Significant discounts, upgrades offered to woo visitors
Tourists take selfies in a field in Baofeng county, Henan province, in March. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
The tourism industry is placing its hopes on the upcoming May Day holiday, which runs from May 1 to 5, by offering big discounts, upgrading itineraries and making strenuous online marketing efforts.
Hopes for the sector have been raised, with a survey by the China Tourism Academy reporting record levels of satisfaction among visitors during the three-day Tomb Sweeping holiday at the start of this month.
However, despite this response, the number of domestic tourist visits during the Tomb Sweeping holiday was about 43.25 million, a fall of more than 61 percent compared with same period last year.
Travelers also spent less, with tourism industry revenue for the three days reaching 8.26 billion yuan (US$1.17 billion), down by nearly 81 percent from last year, according to the academy.
People mainly traveled with their families, took road trips and went hiking, with zoos and flower gardens the most popular destinations.
The Giant Buddha in Leshan, Sichuan province, reopens on March 23, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
According to government regulations, travel agencies must continue suspending cross-provincial and outbound services. As a result, they are looking to attract visitors to destinations within a particular province.
Agencies have also introduced significant discounts.
Wang Ying, head of international affairs at Ctrip, the country's largest online tour agency, said many hotels, scenic spots and tour companies are offering promotions to encourage local travel, with prices reaching the lowest level for the past decade.
"We all hope that high-quality products, combined with favorable prices, will help us grasp this window of opportunity for the industry to recover," Wang said.
For the Labor Day holiday, Ctrip is offering big discounts for visits to scenic spots, road trip packages, small-group tours within provinces and car rental services. Discounts are being offered on about 50 percent more services than during the Qingming holiday.
The company is also promoting hotel packages－including five-star and boutique establishments－along with tickets to scenic spots, at a discount of 20 percent to 40 percent.
A rose garden attracts visitors to Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, on April 19, 2020. (WEI DONGSHENG / FOR CHINA DAILY)
Many scenic spots nationwide have reopened since the middle of last month, with strict hygiene measures put in place to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Most of these destinations are offering medical workers free entry for the rest of this year.
Zhou Wenqiang, chairman of the Sand Lake Scenic Area in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, one of the country's top beauty spots that features deserts and wetlands, said,"The outbreak emerged before Spring Festival, and the summer travel season this year will probably be much shorter than previously.
"These are two peak periods for the tourism industry, and they have been greatly impacted."
According to official data from Ningxia, cultural and tourism companies in the region are estimated to have incurred losses of about 1.6 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year.
Preventing the virus spreading is a key issue to be addressed before scenic spots reopen.
The number of visitors is limited, and before they are admitted, they must show their health QR codes and have their temperature checked. Visitors also have to make reservations in advance, wear a face mask and maintain social distancing.
The Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple in Dali, Yunnan province, attracts 300 to 400 tourists a day. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Travel history checked
Beijing WTown, a tourist attraction modeled on a water town, and the nearby Simatai section of the Great Wall have just reopened, with a staff member dressed in the armor of an ancient general livestreaming first-day visitors at the latter destination. Hotels and hostels providing bed and breakfast at WTown are also back in business.
Zhou Jianhong, head of marketing for the two scenic spots, said staff members' travel history for the past two weeks and their health status were checked before they returned to work.
Non-contact services such as mobile payments are being offered to reduce potential risk, and facilities where surfaces are frequently touched by visitors are thoroughly disinfected.
Wang, from Ctrip, said that before the start of a journey, the agency's drivers, tour guides and clients all have their temperature checked. They also wear masks, and vehicles are disinfected every day.
Tour businesses have improved their services. For example, Zhou, in Ningxia, said his company plans to attract visitors through promotions and activities such as bird watching and special games for children.
It has also built new entertainment facilities and is organizing camping and bonfire parties to encourage tourists to prolong their stays at the Sand Lake Scenic Area.
The company is working with planners to upgrade its itineraries, and will launch campaigns and cultural products based on the area's features such as sand, birds and reeds.
