Text | Finance and Economics, Author|Hickory
Without any "accidents", with the end of the May Day holiday, the tourism market once again handed over a brilliant report card.
According to the latest estimates from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, on May Day this year, the number of domestic tourism trips nationwide reached 295 million, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%, and an increase of 28.2% over the same period in 2019 on a comparable basis. In terms of tourism revenue, the total travel expenditure of domestic tourists reached 166.89 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%, and a comparable increase of 13.5% over the same period in 2019.
According to data from a number of OTA platforms, during this year's May Day holiday, the domestic tourism market maintained a steady and growing trend on the basis of the high level of the same period last year, and the per capita booking volume and per capita consumption amount both achieved double-digit year-on-year growth. At the same time, the growth rate of the sinking market is significantly higher than that of the first- and second-tier markets.
Throughout May Day, "100 million people in XX" has become a hot stalk used by netizens to describe the grand occasion of collective travel on May Day. Compared with last year's explosive May Day outing, this year's May Day seems to be more than equal. Not only Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and other major first-tier cities "people follow the crowd" phenomenon, under the boom of "reverse tourism", according to Ctrip data, Qinhuangdao, Weihai, Zibo, Huangshan, Tai'an and other third- and fourth-tier cities travel orders increased by an average of 11%, and such as Anji, Tonglu, Dujiangyan, Yiwu, Wuyuan, Jinghong and other county towns tourism orders increased by an average of 36%.
Source: Ctrip
Behind these macro data, they are inseparable from "people". "Caijing Mowgli" chatted with some young people who traveled on May Day and found that their most direct feelings about this year's May Day travel can be summarized into three "more": the purpose is clearer, the price is more cost-effective, and they are more willing to pay for the experience.
In order to capture more young people, every year on May Day, local cultural and tourism bureaus and local governments also frequently make big moves and work collectively. Sichuan Jianmen Pass Scenic Area recites "Shu Road Difficulty" to win tickets, Guangdong Chaoshan's Ying song and dance, Zibo's Haiyue Dragon Palace 10,000 people baking field...... Compared with the past, more and more cities not only pay attention to the traffic brought by May Day, but also focus on the "transformation of traffic", and are playing a variety of marketing cards and characteristic cards by combining their own resource endowments.
From the perspective of changes in the demand side and the supply side, it also makes the turning point of this year's May Day more intense.
Revenge consumption is gone, emotional value consumption is coming
Compared with last year's May Day "revenge travel", this year's May Day young people's tourism outlook has obviously changed in three ways: the purpose is clearer, the price is more cost-effective, and they are more willing to pay for the experience.
In order to have a "sense of relaxation" on May Day this year, Li Ming, who had rested for a period of time in March, made an itinerary early, from Tianjin, Zibo to Qingdao, in his words: "A city only does one thing." "I went to Tianjin for a music festival, Zibo for barbecue, and Qingdao for the beach to watch the sunset. Because of the clear purpose, Li Ming did not feel very tired during the entire May Day trip: "The warriors who can travel on May Day basically know that going out is crowded, so it is better to simply lower expectations." ”
and Li Ming also "do subtraction" for travel, as well as ponies. She originally planned to check in the attractions in Nanjing, but after experiencing the "crowd of people" at the Confucius Temple on the first day, she immediately decided to adjust her travel plan - from checking in the attractions to wearing Hanfu for a Citywalk. She and her friends made an appointment for the next day's Hanfu makeup, selected their favorite clothes, and spent the day eating and playing in the east of Laomen. Because of the change of plan, the pony and his friends also had a windfall: "We walked to Bailuzhou Park, and the staff saw that we were wearing Hanfu and gave us free tickets. ”
Different from the "blind follow-the-trend" shown on social media, young people who are well aware of the "May Day travel fever" have begun to flexibly change their travel plans and ideas, in addition to more clear goals, "reverse tourism" that emphasizes niche and cost-effective has also become a new choice for this May Day young person to travel.
