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Dai Bin: The "Internet Celebrity Effect" of Culture and Tourism and Sustainable Development

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2025-02-26

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Author | Dai Bin

Editor-in-Chief | Yang Ming

Editor | Jing Xiangyuan

Source | China Tourism Academy

On the eve of the "Two Sessions" in 2025, Dai Bin, Dean of the China Tourism Academy and a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, accepted an exclusive interview with "Longheng" magazine, analyzing popular events in the cultural and tourism field and discussing the 40 years of development of Chinese tourism. (This article is excerpted from Dean Dai Bin's interview "Prosperous Scenery: The Deep Flow of Tourist Destinations" in "Longheng" magazine) ）

In the past two years, the phenomenon of cultural and tourism breaking into the mainstream has led many tourist destinations to pursue the "internet celebrity effect" and are keen on creating popular attractions. Regarding whether a tourist destination can become popular, I believe that as long as the following points are achieved, it is only a matter of time before it becomes popular. More importantly, it must develop sustainably in the long term.

First, the construction and promotion of a good tourism image is necessary. We cannot always promote a long history, outstanding people and beautiful scenery, as this does not allow tourists to form an emotional connection. We must establish a tourism image with distinctive features, and it should be warm, sincere, and kind.

Second, convenient transportation and related infrastructure are needed, including "major transportation" such as airports, high-speed railways, stations, and ports, as well as "minor transportation" such as subways, buses, online ride-hailing services, and shared bicycles. Otherwise, if the tourism image is promoted but tourists cannot get there or find it inconvenient to travel, it will greatly damage the enthusiasm of tourists.

Third, market entities and a business environment are needed, such as travel agencies, hotels, homestays, scenic spots, and catering. No matter how good a place is, if there are no eating and lodging facilities, and bank cards and mobile phones cannot be used, only cash payments are accepted, it will not work.

Fourth, local governments should establish a sound modern governance system oriented towards tourist satisfaction, maintain the market environment, and protect the rights of tourists.

In 2018, I conducted a survey of the Jubao Mountain Scenic Area in Nanjing.

I once talked about Harbin's ice and snow tourism under the title "Harbin's Snowflakes & Tourism's Blossoms", mentioning two measures that played a key role: First, before the snow season arrived, the Harbin municipal government publicly issued "A Letter to Citizens", guiding citizens to treat tourists well; second, Harbin Ice and Snow World issued "A Letter to Tourists" regarding the long queues and ticket refunds for ice slides. Harbin's tourism promotion is very good, but it should also be noted that the cooperation of various units such as the internet supervision department and the market supervision department is behind it, allowing tourists to truly have a happy experience. Only by improving the basic logic and underlying architecture can the use of the internet for attracting traffic be more meaningful; otherwise, tourists will not have a sense of gain.

Some people are also worried about what will happen next year if they become popular this year. I believe that no one can live by beating drums and gongs every day, and no city can live under the spotlight every day. We must accept ups and downs, and we must treat "internet celebrities" as a wave on the surface of the water. More importantly, we must pay attention to the deep flow of the water. I hope that the "internet celebrities" in the tourism industry are not fleeting fireworks, but everlasting flowers. People often say "how to create a popular product", and I am very worried after hearing this. I hope that everyone will have more wisdom and patience in the development of the tourism economy. For example, for Harbin, instead of building indoor ski resorts and skating rinks to extend the ice and snow economy to all four seasons, it is better to let tourists experience the snowflakes in winter, the flowers in spring, the coolness in summer, and the fallen leaves in autumn, and feel the beauty of each season. Do not excessively pursue the creation of popular products, but find the basic laws of tourism development, like a gardener, weeding, watering, and basking in the sun, quietly waiting for the flowers to bloom. Tourism needs "internet celebrities", but internet celebrities are not everything, and they cannot be treated as the ultimate goal.

