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Since 2023, many industries have experienced a retaliatory recovery, and tourism is undoubtedly the strongest trend, sweeping across every inch of the country.

Against this backdrop, DT Business Observation, in collaboration with Netshop Bank's Micro Observation Station and Fliggy, produced the "Micro Observation Station: 2024 Tourism Economy Micro Observation Report," exploring new development opportunities for micro-businesses in the tourism industry. This article is reproduced for industry reference.

Micro-enterprises in the tourism boom: 45.8% earn more money and are optimistic about folk custom tourism

In the past two years, consumers engaging in retaliatory travel have seemed to have built up a lot of energy—

Turning barbecue into Zibo's new calling card, making Tianjin's "goodbye" famous far and wide, promoting Northeast bathing culture nationwide, and recently making Tianshui, Gansu's, mala tang famous.

Tourists are constantly exploring new destinations, acting like walking GDP, bringing money-making opportunities to micro-businesses in the tourism industry everywhere.

Research shows that in 2023, 45.8% of micro-businesses in the tourism industry saw an increase in revenue. Under the favorable conditions, 82.8% of businesses are confident about revenue growth in 2024.

To make money, you must understand what customers want.

Young customers who don't want to be confined to routines don't want to follow the "get on the bus, sleep, get off the bus, take pictures" routine when traveling, but instead pursue richer and deeper travel experiences.

With this demand, folk culture themed tours, city walks, and sports tourism have become extremely popular new tracks in the tourism industry last year.

So, businesses have adjusted their strategies and no longer take tourists on sightseeing tours by bus.

More than 60% of micro-business operators said they would launch new products and services targeting the tracks they are optimistic about to meet the needs of tourists.

For example, by deeply exploring folk custom tourism, activities such as Zhumadian's iron flower show, Quanzhou's flower-inserting, and Jingdezhen's porcelain making are becoming new hallmarks for local micro-businesses.

Specifically, what new opportunities are there for small businesses in the tourism industry?

Local characteristic tours become popular, with Northeast tourism as a typical case

Nowadays, urban landscapes are severely homogenized, and pre-made dishes are everywhere. People are tired of the same restaurants and attractions.

Travel experiences with local characteristics are often more likely to arouse tourists' interest. In this trend, Northeast tourism has rapidly risen, becoming a solid hit last year.

A typical example is the popularity of city walks.

51.9% of micro-businesses in the survey said they are optimistic about this track. To this end, many travel agencies have launched city walk routes, taking tourists into the depths of the city, eating at small restaurants, and experiencing the humanistic atmosphere of the streets and buildings.

In 2023, among the top 10 cities with the fastest growth in leisure and sightseeing revenue for micro-enterprises, Northeast cities occupied six seats.

Jixi, Heilongjiang; Baicheng, Jilin; Chaoyang, Liaoning; and Tieling, Liaoning, are all on the list. In other words, in addition to Harbin, which was a top trend last winter, other cities in Northeast China have also caught the tourism wave.

In addition, exploring local characteristic sports has also become a growth engine for the micro-economy of the tourism industry.

Whether it's renting skiing equipment in the Northeast's ice and snow world, offering kayaking experiences in the southern water towns, or selling hiking poles, flashlights, and other outdoor equipment at the foot of the mountains, there may be opportunities for small businesses to make money.

In 2023, the year-on-year growth of micro-enterprise sports event organization revenue was 11%, and the year-on-year growth of sports equipment rental revenue was 15%.

Among them, micro-businesses in the tourism industry in Heilongjiang achieved a 246% increase in revenue through sports equipment rentals, far exceeding other provinces and cities in the country.

For micro-businesses in the tourism industry, exploring local characteristic resources and using information asymmetry known only to locals to provide tourists with fresh and unique travel experiences may also open up new growth opportunities.

High-tier cities embrace the popularity of homestays, while low-tier cities see growth in hotel revenue

Tourists explore local characteristics during their travels, and accommodation is not limited to traditional hotels, but should be close to the lives of locals.

Driven by this demand, homestays, as a unique type of accommodation, have attracted the attention of a large number of tourists, and many individual owners have also entered the homestay market, hoping to seize this great opportunity.

According to statistics, in 2023, among micro-accommodation businesses, homestay revenue increased by 14% year-on-year, 2 percentage points higher than that of general hotels. Meanwhile, businesses such as campsites have gradually cooled down, showing negative growth.

While the homestay economy is booming, traditional hotels have not stopped, achieving a 12% year-on-year increase in revenue.

Especially in lower-tier cities, hotel accommodation is like an untapped treasure, showing huge potential. In 2023, the year-on-year revenue growth of micro-hotels in Wanning, Hainan, was 945%, ranking first in the country.

From a regional perspective, Northeast and Northwest China also got a share of the pie, with micro-hotels in Chaoyang, Liaoning; Panjin, Liaoning; and Shizuishan, Ningxia, showing faster revenue growth than the national average.