Zhao Liang, who originally planned to take his family to Chongqing during the May Day period, finally decided to avoid the crowd because of the "failure to grab tickets" and drove from Shanghai to Anji, Zhejiang Province to "absorb oxygen". In Anji, Zhao Liang also specially avoided Internet celebrity attractions such as the grassland on the clouds, and went to Yucun and Changgu Dongtian, although there was still a lot of traffic during the May Day period, but the ticket and food prices were very cost-effective, plus the scenery of mountains and rivers, so that Zhao Liang's family had a very good experience, and the whole trip only cost less than 3000 yuan.
County destinations like Anji have become the first choice for young people to "reverse tourism". Ctrip data shows that travel orders in Tonglu, Dujiangyan, Yangshuo, Maitreya, Yiwu, Wuyuan and other places increased by an average of 36% on May Day this year. Different from last year's popular special forces check-in, more and more young people are looking for a new way to play that is closer to nature and more free.
There are also young people, this May Day trip, just to go to a romance. In Yantai, Shandong, the "Sunrise Concert" brought by singer Hua Chenyu has become a topic of interest on this May Day. A fan at the scene told "Caijing Mowgli" that although the follow-up traffic experience was not very good, the "Sunrise Concert" still gave fans a good experience.
Hua Chenyu's "Sunrise Concert" in Yantai Source: Yantai Cultural Tourism
If last year's May Day is described as "revenge consumption", it is not difficult to see from the new travel trend of the above-mentioned young people that this year's May Day is a "new emotional value consumption".
On the one hand, under the trend of rational consumption, it will become a long-term trend in the future not to pursue the high card of travel, but to yearn for the cost performance of experience and price. On the other hand, in travel, people are also paying more and more attention to the spiritual consumption of emotional value - a hanfu experience, a music festival, a concert......
From revenge consumption to emotional value consumption, this is the first new change we need to pay attention to in the "sea of people" on May Day.
From grabbing people to keeping people, the city has also changed
In order to seize young people on this May Day, a new wave of "talent grabbing" has also started between cities.
At the forefront are the directors of culture and tourism who are "fighting" again in various places. From the short video war of the Internet celebrity directors of culture and tourism at the beginning of last year, and then to the "shouting war" set off by Harbin and Henan at the beginning of this year, the "Internet celebrity directors" with a sense of network and affinity have become the new IP of the local government.
On May Day this year, compared with the previous hard-working marketing, the "directors of culture and tourism" played a "no roll" - from fancy lens marketing to down-to-earth tourism promotion. For example, Liu Hong, director of the famous Internet celebrity culture and tourism bureau and director of the Sichuan Ganzi Prefecture Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, shouted to netizens through a short video, saying, "We don't roll, Ganzi is beautiful." Another Internet celebrity director of culture and tourism, Xie Wei, director of the Hubei Suizhou Bureau of Culture and Tourism, also told netizens about Suizhou's new attractions and new ways to play through short videos.
Internet celebrity directors of culture and tourism around the country shouted "We don't roll" Source: Douyin
The fundamental reason behind this change is that from "going to Zibo to catch up with the roast" to "Binzhi is like home", the traffic explosion of Zibo and Harbin is said to be a certain extent due to the time, location and people, when the traffic passes, this year's May Day, each city is more concerned about how to better "retain people".
The non-volume of the "Internet celebrity director" is just a microcosm.
"Financial Mowgli" observed that this year's May Day, the unified actions of local governments and cities are focused on two aspects: first, in terms of tourism and travel services, riveting efforts to provide tourists with "cost-effective" services. Second, in urban marketing, the main focus is on the warm "fireworks narrative".
First of all, in terms of tourism and travel services, the so-called cost performance is a "one-stop" service, when young people come to a city, they can not only feel the local characteristic culture, but also experience the music festivals, concerts, markets and other activities they are familiar with.