For Harbin, I have full confidence. We have seen that there are many choirs in Harbin, and many citizens have a strong musical talent. This city has the genes of music. I often say that if the life of the local people is very happy and has a strong cultural atmosphere, it will surely be a beautiful and shareable living space and a high-quality life destination. Therefore, Harbin should be confident, each season has its own beauty, and the urban area and the surrounding counties also have their own beauty. Do not worry about the problem after the heat subsides. Will it not survive without heat? There is a saying online, "Some places have not won online, but they have not lost offline." Many places may not have seen such lively scenes online, but they have still received many tourists. As long as there is tourist satisfaction and love, I believe that the development of the local tourism economy will be a natural thing.

In terms of industrial layout, we should use cities as the center and rely on cities to carry out the spatial layout of the tourism industry, because the center of gravity of the tourism industry is usually in cities. Years of data monitoring show that the ten major urban agglomerations in China, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the Chengdu-Chongqing region, and the Guan-Zhong region, are both major tourist source areas and major destinations, and tourists mainly flow between these urban agglomerations. During holidays, self-driving tourists account for more than half of the total number of tourists nationwide. These areas have convenient transportation, and with internal integration, they gradually form a 1-hour living circle, a 2-hour leisure circle, and a 3-hour tourism circle. From a national perspective, a large triangle (Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu) and two small triangles (Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou) are formed. These are the most active areas in the operation of China's tourism economy.

I often talk about the image construction of tourist destinations. Streets, business districts, scenic spots, and resort areas (which we call "three areas and one circle") can become tourist destinations, but provincial and municipal administrative districts can hardly become tourist destinations (except for Yanqing and other suburban areas of Beijing, as their scale is equivalent to a small city). For example, when we say we are going to Kunming or Jinan for tourism, we rarely say we are going to Shandong or Jinan's Licheng District for tourism. Provinces can be understood as not specific enough. So why do we say that municipal administrative districts cannot become independent tourist destinations? Taking Beijing as an example, let alone tourists, even local people may not know that they have arrived in Dongcheng District after passing the Rainbow Gate, or that they have arrived in Xicheng District after passing a certain street. But when it comes to Wangfujing, Sanlitun, or SKP, many people are clear about it.

From a regional perspective, tourism has become more route-based. In the 1980s, we often talked about Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Guizhou, Guangxi, and Guangdong, meaning that tourists were mainly concentrated in these areas. Now, it is more scattered and route-based, such as the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop Line, the Qinghai Lake Loop Line in Qinghai and Gansu, which are self-driving loop lines; Yangtze River cruises used to only pass through the Three Gorges, but now they are starting to go downstream from the Three Gorges, and cruise ships in Chongqing and Wuhan are connected on the river; National Highway 318 has become a classic tourist route, and tourist trains such as the "Hulunbuir" and Xinjiang's "Snow Country Train" are also very popular among tourists. Route-based tourism is often related to the improvement of transportation infrastructure such as railways and highways, and also related to the construction of national cultural parks such as the Yangtze River, the Great Wall, and the Grand Canal.

2019: Research on Hailar Rural Tourism in Hulunbuir City

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that with the increasing interest of young people in niche and cost-effective tourist destinations, county tourism has become a popular choice. In recent years, the national and local governments have introduced a series of policies to support the development of county tourism, such as the "Three-Year Action Plan for County Commercial Development (2023-2025)" and the launch of boutique rural tourism routes. At the same time, the continuous improvement of infrastructure such as transportation and accommodation in counties has improved the convenience and comfort of tourists' travel. County tourism integrates cultural, agricultural, and intangible cultural heritage resources to develop emerging industries such as camping, research study tours, rural tourism, and night tours, meeting the diverse needs of tourists. For example, Anji has created a unique tourism experience by integrating the coffee industry with agriculture, culture, and tourism. During the National Day holiday in 2024, the average daily orders for county tourism increased by 40% year-on-year, and the growth rate of tourism orders in some small counties exceeded 4 times. This means that a new stage of mass tourism development with market penetration and demand upgrading has arrived, and "fewer people, beautiful scenery," and "unique characteristics" have become the charm of county tourism.

Note: This article is excerpted from Dean Dai Bin's interview "Prosperous Scenery: The Deep Flow of Tourist Destinations" in the magazine "Horizons".

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