Several New Trends in China's Current Tourism Consumption

(1) Rapid Rotation of Tourism Hotspots; Emergence of Numerous Internet Celebrity Cities

With the support of social networks, the current hotspots and themes of tourism consumption in China are showing a trend of rapid rotation. As the service consumption market is comprehensively upgraded towards experience, the integration trend between consumption hotspots and social networks is becoming increasingly obvious. From Zibo barbecue to Harbin ice and snow tourism to Tianshui hot pot, "internet celebrity" cities are emerging one after another, and the themes of tourism consumption also cover various related themes such as catering, events, performing arts, ice and snow, and research studies, and the potential of consumption hotspots is constantly bursting forth. With the continuous dominance of various consumption hotspot cities and consumption topics on online platforms, the rotation speed of consumption sectors is constantly accelerating. Last year, Zibo barbecue became popular nationwide, and "going to Zibo for barbecue" became a trend. Data shows that in 2023, the search volume for "Zibo barbecue" in the week before May Day increased by 700% year-on-year, and the number of notes on Dianping increased by 1400% year-on-year. During the May Day holiday in 2023, the city's catering dine-in consumption increased by 360% year-on-year compared to the May Day holiday in 2021, and hotel accommodation and leisure entertainment consumption also increased by 490% and 1156% year-on-year respectively. In the second half of 2023, the popularity of ice and snow tourism surged. Harbin, as a leading ice and snow tourism city, saw a significant increase in its total tourism consumption and related product orders, attracting a lot of attention. At the end of the first quarter of 2024, "Tianshui hot pot" became popular again, once again attracting consumers from various provinces and cities to pay attention to Gansu's food tourism. During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday in 2024, the hit TV series "My Altay" also drove the continued popularity of self-driving destinations represented by the Altay region of Xinjiang and Nileke County in Yili Prefecture.

(2) Cross-Industry and Cross-Scenario Synergy Stimulates Overall Consumption Growth

China's tourism consumption is comprehensively upgrading from sightseeing to vacation and experience. Tourists' travel methods are gradually shifting towards comprehensive activities with multiple purposes such as leisure, vacation, competition, and health preservation. The cross-industry and multi-scenario consumption characteristics during the tourism process are becoming increasingly prominent. This integration of formats and intersection of scenarios more effectively promotes the growth of overall consumption at the destination. On the one hand, tourists' travel purposes and motivations are becoming more generalized, and local catering, leisure entertainment, events and performing arts are increasingly becoming the main attractions for out-of-town tourists. "Eating and playing" and "living and playing" have become new choices for many consumers. Taking catering as an example, in recent years, local cuisine has become a "city name card," and its driving effect on urban economy and tourism development has become increasingly apparent. For example, during the ice and snow tourism season at the end of 2023, the catering transaction volume of Northeast Chinese cuisine, barbecue, chicken racks, hot pot, and Russian cuisine in Harbin increased significantly compared to the same period in 2019. In the first quarter of 2024, the growth rate of catering consumption orders generated by out-of-town tourists nationwide reached 50.4%, 18.7 percentage points higher than that of local residents. This reflects the strong growth momentum of "catering + tourism." On the other hand, the comprehensive driving effect of the tourism industry is becoming stronger, and multi-scenario and multi-format consumption during the leisure process is more common, which magnifies the multiplier effect of the tourism industry and promotes the rise of overall economic vitality in cities. According to data calculations, in Harbin during the snow season at the end of 2023, every yuan spent on scenic spot tickets by out-of-town tourists could drive a total of 2.58 yuan in platform service consumption; in Beijing in 2023, every suburban accommodation order could drive a total of 2.38 platform consumption orders, a 35% increase from 1.76 orders in 2022. This is inseparable from the supporting effect of digital platforms. As a one-stop consumption experience entrance for destination cities, tourists can easily book scenic spot tickets, accommodation, catering, and other items through online platforms such as Meituan and Dianping, achieving online full coverage of offline service scenarios, providing solid support for the overall growth of urban consumption.