It can be said that the recovery of the tourism industry has brought considerable income to the accommodation industry in various places. Whether it is a characteristically local homestay or a hotel with considerate service, they have all found new growth points in this wave of tourism boom.

Car rental business becomes a growth point for micro and small businesses; economical and SUV models are popular.

Under the tourism trend that emphasizes personalization, the car rental business is emerging as a major highlight of the tourism industry.

Nowadays, many people arrive in major cities by high-speed rail or plane and then explore niche destinations that are difficult to reach by public transportation through self-driving car rentals.

Whether it's a loop self-driving tour, a long-distance off-road trip, or an adventure to a niche destination, stepping on the gas pedal and setting off, exploring unexpected surprises while driving, has brought considerable income to local car rental businesses.

On the Feizhu platform, the transaction volume of car rentals in 2023 increased by 160% year-on-year, more than 10 times higher than in 2019, and more than 70% of car rental businesses have doubled their order volume on Feizhu.

For car rental companies, in addition to providing basic car rental services, they can also maximize their income by developing tourism products, including RVs, tour guide services, safety insurance, travel guides, road rescue, and accommodation arrangements.

From a geographical perspective, car rental travel is developing rapidly in northern cities. Among cities with an annual income of over 1 billion yuan in the micro and small car rental economy, 80% of the 10 cities with the fastest income growth are located in the north, with Harbin having the fastest year-on-year growth rate of 84%.

In terms of vehicle selection, in Feizhu's car rental orders in 2023, SUVs accounted for 25%, becoming the most popular choice besides economical vehicles.

In addition, the proportion of comfortable, business, luxury, and RV vehicles is also increasing, while the proportion of sports cars is decreasing. This reflects that businesses need to pay more attention to the practicality and comfort of vehicles when providing car rental self-driving options.

For entrepreneurs who want to join this booming industry, they may wish to gain insight into business opportunities from the above trends and earn a fortune in the car rental market by providing diversified car rental services and tourism products.

How should micro and small businesses act to seize this opportunity?

From the rise of city walks to the craze of "going to a city for a concert," the direction of the tourism industry continues to change, constantly creating new business opportunities.

For micro and small enterprises, the opportunity in this industry has arrived, attracting a large number of entrepreneurs to enter and take concrete actions in the fierce market competition.

First is the competition for traffic.

Today, the internet has become an important channel for micro and small businesses in the tourism industry to acquire customers. In the survey, More than half of the businesses said that new customers in the past year mainly came from group purchase packages and social media word-of-mouth marketing.

Consumers' attention is limited. Faced with the frequent topics of popular cities, businesses must not only focus on promoting their own cities but also compete with other local businesses.

To this end, many businesses have increased their investment in social media.

Nearly 40% of businesses said they would strengthen the operation of their own social media accounts, and about 30% plan to cooperate with KOL accounts and conduct live streaming cooperation to expand their business visibility with the help of the influence of internet celebrities.

However, acquiring traffic is not that easy. This also tests the enterprise's ability to manage funds.

In the survival process of micro and small enterprises, capital turnover is a common problem. In the tourism industry, 76.5% of micro and small businesses said that they need to use loans to maintain capital turnover and business operations.

In 2023, the demand for loans among nearly 30% of micro and small businesses has increased.

In addition to basic operating expenses such as rent, water, electricity, transportation, and fixed expenses such as employee salaries, nearly half of micro and small enterprises said they would use part of the loan to develop new products and new routes to enhance their competitiveness.

At the same time, more than 30% of businesses plan to use loans for preparations and marketing during promotional periods to seize market share.

In other words, in the competition in the tourism industry, micro and small enterprises must have financial support and know how to use funds for social media operations to compete for limited traffic resources. This is also the key to their success in market competition.

In conclusion

The role of the tourism boom in promoting the micro and small economy is like a main line, profoundly affecting various aspects of the operation of the economy, including entertainment, accommodation, and travel.

When tourists flood in, it not only directly drives the development of local catering, accommodation, transportation, and entertainment industries but also indirectly promotes the construction of infrastructure such as amusement parks, ski resorts, and sports venues, thus attracting more micro and small enterprises in related industries to participate.

As the tourism boom intensifies, the vitality of the tourism economy continues to be unleashed:

Various cities are vying to hold concerts and music festivals, attracting a large number of tourists; traditional cultural tourism is further developing, and experiential tourism such as Jingdezhen pottery, Quanzhou hairpin flowers, and Fuzhou ship springs are being fully explored, all providing more business opportunities for micro and small enterprises.

In the face of constantly changing tourist needs, micro and small businesses across the country will continue to adjust their business strategies to achieve a win-win journey between micro and small businesses and tourists.

China Tourism Association Activity Cooperation: 18810272514