Recently Communicate with industry friends. Everyone shares a common feeling: nowadays, the more money is poured into cultural and tourism projects, the more dazzling the infrastructure becomes—but it’s increasingly difficult to guess what tourists really want.

Two years ago, everyone was still competing fiercely. “National trends” and “light shows”—it seems that as long as you make the scenic area dazzlingly opulent and invite a few internet celebrities to check in, foot traffic will naturally follow.

So what’s the result? The reality is stark. Tourists come and go quickly—once they’ve taken their photos, they’re gone, not even buying a bottle of water.

Why? Because we got one thing wrong.

In an age of material abundance and an explosion of choices, the core competitiveness of cultural and tourism industries has long ceased to be... “It’s not about ‘what you’re looking at,’ but rather ‘what you’re feeling.’ Whether it’s developing an ancient town, creating an amusement park, or running a rural guesthouse, at the end of the day, what really matters comes down to these three words: experience, experience, and again, experience.”

But these three “Experience” can vary dramatically in level.

First-layer experience Emotional temperature.

Today’s young people go out to have fun, especially... Z For generations, is what they’ve been lacking really the scenery? Just open your phone— 4K8K The blockbuster fills the entire screen—who still needs those few mountains and rivers?

What they lack is Emotional value.

Take a look nearby. A few years Harbin, which has gone viral; Zibo barbecue; or even Shanxi’s ancient architecture, which has soared in popularity thanks to the hit game “Black Myth: Wu Kong”—are these places really transformed by physical renovations? Not at all. Harbin presents frozen pears cut into chunks and beautifully arranged on plates; Zibo has built dedicated roads for its barbecue; and Shanxi has turned ancient tomb murals into tactile stories you can actually touch.

The logic behind these practices is: I want you to feel valued, cherished, and understood.

This level of experience treats tourists as... “Real, flesh-and-blood people”—not “walking wallets.” When your project can give them a sense of “relaxed ease” or offer a fleeting thrill of “escaping from reality,” they’ll pay for it—even if your facilities are old.

On the other hand, if the service is cold and impersonal, and everywhere you go there are tourist traps, no matter how magnificent your building may be, in the eyes of tourists it’ll just be “this and that”—nothing special. “Cement jungle.”

Second-layer experience It's immersion.

Previously, when working in cultural and tourism, I liked to get involved in... “Live-action performances.” Tourists sit in the audience, watching the stage come alive with intense energy. This model is becoming increasingly ineffective these days, because it’s one-way communication.

Today’s tourists aren’t content to just be spectators—they want to be the protagonists. That’s precisely why. “Immersive” has become a cliché—but it’s still an effective term.

But many people are concerned about “Immersive” is often misunderstood—people think that simply installing a few neon lights and having people wear traditional costumes makes something immersive. True immersion, however, means breaking the “fourth wall.”

You’ve got to turn the project into a giant murder mystery game. LARP ) Or a traveling drama. Wherever the tourists go, that’s where the story unfolds.

True A sense of involvement helps tourists establish strong memory anchors in their minds. As they go through the process—exploring, interacting, and even tackling a few small challenges—they develop an emotional connection to the place.

Don't try to “Educate” tourists by inviting them to “play” along. When tourists shift from being mere observers to active participants, their length of stay will naturally increase, and their willingness to spend will naturally rise as well.

Third-layer experience It's memorability.

This is the most challenging layer—and also the key to determining whether a cultural and tourism project can enjoy sustained success.

Memorability Original It is a core metric in advertising effectiveness evaluation, used to measure the proportion of the audience that can recall the ad content after being exposed to the advertisement.

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This These years There are far too many “one-size-fits-all” ancient town projects—from south to north, they all sell the same Yiwu trinkets, offer the same local snacks, and even their architectural styles seem to have been carved from the same mold. Such projects... Tourists’ recall rate is zero. Once you go, you're insulated for life.

A genuine experience must possess an irreplaceable sense of locality. This results in a high level of visitor recall, which is key to boosting repeat visit rates.

For example, Now There are some comparisons. The cutting-edge approach is to reinterpret local intangible cultural heritage, folk customs, and lifestyles through a modern design language. “Translate” for tourists to see.

This experience is deeply rooted in this land. You can’t find it anywhere else, nor can you substitute it with a video you search for online. It can only be fully experienced by being together with the right people, at the right time and in the right place. , allowing tourists to complete a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “Super Memory” 。

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