(3) Consumption in Lower-Tier Markets is Gaining Momentum; County Tourism is Becoming Popular

Recently, many small counties and ancient towns have attracted a large number of tourists with their differentiated cultural and tourism resources and regional characteristics, making "county tourism" a new consumption trend. Thanks to the continuous improvement of basic public services and tourism infrastructure in various places, young people's yearning for scarce, leisure, and comfortable destinations, and the excellent dissemination power of Internet platforms for niche and high-quality content, the sinking markets such as county-level areas are continuously releasing consumption momentum that far exceeds the local radiation range. Data shows that from May to early June 2024, the year-on-year growth of keyword searches related to "county tourism" increased by 605.2%, and the number of comments and notes on Dianping increased by 100%. During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the year-on-year growth of scenic spot ticket orders in county-level markets increased by 65.1%, and the year-on-year growth of hotel and homestay bookings increased by 50.8%. "Fewer people, beautiful scenery, relaxation, and unique experiences" are the keywords most searched by young people. The consumption of tourists from other places is not limited to the tourism industry; the proportion of tourists from other places in catering, leisure and entertainment, and other life service consumption sectors is also increasing rapidly. From 2019 to 2023, the consumption expenditure of tourists from other places in county-level areas across all sectors has grown rapidly at a compound annual growth rate of 29.8%, faster than the consumption growth rate of local residents. The proportion of out-of-town consumption in county-level consumption is continuously expanding, reaching nearly 25% in 2023. From January to May 2024, the number of catering orders from tourists from other places in county-level areas was 7.8 percentage points higher than that in cities. Some county-level areas have held a variety of cultural and tourism leisure activities, driving rapid growth in local consumption. Taking Liuyang City, Hunan Province, as an example, Liuyang City launched a weekend fireworks show project in February 2024. In the first quarter of 2024, the number of Meituan platform users from other places in Liuyang City increased by 107% year-on-year, and the number of orders from users from other places showed a sawtooth distribution. Every weekend with a fireworks show, the number of orders peaked during the week.

(4) The popularity of cultural and museum venues is rising, and the integration of culture and tourism demonstrates potential

In recent years, the scope and level of the integration of culture and tourism have become broader and higher. Various places have emerged with many types of characteristic cultural and tourism products that embody cultural connotations and humanistic spirit, and they have been favored by more tourists. Data shows that from January to May 2024, the number of consumption orders for humanistic sites and exhibition halls was higher than the overall growth rate of the tourism industry. In the boom of cultural tourism, the "museum fever" is a vivid manifestation. Currently, museums play a more diverse role in daily life, becoming an important place for many young consumers to relax and "check in," and also an important channel for them to understand traditional culture. On May 18, 2023, International Museum Day, under the guidance of the China Cultural Relics Information and Consulting Center, Dianping released the "Public Wenbo List" based on data and content such as the platform's search popularity and notes and strategies. The list covers multiple sub-lists, including popular among the public, favorite for tourism, favorite for taking children, and museum appearance, covering 20 cities nationwide, with a total of 54 museums listed, providing users with museum travel references. Data shows that in the Dianping note channel, "children's paradise" and "stunning photo spots" are both popular keywords for "museum strategy" notes. The "Public Wenbo List" launched two major sections: "Favorite for taking children" and "Museum Appearance." Treasure museums such as the Guangdong Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum, and the China National Tea Museum were listed, which also improved the cultural dissemination efficiency of museums. Data shows that in 2023, the passenger flow of the Jinsha Site Museum increased by 270% compared to 2019. Many young people who came to take photos left a deep impression on the "ancient Shu civilization" and spontaneously spread it on online lists such as the "Public Wenbo List."