More and more cities have launched such "combination punches" on this May Day. After the explosion, Zibo not only continued the benefits of "high-speed rail tickets for tickets" and "free tickets for accommodation scenic spots" on May Day this year, but also re-lit the national intangible cultural heritage of Zibo Yudai Lake Scenic Area - "Zibo Lantern", but also integrated the elements of the music festival through the Haiyue Dragon Palace Barbecue Festival, so that the barbecue scene became a jumping scene.
The Red Leaf Persimmon Rock Tourist Area of Zibo Internet Red Scenic Area also launched a "painless mountaineering" project on this May Day, taking the initiative to reduce the burden on tourists, and also set up 24 NPCs in the park to provide tourists with an immersive experience.
In addition to Zibo, there is also the return of Kaifeng Wangpo, Quanzhou's matching celebrity customized tour due to the popularity of the TV series "Spring Lover", Chaoshan Longhu Villa's interpretation of the British song and dance that was previously out of the circle, etc., are all the embodiment of the above ideas.
Secondly, major cities have also seen the idea of "fireworks narrative" from the urban marketing of Zibo and Harbin, showing their own unique personality with more down-to-earth services and experiences. For example, in the rainy weather in various parts of the country on May Day, Harbin took advantage of the hot spots of the OTA platform "Little Sun" to advertise for itself; another example, the errand boy in Xi'an carried a first-aid kit; the security guard of a hotel in Xuchang, Henan Province washed the car for tourists, and so on......
"Fireworks Marketing" in major cities Source: Douyin
The fireworks in the world are the most soothing to the hearts of mortals. The city has changed from volume traffic to volume service, which is the second change we need to pay attention to behind the "crowd of people" on May Day this year.
Conclusion: Is this year's May Day a turning point?
Looking back at this year's May Day, from the data to the tourist experience to the measures introduced by various cities, we can see two key messages:
First, when the post-90s, post-95s and post-00s and other young people have gradually become the main group of tourism consumption, from retaliatory consumption to emotional value consumption, under the purpose of "cost performance", the sinking trend of the tourism market has become increasingly clear.
Second, under the change of consumption trends, it may bring about structural changes in the current tourism market - although the proportion of sightseeing tours represented by scenic spots is still the majority, various places are exploring ways to integrate the integration of "sightseeing + vacation", and optimize the consumer experience through more business innovation.
With more opportunities, the challenges are also severe.
First of all, for the third-, fourth-tier and county-level markets, how to cope with the soaring passenger flow and improve the construction of urban infrastructure? During this year's May Day, Yantai was criticized for the Hua Chenyu concert to ensure the flow of passengers, but it was also criticized for traffic problems. The Pozi Street Police Station in Changsha, Hunan Province, which became popular because of "Guarding the Liberation West", recently caused controversy because of the check-in photos of tourists "squatting down and hugging their heads", and was commented by netizens: "What kind of performance art is this?"
Secondly, in terms of tourism products and services, how to innovate tourism projects and continue to increase their attractiveness will also test the keen insight of various regions into consumer trends. For example, the Hanfu experience project that originated in Luoyang and other places, the three-step "princess" and the five-step "concubine", have now spread all over major tourist cities, and how to get out of differentiation under the trend of homogenization is undoubtedly a long-term examination question.
I remember that during the May Day last year, Liang Jianzhang, the founder of Ctrip.com, made this judgment in the article "There Are No Winners in Travel Mania": "There are not many real winners in the short term of explosive travel mania. "Last year witnessed a brief explosion of tourism willingness after a long period of suppression, tourism-related resources in short supply, this year's May Day, this phenomenon is still repeated, but compared with last year's "irrational prosperity", there has been a lot of improvement.
From this point of view, this year's May Day may be regarded as a turning point.
Resources:
- 1. Upstream news: The local cultural tourism May Day has reached a new height: Kaifeng "Wang Po" has returned to Wansui Mountain, and Quanzhou has pushed Li Xian's life on the same journey
- 2, really called Lu Jun: I didn't expect May Day to start reverse tourism
- 3. Zhihui: penetrating data: the joy and sorrow of "May Day" tourism