New Changes in Demand: Lifestyle and Personalization Choices, Rational Consumption

First, tourism is becoming more daily and life-oriented. Tourism is no longer a highly ritualistic activity; people pay more attention to the beautiful scenery around them and the beauty of daily life. Weekend and holiday trips that can be taken at any time and casual leisure have become the norm. From the suburbs to shopping malls, from theaters to vegetable markets, the daily life scenes of urban and rural residents have become new spaces for tourism and leisure. People want to appreciate the beauty of nature, understand the beauty of culture, and experience the beauty of life during their travels. In addition, visiting exhibitions has become a new choice for countless people's weekend outings.

Tourists visiting an exhibition at the National Art Museum of China. Photo by Chen Chen, China Tourism News reporter.

Second, tourism experiences are highly personalized. From "I decide my itinerary" to "I decide my experience," in the past, people went out to see mountains, water, and scenery; now, people value the beautiful life beyond the scenery. Whether it's a barbecue or a music festival, it can be a reason for people to visit a city and spend a weekend. Today's young people don't even make plans; traditional A-level tourist attractions and traditional tourist cities are no longer their first choice. "Small towns in fourth- and fifth-tier cities," "unknown scenic spots," and "unpopulated wilderness" are attracting young people who seek personalization with their unique charm.

Third, tourism consumption is becoming more rational. This year, small cities are becoming increasingly popular among the public due to reverse tourism, substitute tourism, and "special forces" tourism. More and more tourists are pursuing the cost-effectiveness of projects, products, and services. During holidays, people often avoid popular scenic spots and go to small cities such as Hegang, Yanji, Weifang, and Enshi to experience cost-effective consumption projects.

New Atmosphere on the Supply Side: Unique Cultural and Tourism Integration Models

First, from the perspective of cultural leadership, rich cultural experiences continuously enhance the core appeal of scenic areas. Cultural experiences include visiting historical buildings and cultural relics, as well as visiting museums, experiencing intangible cultural heritage activities, and watching performances, which can themselves be relatively independent attractions.

The 20th Anniversary Celebration of "Impression Liu Sanjie." Photo provided by the organizer.

With the improvement of people's living standards and the increase in travel opportunities, people's demand for cultural experiences during travel has become stronger, and the forms of participation in cultural experiences have become more diverse. Outdoor performances, concerts, and singing performances have become important attractions for many tourist destinations. For example, "Impression Liu Sanjie" has been performed more than 8,000 times in the past 20 years, receiving more than 20 million viewers. Intangible cultural heritage experiences are booming. Xinpucun Village in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, is known for its hairpin custom. A small fishing village received more than 3.5 million tourists in 2023, with the highest daily number of tourists reaching 50,000 during holidays.

In addition, tourist attractions, as the core carriers of the tourism industry, play an irreplaceable role in external cultural exchanges. During the long and short holidays of 2024, "Zhangjiajie was full of Koreans." The breathtaking 3,000 peaks of Zhangjiajie have made "taking parents to Zhangjiajie for tourism" an obsession for Koreans. Tourist attractions allow foreigners to experience a credible, lovely, and respectable image of China.

Second, the vitality of the night economy in scenic areas is continuously improving. Scenic areas are introducing more night leisure projects, and some museums, art galleries, cinemas, and theaters are extending their closing times. Whether it is historical and cultural blocks, commercial complexes, night markets, or streets, squares, and parks, they are consciously integrating cultural, technological, fashionable, and entertainment elements, continuously promoting the iteration of night consumption scenarios and product innovation.

Badaling Night Great Wall. Photo provided by Badaling Tourism Group.

A special survey on the night economy conducted by the China Tourism Academy shows that the night opening rate of scenic areas increased from 56.7% in 2023 to 63.1% in 2024. Nearly 40% of national-level tourism resorts have developed and launched night products such as festival performances, indoor leisure, and outdoor entertainment, such as landmark projects such as "The Legend of Eternal Love," "A Dream of Qinhuai," "Le Dong Dunhuang," and "Qingdao on the Sea." More than one-third of national-level museums launched night tours during the summer vacation. Increased investment and innovative projects in night tourism have improved the cultural experiences of residents and tourists, enriched consumption scenarios, and promoted the improvement of social management efficiency in urban management, public transportation, security emergencies, and public health.

Third, theme parks create new urban life experiences. The rise of "mini-vacations" lasting two or three days within a two- or three-hour drive has made theme parks the first choice for leisure and entertainment for more and more tourists, satisfying the needs of some tourists for exciting, novel, and personalized experiences.

In 2024, the Chinese theme park market shows a trend of quality, diversification, and personalization. According to the Global Theme Parks and Museums Report previously released by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), China occupies 7 places in the global top 25 theme parks list. The entry of the two leading international theme park brands, Disney and Universal Studios, has also forced domestic theme park brands such as Fantasi, Chimelong, and Haichang to innovate and benchmark in terms of content, experience, landscape, and marketing, quickly narrowing the competitiveness gap with international brands and increasing market share.

Zhuhai Hengqin Chimelong International Ocean Resort. Photo provided by the scenic area.

As a new landmark of Beijing's tourism and culture, Universal Beijing Resort brings a unique and impactful experience to tourists, creating a series of popular check-in spots. Universal CityWalk has been officially selected as the second batch of national-level night cultural and tourism consumption gathering areas. There is a meme circulating online: "Universal Resort made Tongzhou stay up 3 hours later." In addition, the "urban mini-vacation center" located east of the Universal Resort—the Zhangjiawan commercial and entertainment complex—also brings new experiences to urban tourism.

Qingdao U·SEA Fantasy Ocean World is a new generation of immersive digital ocean-themed parent-child paradise in China. Combining Qingdao's marine resources and culture, the park uses digital technology to empower marine tourism and culture, aiming to create a new model of parent-child entertainment that combines technology and culture, while also catering to young customer groups, creating a national "Ocean Metaverse" park.

Fourth, the popularity of research and study tours has driven the transformation and upgrading of scenic area-type research and study camps. Under the combined efforts of the government and the market, China has become a major country in the world for research and study tourism. As of June 2024, the Ministry of Education has approved a total of 581 national-level primary and secondary school research and study practice education bases and 40 primary and secondary school research and study practice education camps, and the number of local research and study bases (camps) and practice education bases (camps) has also increased significantly. Public cultural venues of all levels and types, such as museums, art galleries, and science and technology museums, have also developed relevant courses for research and study groups, and have organized the reception of research and study teams from all over the country, initially forming a multi-level structure and multi-content dimension research and study base (camp) system from the national to the local level, from science to nature, and from humanities to society.

Hebei Nanchi Academy holds cultural research and study activities. Photo by Chen Chen, China Tourism News reporter.

The China Tourism Academy's "China Research and Study Tourism Development Report 2023-2024" shows that the research and study tourism market remains hot, reflecting the strong market demand and the eager expectation for high-quality supply, and also giving new impetus to the transformation and upgrading of scenic area-type research and study camps. For example, Huangshan launched a free admission activity for teenagers under 18 years old during the winter vacation at 23 A-level scenic spots, demonstrating the social responsibility of state-owned scenic spots in attaching importance to youth education, and is also a new direction for traditional scenic spots to actively explore ways to break away from ticket-based economics and achieve diversified revenue. In the future, scenic area-type research and study camps will pay more attention to the diversification and personalization of research and study courses to meet the needs of students of different ages and interests, and by introducing local characteristic culture and technological innovation elements, create unique research and study products and enhance market competitiveness.