(5) "Micro-vacation" effectively caters to the needs of urban residents and gradually becomes a new tourism trend

Micro-vacation is a lighter form of vacation tourism product that tourists use during weekends or fragmented time during weekdays. It is a new form of local vacation in the digital economy era. Micro-vacations show the following new characteristics: First, micro-region, that is, focusing on the customer groups of surrounding cities; second, micro-time, concentrated on 1.5-day weekend trips and short holiday trips; third, micro-distance, which can be reached by car within 1.5 hours or by high-speed rail within 1 hour; fourth, micro-preparation, emphasizing the casual travel of tourists, leaving at any time. Micro-vacations effectively cater to the new needs of urban residents and show an overall trend of rapid market growth, shorter decision-making time, integrated consumption scenarios, and fragmented leisure and recreation. Taking Beijing as an example, according to platform data, in 2023, about 18,000 new accommodation businesses were added in the suburbs of Beijing, and the continuous enrichment of supply has driven the rapid growth of the micro-vacation accommodation market. In 2023, the number of micro-vacation tourists in Beijing's urban areas increased by 20.4% year-on-year, and the number of overnight stays increased by 19.3% year-on-year, far exceeding the 2.7% growth rate in urban areas. The decision-making threshold for impromptu micro-vacations is getting lower and lower. In recent years, with the development of high-efficiency new consumption formats—instant retail—the decision-making cost and preparation difficulty of the public's travel have been continuously reduced, and more and more tourists choose to travel with empty bags and purchase necessities through instant retail after arriving. Data shows that in 2023, 18.6% of instant retail orders occurred in other places, and orders included a variety of categories such as fruits and vegetables, cosmetics, and daily necessities, allowing tourists to truly achieve "leaving at any time." The time it takes for Beijing micro-vacation tourists to search for nearby hotels and homestays to actually place an order has changed. Compared with 2022, the proportion of tourists who searched and booked on the same day in 2023 increased from 23.7% to 27.8%, and the proportion of tourists who booked within 5 days increased from 52.5% to 56.4% (see Figure 1), and the overall average decision-making time was reduced by 0.62 days.

(6) Tourists pay more attention to local characteristic elements, and the "localization" characteristic is becoming more and more obvious

Current tourism consumption shows a new characteristic of "localization." "Localization" is a phenomenon where tourists' consumption methods and behavioral preferences are closer to those of locals. This can be understood from two aspects: firstly, tourists' preferences for tourist attractions are similar to those of local residents (i.e., "visiting local attractions"), and secondly, tourists integrate into the public spaces and leisure venues of their destinations like local residents (i.e., "living like locals"). "Localization" reflects changes in tourists' travel behavior decisions, which reflect both the constantly developing spiritual and cultural needs of the general public and the process of transformation and upgrading of the cultural tourism industry. In the traditional tourism consumption concept, tourists pay more attention to well-known scenic spots and attractions, and like to satisfy their needs for novel experiences in different places by visiting as many iconic attractions as possible. However, in recent years, more people have flocked to cultural parks, amusement parks, theme parks, open spaces, historical relics, and museums and urban public cultural exhibition halls that represent local cultural characteristics. This change is inseparable from the improvement of online evaluation systems such as Dianping. Entering the digital network age, the massive amount of evaluations and rankings aggregated in various Internet platforms have become important references for consumption decisions of both tourists and local residents, and the information asymmetry between tourists and local residents has also been reduced. Questionnaire survey data shows that when they don't know "where to go" due to insufficient information, 69.2% of respondents will use comprehensive information platforms such as Dianping to obtain more leisure travel information, and this situation is even more significant when traveling. Transaction data from the Meituan platform shows that in recent years, in the TOP lists of popular scenic spots in many places, parks and venues with local characteristics have risen in the rankings. In the first quarter of 2024, the growth rate of consumption by tourists in park and square-type scenic spots was as high as 15.5%, significantly higher than that of local residents. In consumption scenarios such as catering and entertainment, "authentic," "local characteristics," and "old brands" have also become popular keywords, reflecting tourists' attention to local characteristic elements.