Meanwhile, the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple, built in the 9th and 10th centuries northwest of the ancient city of Dali, Yunnan province, has been attracting 300 to 400 tourists a day, thanks to the area's cherry blossom trees and ancient architecture.
Herons land at the Sand Lake Scenic Area in Ningxia Hui autonomous region last month. (ZHAO ZHIYANG / FOR CHINA DAILY)
Wang Xiangyun, deputy general manager for the scenic spot, said: "It will take time for the tourism industry to recover as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread worldwide. Our strategy is to attract visitors from Yunnan, including Dali residents, by offering ticket discounts.
"We hope to return to our daily visitor limit of about 2,000 a day for the Labor Day break. To prevent crowds forming, our staff members will guide tourists to different areas."
Fan Lu, marketing director for Lost Villa, a boutique bed-and-breakfast chain known for renovating ancient residences in traditional Chinese style, said: "We post scenes online of bamboo and rapeseed in flower to show visitors that the air is fresh and there are few people in the mountains. After about a month, occupancy rates at some of our establishments have returned to normal.
"Some of the boutique bed-and-breakfast establishments in rural areas have a good environment, offer cozy accommodation and are far away from crowds. They meet tourists' current demands. Our strategy is to maintain our original customers."
Located in beautiful countryside, the chain's establishments offer 15 to 24 guest rooms and are about a 30-minute drive from a scenic spot.
During a livestreaming session, the company sold more than 1,500 rooms at 888 yuan a night each, a discount of about 50 percent.
Xiao Zhiqiang, who runs a small road trip business in Chengdu, Sichuan province, livestreamed his 11-day trip with other travelers to Lhasa, Tibet autonomous region, on the tourism website Mafengwo.
"It's good to be on a journey again. The scenery is as beautiful as always, and the travel experience is better due to fewer crowds," he said on the broadcast.
"The pandemic has forced the service industry to do all it can to survive. Accommodation charges have been greatly reduced, and we have been treated well and have been provided with good service."
Xiao said travelers who want to visit Tibet should apply online for QR health codes. If they are from low-risk areas, they do not have to be quarantined, but must have their temperature checked.
The Sand Lake Scenic Area in Ningxia, one of the country's top beauty spots that features deserts and wetlands, hopes to attract more visitors during the Labor Day holiday. (ZHAO ZHIYANG / FOR CHINA DAILY)
He plans to livestream his road trips in Sichuan to boost his business. His broadcast in Tibet has fostered trust between him and online followers, some of whom want to join Xiao for a trip.
Since mid-February, Mafengwo－also a major online tour agency－has invited tourism operators and travel bloggers to make livestream programs. Such broadcasts during the Labor Day holiday will cover several hundred global destinations to meet demand among those who cannot visit these places in person.
Feng Rao, head of Mafengwo's tourism research center, said livestreaming is a major means of virtual travel－a key channel for the tourism business to communicate with potential customers.
"Clients take much longer to make a decision in the tourism industry than in other retail businesses. They like livestream broadcasts that provide an authentic feel and give them the sense of being in a particular place. They will make their travel decisions after watching good-quality livestreaming," he said.
Popular destinations
Xu Xiang, deputy general manager of the consumer operations department at Fliggy, Alibaba's travel service platform, said the favorite destinations among clients during the Qingming holiday have gained great popularity through livestreaming and other virtual travel activities.
"The industry cannot possibly wait until the pandemic is over. People have been attracted through virtual travel programs, and some businesses are distributing coupons during livestreaming sessions to attract potential customers," Xu said.
Fliggy recently offered more than 3,000 discounted travel products for popular domestic destinations, such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, and Sanya, Hainan province.
Xu said: "The domestic tourism industry is recovering gradually. Many people are eager to take a tour, but are still worried about the pandemic. The rate of (the industry's) recovery is subject to progress in the global fight against COVID-19."
Zhan Dongmei, an associate research fellow at the China Tourism Academy, said: "Tourists should not relax their guard. They should look at the pandemic situation at their destination and avoid being in crowds, especially indoors."
She suggested that scenic areas adopt a policy for tourists to make online reservations in advance, to avoid too many arrivals at the same time. Visitors should also be aware of such a policy.
