What are the trends of homestay activating rural tourism "a pool of spring water"?

Featured theme immersion experience, integration of Chinese and Western cultures, comprehensive development of ecological education...... In Tianjin, more and more boutique homestays are quietly emerging, with themes, branding, and aggregation as the main trends, driving rural tourism towards high-quality development.

According to the data, during this year's "May Day" period, Tianjin's rural tourism reception showed explosive growth, with 10 agriculture-related districts receiving a total of 11.6874 million person-times (including the number of Tianjin citizens and residents in various districts), with an income of 2.24 billion yuan, an increase of 79.8% and 13.8% year-on-year respectively, of which tourists from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei accounted for 88.6%. According to the "2024 May Day Holiday Travel Summary" released by Ctrip, Tianjin ranks among the top eight most popular cities for peripheral travel in China during the May Day holiday.

Theming:

"Small but beautiful" attracts "traffic" and "retention"

In Zhangjiayu Village, Xiaying Town, Jizhou District, the country houses scattered between the Huanxiu Lake Reservoir and the mountains have become one of the holiday destinations for tourists in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. Zhang Hua, a villager from Zhangjiayu Village, and his wife, Zhang Simeng, are experienced beekeepers. Three years ago, the husband and wife opened the first homestay in the village, named "Beehive", with beekeeping bases, vegetable greenhouses, and orchards, attracting tourists from the surrounding areas to study and travel here.

"During the 'May Day' holiday, the room is full every day, the accommodation income is nearly 20,000 yuan, and the income of honey and pottery products is more than 2,000 yuan." Zhang Hua said that when fruits such as peaches and pears ripen in autumn, the income from agricultural products can account for nearly half of the total income.

A resident of Tianjin said: "The children visited the beehives, tasted fresh honey, learned pottery making, and had a lot of fun. ”

Also located in Xiaying Town, the "One Pick Two Homestay" is also unique. As the name suggests, this B&B consists of twelve rooms in twelve styles, each with a terrace, courtyard or water system, each with a different terrace, courtyard or water system. "The furniture is made from local materials, designed and made by themselves, the household appliances are all first-line brands, and smart devices are widely used, so that tourists can not only feel the charm of the landscape ecology, but also experience the convenience of modern life." Zhao Guoqiang, the person in charge of the B&B, told reporters that just after the "May Day", most of the rooms for the Dragon Boat Festival have been booked.

Located in Yushizhuang Village, Guanzhuang Town, Jizhou District, the Jade Manor Food B&B focuses on the development of the "trunk economy". Guo Shuying, general manager of Tianjin Wanshi Ruyi Culture Media Co., Ltd. and chairman of the High-end B&B Women's Alliance, said: "Our handmade traditional lion head, private big red square, snow lotus root powder, special braised eggs, acacia nectar stuffed and other handmade products in the local season are very popular. ”

Guo Shuying roughly estimated that the sales revenue of online and offline agricultural products during the "May Day" period was about 60,000 yuan, which far exceeded the income from accommodation. In her view, B&B is not only a stop for foreign tourists, but also a window to spread local culture and cuisine.

Li Wei, deputy director of the Tianjin Jizhou District Culture and Tourism Bureau, said that since the opening of the first farmhouse in 1994, rural tourism in Jizhou District has gone through 30 years of development. At present, there are more than 2,200 farmhouses in the district, including more than 300 boutique homestays, which are distinctive, high-quality and connotative, and are getting rid of the traditional model of homogenization and low-end.

Branding:

Demonstration leads to promote industrial integration and upgrading

On May 1, the trial operation of the "Gushui Sunzhuang" homestay project located in Sunzhuangzi Village, Shuangqiaohe Town, Jinnan District, Tianjin was launched. This is a boutique project in Jinnan District that takes the homestay industry as the traction to create a "primary, secondary, and tertiary" integrated development of industries.

The first four B&Bs to open were all renovated from old houses in the village. "Sun Zhuangzi B&B focuses on local and customers who come to the National Convention and Exhibition Center to participate in the exhibition, so we pay attention to 'repairing the old as the old' in the design, integrating artistic elements, Western elements and Chinese elements into the construction of the B&B, so that consumers can drink the most authentic coffee and eat the most authentic Western food in the oldest adobe house after arriving in the village." Zuo Fengyi, the chief designer of "Gushui Sunzhuang" B&B, said.

Zuo Fengyi introduced that the project focuses on the protection and utilization of old buildings, and drives the rest of the villagers to participate together through demonstration and guidance, forming an agricultural, cultural and tourism project cluster and promoting rural revitalization.