(1) Cultivating New Cultural and Tourism Consumption Scenarios

Currently, the purposes and motivations of mass tourism are becoming increasingly diverse, with "food tours," "shopping tours," and "study tours" emerging one after another. It is suggested that online products such as tourism food maps should be used to link various life service consumption scenarios such as catering, entertainment, hotels, accommodation, and leisure shopping, realizing "online consumption and offline experience." This will create a one-stop consumption experience entrance and "eat, live, travel, shop, and entertain" full-chain services for cities, better highlighting the role of tourism in driving multi-industry consumption. In addition, we need to better meet the personalized, diversified, and niche needs of cultural and tourism consumption, guide various market entities to pay more attention to the development potential of personalized tourism projects and niche tourist destinations, actively develop personalized projects with cultural connotations and humanistic characteristics, and explore emerging popular tourist destinations. By leveraging the platform's function of connecting the market and gathering demand, we can gather consumers for many niche and low-frequency emerging service industries, discover popular mass products in niche areas, stimulate the long-tail market, and expand broader development space for new cultural and tourism consumption scenarios. Actively develop county-level consumption, regularly hold themed activities and special holiday activities in offline consumption centers such as streets, markets, and ancient towns, and make full use of the information advantages of online consumption to promote county-level tourism and multi-industry related consumption.

(2) Improving Public Tourism Services and Infrastructure

Tourists' cultural and tourism leisure activities in cities need to rely on the overall service system of cities of a certain level. When a city suddenly receives great attention, only by providing high-quality public services, improving infrastructure, and regulating the market environment can the city effectively handle this sudden influx of people, and make this short-term attraction "long-lasting." It is suggested that cities continuously improve their governance capabilities and public service levels. Tourist cities should not only be tourist-centric during peak seasons, improving the tourist experience, but also take into account the needs of local residents' lives and tourists' vacations. Only by transforming the "enthusiasm" of doing our best to meet tourists' needs within a certain period into sustainable, convenient, and intelligent urban service "hardware" and legalized, transparent urban service "soft environment" can we truly cultivate a new space for shared life between hosts and guests, thereby achieving the dual release of local residents' leisure consumption and tourists' tourism needs, and truly turning "internet celebrities" into "long-lasting celebrities."

(3) Creating a Good Policy Environment and Atmosphere

Create a relaxed and orderly market environment, adopt an inclusive, prudent, and flexible regulatory approach to specific issues, and leave room for the sustainable development of cultural and tourism consumption. For example, regarding the issue of water area development faced by paddleboarding, while strengthening the planning and management of urban water areas, a batch of qualified water areas can be opened up to develop the water sports industry. Create a more relaxed regulatory atmosphere for new tourism industries such as urban homestays, escape rooms, and script killings, and allow some urban areas to conduct pilot programs for industry management. Relying on various promotional policies such as tax cuts and fee reductions, fully release residents' new cultural and tourism consumption, improvement consumption, and upgrading consumption. Establish and improve an integrated online and offline regulatory mechanism, regulate the order of the online transaction market, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. Accelerate the construction of a new service consumption quality promotion system, improve the consumer rights protection mechanism, make complaint and reporting channels more accessible, reduce the cost of rights protection, and improve the service quality collaborative processing mechanism.

Actively promote the integration of high-tech such as the Internet, big data, and artificial intelligence with the cultural and tourism industry, connect online and offline consumption channels, and provide consumers with more convenient, safe, personalized, and intelligent service functions such as online booking, online payment, online guidance, and online interaction. Encourage traditional scenic spots, museums, and exhibition halls to strengthen cooperation with online platform enterprises, improve the online rate of the cultural and tourism industry, guide various platforms to provide more digital transformation tools for small and medium-sized tourism merchants and traditional scenic spots, and improve the industry's supply level. Better leverage the role of online evaluation systems and other digital products in promoting cultural and tourism consumption scenarios, establish a big data evaluation index system around tourism service quality, promote tourism market entities to improve service quality, and meet consumers' higher service experience needs. Better leverage the resource optimization and allocation effect of digital technology, encourage new industries such as tourism homestays to be combined with actions such as the renovation of local idle housing resources, improve the overall supply level of the cultural and tourism industry, and better leverage the role of platform enterprises in promoting the standardization, standardization, and digitalization of the tourism accommodation industry.