Journey: The pandemic is a challenge for us, but also an opportunity

The outbreak of pneumonia has dealt a heavy blow to China's tourism industry. 36Kr learned that the original major institutions predicted that the number of people traveling during the Spring Festival Golden Week in 2020 would exceed 450 million, an increase of 8% over the number of people traveling during the Spring Festival in 2019, and a market size of about 555 billion yuan, which was instantly wiped out under the blow of the epidemic.

In the face of the shrinking market, the willingness of tourists to travel has decreased sharply, and small and medium-sized enterprises under the cloud not only have huge business pressure, but also need to face the risk of cash flow disruption, but Cai Yun, co-founder of Wuji Trip, told 36Kr, "This is a challenge for every travel practitioner, but this is not a bad thing."

The following is the record of 36Kr's interview with Cai Yun, co-founder of the Peerless Journey, compiled by 36Kr:

On the impact of the epidemic:

36 Kr: What is the current situation of the company?

Cai Yun: During the Spring Festival, the team and has always been in a state of continuous rotation, especially the customer service team, communicating with customers about the progress and operation of various affairs, handling various problems such as order rescheduling, cancellation, postponement, etc.; colleagues in the back-end product and purchasing department are also communicating with various airlines, hotels and other suppliers for refunds and refunds, etc. Due to the domestic Ministry of Culture and Tourism, civil aviation administration before the document, the process is relatively smooth, but overseas is not under the jurisdiction of domestic departments, we can only put forward initiatives, the specific situation is not the same; in addition, We also share our experience and dry goods knowledge with the whole industry during this period through live broadcasts and other forms, and at the same time, we are also iterating on internal systems, updating APP websites, etc., to make preparations for future business.

Talk about market trends

36Kr: What is your view of the future market, opportunities and pain points?

Cai Yun: I am more optimistic about the future market for a long time, and now we are facing a big test, but this is not necessarily a bad thing for companies that usually have accumulation and strength, or for companies with healthy business models, because this is very fair to the whole industry, not a company facing difficulties, on the same starting line, who can better cross the past, who can seize the opportunity in the future, if this period of time is well grasped, it will be a process of accelerated reshuffling. Now the industry trend is the transformation of group travel to individual travel, before it was a linear change, after the epidemic, customers for personal space, health and health protection awareness of the improvement, will choose more fragmented small group travel, which will be a great advantage for independent travel is a major push and benefit.

Talking about business countermeasures:

36Kr: What are the innovative measures under the epidemic?

Cai Yun: In terms of products, we will more guarantee the safety and health of the process, emphasizing the guidance of precautions; in terms of routes, the current research and development of travel routes in areas affected by the epidemic, such as Yunnan, Tibet, etc., after the normal opening of scenic spots, under the premise of doing a good job in health and safety, let everyone embrace the landscape; overseas, due to the current national attitude towards Japan and the geographical advantages are relatively close, we may pay attention to the development of Japanese routes; technical aspects, complement the algorithm project, Further clarify the underlying data in big data, and clean and integrate the business data accumulated in many ways.

36Kr: According to the government policy support issued by Beijing Municipality, how to use the policy to reduce the loss of enterprises?

Cai Yun: Officials from the Tourism Commission and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in the region have drawn opinions from us, including tax reductions and refunds, social security deferrals, etc., in addition to which we also have the conditions to apply for various technology research and development, intellectual property rights, trademarks, subsidies related to entrepreneurial talents, etc., all in the process.

Talking about development planning:

36 Kr: What is the next plan? Where will the focus of development be?

Cai Yun: Follow the trend, stabilize the business, and be prepared. I hope that after the epidemic is controllable, the service can be resumed immediately when customers have needs; at present, the cash flow is not bad, the team will iteratively upgrade in technology research and development, do more online training and sharing, output dry goods, expand brand influence, follow up with industry insiders to do more things, from a single enterprise to the whole industry empowerment.

Peerless Trip, a travel customization company specializing in outbound travel, currently has nearly 300 people, has obtained 4 rounds of financing, and completed large-scale profitability in 2019. For a company that has matured and stabilized, the impact of the epidemic on turnover in the first quarter cannot be underestimated.

Cai Yun said that in the current form, the situation of domestic and overseas travel is not optimistic, first of all, overseas travel is controlled by two aspects, on the one hand, from the domestic, especially the traditional tourism industry group tours, independent travel is completely prohibited from January 27; on the other hand, the other side of the country's security restrictions, including flight control of various countries, entry restrictions, and even many visa centers are suspended; and in the domestic tour, the control of various places is more stringent, and the highway, passenger traffic closure, and the closure of various scenic spots. Does not constitute a travel condition. And the vast majority of customers are relatively low in their current form.

If the epidemic can be controlled as soon as possible, according to the current judgment, there should be no problem in the summer vacation recovery, and now the team is also preparing and planning, hoping that the second half of the second quarter and the third quarter will return to normal levels. (Text/ Zhao Xueke)