang determined to make changes.
In the past, the way of leading the group was too "dry". "Six or seven attractions a day come down, most of them are horses and flowers, and the explanations are still rough." Xiaozhuang decided to make the group small and the trip slow, so that he could become a companion type and serve the tourists well.
Although he has millions of fans, Xiaozhuang still insists on the lecture group every Monday, "I will accompany them into an attraction, and explain it in a more amiable way by asking and answering, which is also richer." "Xiaozhuang will also set aside an extra half day for everyone to check in to the niche attractions freely.
"People demand a lot from us." Xiaozhuang found that after watching the video and coming to the scene, many Douyin tourists hope to not only see the scenery with their own eyes, but also hope that the explanation can go deep into their hearts and be touched. This poses a severe test for his explanatory words: it must evolve with the times.
So, Xiaozhuang began to look through the "Putuo Mountain Record" again, more than 1,000 pages of professional books, he almost turned it over, and he was familiar with every corner and every allusion on Putuo Mountain; He also often finds inspiration in his daily life, adding what is happening around him to his explanatory words to explain Buddhism and constantly update the content.
In Xiaozhuang's view, travel is a meeting between old friends: "I pay more attention to the process of serving my guests. "Xiaozhuang's efforts have also been recognized by more and more tourists, and many netizens have come to join the group." Others bought 7 or 8 orders and gave a group trip as a gift to family and friends. ”
Break industry default rules
The tour guides' service fees have been increased
The tour guide in Putuoshan Town is simple. But cases of poor tourist experience occur in other scenic spots: attracting tourists with low tour fees and taking a cut from shopping, dining and accommodation. As a tour guide, Xiaozhuang understands the practices of some colleagues, "I don't earn much a day, and I have to be busy from morning to night, and sometimes I think it's better to go to the construction site to move bricks." ”
But Xiaozhuang is no longer a simple "tour guide Xiaozhuang", he has more than 5 million fans, has a certain influence in the local tour guide circle, and founded Xinyu Travel Agency with his partner, he hopes that the entire industry can develop benignly.
In 2021, Xiaozhuang decided to make a major change, and after consulting with partners, they broke the default rules of the industry and increased the explanation service fee of travel agency cooperative tour guides, with ordinary tour guides bringing a group of 800 yuan, and senior tour guides bringing a group of 1000 yuan. "I myself am a tour guide, and I know very well that I must first give material affirmation to the tour guide, so that the tour guide can serve each group of tourists in a down-to-earth manner."
With digital enablement
Putuoshan tourism is creating more possibilities
From the moment he decided to make a short video in February 2020, Xiaozhuang broke the original development path. With the digital support of Douyin and his rural cultural tourism, he is creating more possibilities, "I always thought that my personality did not match the short video, but when I took the first step, I could actually discover my potential." Xiaozhuang said.
Unconsciously, using short videos and live broadcasts to "guide" a very new "tour" for a few years, Xiaozhuang said, "The essence of travel is to go from a place where you are bored to a place where others are bored." When we watched many people come to Putuo Mountain with a confused mood and return home with seeds of hope, we felt that we were cultivating our own piece of blessing. Someone said that they are the vane of the tour guide circle, "We want to set this benchmark well, so that the whole industry can become good." ”
The more possibilities brought by short videos may not only be reflected in the tour guides represented by Xiaozhuang, but also in more Putuoshan tourism practitioners. Coffee shops, new tea drinks began to appear on the island, and homestays were more "young", and the decoration was more comfortable and beautiful. Tour guides and merchants have used Douyin to promote and continuously optimize their products by using Douyin life services. With the joint help of everyone, Putuoshan has sold more than 30,000 tickets this year, and netizens have given 260,000 videos, graphics and text evaluations.
From April 10 to May 20, under the guidance of the Department of Resource Development of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Department of Culture and Tourism of Zhejiang Province, Douyin Public Welfare and Douyin Life Service jointly launched the "Beautiful Countryside Waiting for You" rural tourism digital improvement action. Zhejiang DOU is a landing project of this action in Zhejiang, which helps the recovery of rural cultural tourism through public welfare training, resource support, and intangible cultural heritage reconstruction. @普陀山小庄 As one of the representatives of Zhejiang Cultural Tourism, through live broadcasting, he told netizens about the local beauty of Chenjiapu Village and Amway in his own way and brought goods.
The infrastructure is constantly improving. "When the traffic does not change, it is difficult for people to reach even the most beautiful scenery. Traffic has changed, people are coming, and many villagers are thinking about opening homestays, hotels and restaurants. Even if you contract the house to someone else to do business, you will have an extra income. Xiaozhuang said. In Chenjiapu Village, Songyang County, Zhejiang Province, and Putuo Mountain, Zhoushan, new businesses, new stories and new possibilities happen every day.
Source: Chao News Qianjiang Evening News reporter Dong Xiaole