Guo Hua, Secretary-General of Tianjin Leisure Agriculture Association, believes that at present, the key to the high-quality development of homestays lies in the matching of service and design, which requires a professional operation and management team. At present, more and more capital is optimistic about the development prospects of rural homestays, giving full play to the advantages of business and philosophy, and realizing the brand management of homestays.

As a "key project of Tianjin", the "Chunshanli" project located in the northern mountainous area of Jizhou has also formed a brand effect, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. Zhao Rui, key account director of the "Chunshanli" project and person in charge of the homestay project, said that on the basis of ecological restoration, "Chunshanli" takes the ecological education industry as the core, focuses on science and technology and education people, and provides "micro-vacation" functions. After the project is fully completed, it will provide tens of thousands of jobs, and is expected to create a comprehensive tax revenue of more than 1 billion yuan within four years, stimulating regional employment and economic development.

In order to further play a leading role in demonstration, the Tianjin Municipal Agriculture and Rural Committee, together with the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and other departments, is actively planning to build a rural tourism demonstration area in Tianjin, and plans to use about 3 years to build a number of rural tourism demonstration areas with prominent themes, distinctive characteristics, complete supporting facilities, complete functions, well-known brands and strong demonstration characteristics in 10 agriculture-related areas.

"Judging from this year's 'May Day' rural tourism data, the reception volume of the 12 demonstration areas accounts for more than 80% of the overall reception, and the construction of rural tourism demonstration areas has been effective." Zhao Xianjian, director of the Tianjin Rural Tourism Work Office and chief economist of the Municipal Agriculture and Rural Committee, said.

Agglomeration:

Scale effect helps rural revitalization

A two-storey white building envelopes the old house. Starry Sky Room, Children's Room, Cement Projection Room...... Ten rooms, each in a different style; Outside, the spacious courtyard, green bamboo, mirrored swimming pool, surrounded by mountains not far away.

This is a "slow down and pick-up" B&B located in Changzhou Village, Xiaying Town, Jizhou District, and has won the "Gold Award" in the excellent work group of the first Jizhou District B&B Design Competition. Wang Hongjie, a young entrepreneur who returned to his hometown and was in charge of the operation of the homestay, said: "Our customers are mainly post-90s and post-00s, according to their needs, the homestay is set up with board games, bars, swimming pools, and the name of each room is also taken according to the preferences of young people, and the yard should be well arranged." ”

Changzhou Village is located at the foot of the Great Wall and is one of the earliest villages in Jizhou District to develop rural tourism. Of the 89 households in the village, 60 have opened farmhouses. With policy encouragement and financial support, more and more villagers like Wang Hongjie have upgraded and renovated their homesteads, realizing the transformation and upgrading of farmhouses into boutique homestays. "From 50,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan of farm house loans, to the current maximum of 3 million yuan 'homestay loans', we have supported batches of homestays to complete large-scale transformation." Meng Fanye, product manager of the Sannong Financial Division of the Tianjin Branch of the Postal Savings Bank, said.

Guojiagou Village, Xiaying Town, Jizhou District, is also a typical representative of homestay agglomeration. Hu Jinling, Secretary of the Party Branch and Director of the Village Committee of Guojiagou Village, introduced that since 2012, Guojiagou Village has begun to promote the construction of rural tourism boutique villages, gradually formed a boutique homestay group, and introduced a professional operation team in 2021 to create a comprehensive scenic spot and a "homestay +" industry.

In December 2022, Guojiagou Scenic Area was rated as the first national 4A-level scenic spot in Tianjin, with a per capita annual income of more than 100,000 yuan, which is more than 3 times the per capita disposable income of rural residents in the city.

Zhao Xianjian said that Tianjin is promoting the development of homestay agglomeration in villages with conditions, such as Guojiagou Village, Changzhou Village, Yushizhuang Village in Jizhou District, and Li Darenzhuang Village in Wuqing District, etc., through collaborative management, overall marketing and business sharing, to form a scale effect and promote rural revitalization.

In addition, Tianjin will also promote the large-scale operation of homestays by revitalizing idle assets in rural areas. Li Jie, director of the engineering planning department of Tianjin Rural Tourism Development Co., Ltd., introduced that Tianjin Rural Tourism Development Co., Ltd. has launched an idle farmhouse circulation system, which has collected more than 2,200 idle farmhouses, and aims to achieve operation and circulation of 400 to 500 homestays in 2024, create 1 to 2 demonstration projects, attract 1 to 2 high-quality enterprises to invest in the landing, plan and design at least 10 high-quality lines, and achieve drainage of no less than 100,000 people. (Source: Economic Information Daily reporter Wang Ning)